Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
Blake makes his preseason debut...
...and all is right with the world.
Rob Blake was one of all all-time favorites on the Kings. Mostly because he was a home-grown talent for the Kings, and seeing him evolve into the Norris award-winning defenseman coincided with the Kings arrival to success.
When he left, back in 2000, it was a huge blow to Kings fans. Many felt affronted by Rob when he spurned the Kings and decided to take a shot at the Stanley Cup with a better team, the Colorado Avalanche. Many fans began to boo him. Lustfully. And I was one of them.
If you aren't donning the purple and black, you are the enemy. And Blake was the enemy. But then, it became much more than that. It became a swipe at Blake and his "greed" for more money for a lot of fans. Many simply don't understand that the NHL, out of all the major sports, have the least amount of job security. I mean, what can an ex-NHLer do? Some go into commentary and sportscasting, like Marty McSorley did last season for FOX. But, the shelf life is really small. You gotta take the big pay-day when you can. And that's what Rob did, and I can respect that.
So, I stopped booing Blake and started counting the days until his return. When Luc signed for one season last year, I knew that the Kings would bring back Rob. It just made sense. And having him out there on the ice tonight... well, it's been a long time, but... the fans were cheering him.
Even Bob Miller made mention of this, when he scored the Kings' only goal against the Sharks. Fans were standing, and clapping, and cheering for Rob Blake. And that should be music to any Kings' ears.
