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.
My Christmas wish came true - sort of
According to LAKings.com, the Kings have activated Alyn McCauley to the 23-man roster, moved Mathieu Garon from the injured reserve and put Dan Cloutier on IR.
Now, this is a very sticky situation to be put in. As a human being, wishing an injury on a player it outright wrong. Cloutier has been put in a tough position this season, netminding a struggling, young team. I can appreciate the fact that whatever Cloutier has done this sdeason, he is trying his best. It doesn't change the fact that he's a good guy.
But the fan side of me is sighing a big sigh of relief. Having Crawford wheel Clouts out in goal every night has just been brutal to watch. And it's even harder to swallow when we have several decent rookie goaltenders in the pipeline. Add to that the whole Jason LaBarbera reverse-waiver fiasco the Kings had put themselves in, and the odds were stacked against Dan the minute he laced them up for Los Angeles.
No matter what Lombardi, Crawford or anyone else is saying in the upper ranks of the Kings management, 2006-07 is a rebuilding year. And to prop up an aging goalie in place of several promising goalies in the system doesn't make much sense.
