According to reports, Dan Cloutier had season-ending surgery on his hip. Even though he ranked last in the NHL in save percentage and goals against average, it's still disheartening to see a player have his season, let alone his career, possibly end.

But then the news came down that Mathieu Garon was injured in the Kings loss to the Sharks Thursday. On Friday, it was announced that Garon would be placed on IR, and Kings prospect goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji from Manchester was brought up on an emergency basis. Garon, who was spotted wearing a splint on his right index finger at Meet The Players Tuesday, was asked how his injury was, he replied "Not well."

The news that the Kings are down to Barry Brust and Fukufuji made the news of Jason LaBarbera playing well just that much more frustrating. LaBarbera, who was sent down at the beginning of the NHL season, is having a stellar season for the Monarchs in the AHL. With 19 wins and 13 losses, Labs led the league in minutes played and number of saves made. On Jan. 9th, LaBarbera was tabbed to represent the Kings' farm club in the AHL All-Star team.

So now, the Kings are going into their three game road trip at St. Louis, Dallas and Atlanta with two relatively unproven goaltenders. Not that the Kings had a realistic chance of making the playoffs. Los Angeles is dead last in the West, allowing the most goals in the league. They are second to last in killing penalties. Things are not good for the immediate future for Kings fans.

At least, not at first glance. All hope is not lost. The arrival of Konstantin Pushkarev has been a pleasant surprise for Kings fans, where in three games, he already has a goal and an assist. He was put on the line of Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown, and that line has clicked. Add to that the soild play of Alexander Frolov, Michael Cammallari and Lubomir Visnovsky, and you can see the pieces falling in place for this club. In the wings, we have Jack Johnson, who is still playing for Michigan but could join the big club sometime after March 16 at the very soonest.

Patrick O'Sullivan, who started the season up in Los Angeles, is having a good year for Manchester. He's currently ranked second in points for the Monarchs, and was also announced as an All-Star for the AHL. He was sent down for some more seasoning i the minors, and it seems to be doing him good.

So, we're getting a sneak peak at the future for the Los Angeles Kings a little sooner than expected. And even though I'm a little disheartened at all the big news that has come out today, I'm encouraged that we're giving some of these younger players a chance to see if they are indeed ready to play at the NHL level.