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.
Kings sign Tom Preissing
It's finally official! Defenseman Tom Preissing is now going to don the purple and black. The 28-year-old defenseman had 7 goals and 31 assists last year for the Senators. It's being reported as a four year deal, worth $11 million dollars.
ESPN columnist Scott Burnside has this to say about Preissing:
Preissing put up good numbers with 38 points and a whopping plus-40, which was tied for third in the NHL. Although he and Joe Corvo were a solid defensive pairing that jumped the depth chart on the Senators squad early in the playoffs, Senators GM Bryan Murray wasn't enamoured enough to want Preissing around long-term. In the deciding game of the Stanley Cup finals, Preissing played just 8:11. Still there will be many teams that will want Preissing to fill a hole as a third or fourth defenseman who can produce offensively.
Another youngster signed with lots of upside. This provides the Kings with some depth at defense, but there's always room for more. (cough cough, Brad Stuart, cough cough).
