The Kings' long quest to find stable goaltending took another twist Tuesday when they traded Jason LaBarbera to the Vancouver Canucks for a 2009 seventh-round draft pick.
LaBarbera, who had a 5-8 record, a 2.83 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage, fell behind Erik Ersberg (8-5, 2.38, .903) on the goalie depth chart and became expendable with the recent emergence of rookie Jonathan Quick (2-3, 1.72, .937).
Quick, 22, who has recorded two shutouts this season, and Ersberg, 26, are considered better long-term options than LaBarbera, 28, who will be a free agent next summer.
LaBarbera's Kings career was filled with highs and lows. It started in the summer of 2005 when the Kings signed LaBarbera, who had been one of the top goalies in the AHL.
After a surprisingly strong training camp, LaBarbera split time with Mathieu Garon, but after some inconsistency, LaBarbera spent the 2006-07 season back in the AHL.
LaBarbera spent this summer working with a trainer and nutritionist, reported to camp in the best shape of his career and was designatd, by coach Terry Murray, as the Kings' No. 1 goalie, but after 10 games, he was essentially supplanted by Ersberg.
The move to Vancouver might be welcomed by LaBarbera, who is a native of British Columbia. With No. 1 goalie Roberto Luongo out with a groin strain, the Canucks have been going with Curtis Sanford and rookie Cory Schneider in goal.
http://www.insidesocal.com/kings/
7th rounder? Yeah, I guess that's all I'd give up too.
Jason was a promising player two years ago and probably a pretty good backup, but just had a knack for letting in softies at awful times. I wish we had sent him to another team instead of helping the Canucks, but maybe Dean was thinking we'd get a couple wins against them out of it.
So now we shall see if they consider Ersberg the man or the fast start of Quick has given him the edge. I suppose we'll see Terry flip flop on them for a while. Quick has looked great and with so many young players with talent and the growth we will have anyway I'm glad we haven't made a move for another veteran tender. I'd like to see how these guys pan out, though I'm still rooting for Bernier to crack the lineup and assume franchise status.. prolly a pipe dream on my part... but hey.
