Goaltending already looks like a problem for the Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings’ goaltending situation is right back to where they started last season, as Cam Talbot and Pheonix Copley have struggled in one game each so far this season. Talbot allowed four goals with an .889 save percentage in the Kings’ 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche and Phoenix Copley allowed five with a .737 save% in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk talked about if the Kings should react to their goaltending woes already and what avenues they should explore on Daily Faceoff Live.
Frank Seravalli: Look, it’s overreaction season. This is what everyone does, they begin to panic and say well what if? Even some good teams that are off to decent starts are like “what if the wheels fall off?”
Here’s the thing and why it’s different for the Kings: people could have seen this coming from a million miles away. I know that you look at the Kings’ start and you say “they played two of the best teams in the league to this point.” They got the Avalanche who had a chip on their shoulder on opening night, and then followed that up with the Hurricanes, who have been among the class of the East, and you sit here and say “it’s just two games, not a big deal”.
My thing is, and I was consistent about this from the beginning, and I will remain consistent about this, even as their numbers rise because they can’t get much worst than an .839 team save% in the first two games, is you bet an $83.5 million roster on $2.5 million in goaltending. I know what Copley’s record was last season, it was pretty damn good at 24-6-3, but his underlying numbers were not very good. Cam Talbot, even when he was healthy last year in Ottawa, still was not very good when he played.
So, you take that and you mash it all together and you say “we might have a little bit of an issue here.” Yes, this Kings defense core is smart and can skate and can move the puck, but may not be enough alone to cover up for some of their issues and the way they fall short in net. The key question is when do you begin to get nervous. I’d say give it a few weeks if you’re Rob Blake, but I don’t think it’s really all that crazy to start thinking and looking and say “maybe we didn’t get this right, and maybe we need to fix it” because life comes you fast in the NHL.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Especially in a division that could be as competitive as the Pacific this year. The only argument I have against trying to solve it in the next two weeks is who’s giving you a handout? You always drop the line, other GMs aren’t looking to throw you a life raft, they’re looking to throw you an anvil.
Frank Seravalli: I think you smoke out the other teams that are sitting here still with three goalies. I don’t know what exactly Cayden Primeau is in Montreal, but I do know that at some point they’re probably going to have to send him down because he’s going to need to start playing games. And I don’t know what Felix Sandstrom or Samuel Ersson is in Philly, but I’d at least like to try and find out.
And that’s before you can even then go out and sign or trade. What’s Jaroslav Halak doing as he’s training in Boston? What about some of these other guys in the trade market? Go and get Dan Vladar from Calgary, give them a second round pick.
I don’t think it’s really all that complicated to solve, and my point would be that banging your head against the wall for 80 more games doesn’t really make a lot of sense for a team with legitimate expectations and aspirations.
You can watch the full episode here…