“Can’t Get Much Worse”: Insider Urges Kings To Address Goaltending

After surrendering 11 goals in two games, the Los Angeles Kings' decision to go with Pheonix Copley and Cam Talbot in goal for the season might be coming back to haunt them. At least, that's according to Daily Faceoff Insider Frank Seravalli on their live podcast. 

He says that the Kings' gamble to go with that duo in a year in which they hope to go deep in the playoffs is a risky one.

They can't get much worse than an .839 team save percentage through two games... [But] People could have seen this coming from a million miles away... You bet an $83.5M roster on $2.5M in goaltending.

Servalli points to Copley's underlying numbers last season as being very poor, and Talbot at 36 as being even worse. 

"The question is, when do you begin to get nervous? I'd say you give it a few weeks if you're (Kings GM Rob Blake). But I don't think it's all that crazy to say, 'hey, maybe we didn't get this right, and maybe we need to fix it.'"

So where can the Kings look for an answer?

Seravalli suggests as a starting point, to look to the 3-goalie situations around the league to see if anyone might be available, including the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, and most notably, the Calgary Flames, who have NHL-ready Dustin Wolf sitting in the AHL. 

"Go get Dan Vladar from Calgary! Give them a second-round pick," suggests Seravalli. "... My point would be, banging your head against the wall for 78 more games doesn't really make a lot of sense for a team with legitimate expectations and aspirations."

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