Tonight’s blog post is both a statement and a request, because it seems to me like many of us (Kings’ fans) are losing sight of the bigger picture here.
Let me start by saying, I think the Los Angeles Kings have the most loyal and dedicated fanbase in the Southwestern United States by far. We have largely stuck with the team through thick and thin (something that can’t be said for other teams) and this season, we’ve been rewarded with a good team and a playoff berth. The rebuilding process is paying dividends, and we couldn’t be happier about it. This is still a young team, which mean’s room for growth – which means this season’s success is just a sign of things to come.
Today’s afternoon tilt against Edmonton made me feel pride that nearly moved me to tears as the Kings took the ice to a standing ovation. By the time I left though, the reaction of many fans made me want to projectile vomit.
A pretty good portion of Kings’ fans right now are choosing to throw Jon Quick under the bus. He was jeered after every goal against today (two of three of which, couldn’t be considered his fault in any universe I’ve ever visited…). Listening to “Kings Talk” with Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans leaving Staples Center today, every single call I heard was full of criticisms for the team’s starting goaltender. Apparently, he’s now yesterday’s garbage. I hope some if not all of you reading this realize how asinine this is…
Jon Quick has more wins this season than any other goalie in Los Angeles Kings’ history in any single season. He is a huge part of the core of the young Kings, without whom the Kings wouldn’t even be dreaming of sniffing the postseason right now. He’s the best Kings’ goalie we’ve seen in more than a decade (yes, that includes Felix Potvin, and yes, that’s just my opinion). He’s a mere 24 years old with an entire career ahead of him, and apparently his 39 wins has earned him the right to sit in the press box in the eyes of many? Balderdash, I say.
How quickly have we become spoiled here? Remember, this is a team that finished 14th in the Western Conference last season. In one year, they’ve developed into a potential fifth seed. The core of the team is one of the league’s youngest, and undoubtedly will continue to develop and improve. The team’s window for Stanley Cup contention is wide open starting now, with an organization chock full of talent at nearly every position. This isn’t an aging team who must have the Cup this year or bust. GM Dean Lombardi has assembled this team the right way, and they’re going to compete for much longer than just 2009-10. But some of us as fans are prepared to jettison our star goalie for a winless streak that’s still managed to secure a spot in the postseason and gain points in 6 straight? Let me post a question I believe is pertinent to the situation.
Anze Kopitar led the entire NHL in points for a good portion of the first quarter of the season. When Kopitar suddenly went 11 or 12 games without a goal, were we ready to ship him back to Slovenia in a coffin? When Dustin Brown went through one of the longer goalless streaks of his career, were we ready to strip him of the captaincy and trade him for a bag of pucks and a few rolls of tape? I think that the vast majority of fans would answer these questions with a resounding “Hell no!”. Why then, aren’t we willing to give our goalie the same courtesy here, especially when his win streak has come at a time when the TEAM has shown some of it’s worst play of the entire season?
Since the Olympic break, Quick has had minimal goal support, and he has been behind a team that has struggled to put forth a consistent 60 minutes of hockey since the beginning of March. Quick has been lifted twice – in both cases as a motivational tactic for the team, and in both cases after he was victimized by goals off his own defense. There was a recent stretch where in four consecutive games, the Kings had at least one goal go off an own player.
It seems to me like some fans’ expectations of Quick have been unreasonable lately. Quick isn’t costing the team games right now. He hasn’t been at his absolute, game stealing sharpest – that’s not something I think many would argue. But the team in front of him isn’t giving him much help.
It takes a TEAM to win. Some nights, your goaltender carries the team. Some night’s it’s scoring, or solid defensive play. Those nights should pale in comparison to good TEAM efforts. Be honest, aside from the 8-3 rout of Vancouver, when was the last time the Kings put forth a great TEAM effort?
Quick needs to take his lumps, just like Kopitar, like Dustin Brown, like Doughty, like Jack Johnson and all the rest of the Kings’ players who are about to experience postseason play for the first time. Not winning the Cup in year one of the playoffs isn’t going to be the end of the world. If you were to ask players on the defending Cup Champion Penguins (current King Rob Scuderi, a Penguin last season could probably tell you a lot about it) – part of what helped them develop into the team they are today was getting manhandled by Ottawa in the first round of the 2007 playoffs, and losing to Detroit in the 2008 Cup final. These are the battles, the learning experiences that every good young hockey team must experience; the trenches they must wage war in together. To give up on one of the team’s most valiant soldiers before the real battle (the playoffs) even begins would be a huge mistake. The decision makers in the Kings’ organization know this.
While we the fans complained about Dean Lombardi’s lack of a big free agent signing, his trading of veterans for picks and prospects, he stuck to the plan. In year 4 of Lombardi’s tenure, his philosophy has bore fruit and turned the Kings into a playoff team. Jon Quick will be in goal when that playoff team takes the ice next week, and it shouldn’t be any other way. Part of Quick’s growth into an elite NHL goalie is the team’s choice to let him learn to deal with the rough spots. Quick hasn’t given up, and he’s refused to make excuses for himself. He’s maintained the best possible attitude throughout. And he deserves a chance, as a core member of the Kings, to feel the playoff heat.
I ask all of you, all of US and Kings’ fans. Let’s not take the easy way out and let 22 other guys off the hook by pointing the finger at one guy for the team’s very recent struggles. I ask all of you support our Kings TEAM, and every player that’s played a critical role in getting us this far.
Most importantly, I ask every Kings’ fan out there, to take a deep break and remember – the development of a Stanley Cup winning team in the NHL’s salary cap era, is a process and not an event.
Go Kings!
-JS
Jeremy Smith