Let me say this first off, I am not one that is big on hockey rumors. Most of the time, rumors are mumbo jumbo that are created from message boards or bloggers that make up tidbits to get traffic to their site. I rarely report rumors but I believe that where there is smoke, there is fire... and something is BURNING! :)
I have been reading all over the internet today that goaltending prospect Jeff Zatkoff has signed with the Kings and will be reporting very soon to Manchester. Again this is a rumor but I go through literally hundreds of websites everyday searching for tidbits of prospect information and talk with many local fans of the prospect teams. This rumor just keeps popping everywhere! Again, this is only a rumor but it has teeth and I wanted to inform you Kings fans. This is not a rumor site so please don't expect stuff like this from me very often.
Would his signing be a good thing? As much as I love Zatkoff, I am not sure where all of these goalie prospects fit? Ersberg, Quick, Taylor, Bernier and Zatkoff have all played exceptional at their prospective levels. Not to mention Jason Labarbera will be 100% by next season and that other guy from Vancouver. I really see him being bought out but we are really stocked at goalie with potential players which is something we are not used to as Kings fans.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
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1 comments:
Hey Bubba,
Thanks for digging out this info on Zatkoff. This is what I expected. He has achieved a lot with Miami and the US junior team and should be ready for the pros.
As for having too many goalies, remember that it looks like the Kings will have two ECHL teams -- Reading and Ontario. With the Kings and Manchester, that means there are 8 goaltender positions to fill (not including possible injuries). So it could start out as LaBarbera and Ersberg with the Kings, Bernier and Quick with Manchester, and Zatkoff and Taylor as the number one goalies for Ontario and Manchester, with their backups to be filled in from training camp or by the minor team directly. (I noticed that Reading recently signed this kid John Murray out of the OHL that seems to doing quite well).
Then, of course, the Cloutier question. We are all assuming that he will be bought out. The advantages are that he gets paid only 2/3 on the last year of the contract and the Kings save 1/3 (approx. $1 million), and it opens a contract spot on the list of 50. The negative is that it creates a cap hit of approximately $1 million for each of the next two years, which wouldn't exist if he gets buried in the minors. So there is still a (small) chance that he will be in the mix.
Any news on Zatkoff's teammate Alec Martinez? He is also a junior and appears ready for the pros.
Thanks much for the good work,
JD
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