LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi Talks Defense, Goaltending

(Photo by Juan Ocampo/Getty Images)

“What happened when Quick came up there was still the question, ‘is he for real,’ Lombardi noted. “But I remember the Washington game when we were on that little run and he stood on his head and he had done very well throughout that whole trip. That was when the team said ‘we’ve got a goalie.’ So now we can start looking at ourselves and not wonder if our goalie is going to stop what he’s supposed to stop. That was a huge thing where we said we’ve got to get this out of our whole psyche. I think that was a huge thing.”

“A part of that whole defense thing, a huge part of it, was the goaltending, but it was as much the mindset of the team,” Lombardi elaborated. “With the goalie now doing his job, now the people who are playing defense, the forwards and the defensemen, better know that they’d better pick up the right guy and defend home plate because you’re not going to be able to blame the goalie anymore. That was a big change that I saw the last couple of years.”

The question now is...is Quick the real deal?

“How kids deal with success—this the other part of building that’s very difficult that the public doesn’t understand sometimes, is dealing with perceived success,” said Lombardi. “How is Quick going to come back this year after starting to establish himself as an NHL player? Does he strive to get better, does he strive to become one of the best, or does he get complacent? Does he come into camp thinking he’s got the job all wrapped up and go through the motions, or does he come in and grab it, say ‘I’m the number one and I’m going to be one of the best in the league?’

Despite being named to the NHL’s 2008-09 All-Rookie Team on June 18, the same question could be asked about defenseman Drew Doughty.

“Same thing with Doughty,” Lombardi said. “Doughty comes in, he’s really trying to make the team last year, he’s paying attention, he does all the little things. How’s he going to adjust now that he’s an NHL player? These are things that have to be monitored during the summer and starting an attitude here.”

Back to Quick...he is one of three young goaltenders who could be “the guy” for the Kings now and for the long haul and that is a far cry from what they had just a few seasons ago.

“Let’s face it, you saw what it was like from [Dan] Cloutier down to [Yutaka] Fukufuji,” said Lombardi. “It was a round robin tournament here as far as who the goalie was.”

“The other thing that I said, just like our defense when I came here...to build this without young goaltending and young defensemen, oof! That’s a challenge,” added Lombardi. It’s like talking about how people are starting to see that there’s hope.”

Indeed, the Kings currently have two bona fide goaltending prospects in Quick and Jonathan Bernier and a better than serviceable backup in Erik Ersberg.

Quite the change from the shoddy goaltending they have had throughout the vast majority of their more than forty-year history.

That alone is a solid reason to be hopeful.

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