As Quick as You Can Blink You Might Miss Bernier’s Coronation

The Los Angeles Kings have screwed me for the last time. No sooner does the first shipment of these Jonathan “White Chocolate” Quick t-shirts I had made arrive at my door does the team sign former first-round-pick and would-be-successor Jonathan Bernier to a hefty two-year contract extension.

This is almost as bad as the time I had my fingers crossed that they would draft defenseman Sasha Pokulok over Anze Kopitar in 2005. I mean, “what were they thinking???” is what I asked myself then. Pokulok displayed the perfect combination of size and meanness as a Cornell Big Red alumnus that has allowed him to flourish into a fringe player in the German Ice Hockey League.

Little did I know then that a little player by the name of Drew Doughty would come along and help cover up the Kings’ defensive deficiencies... and, oh, yeah, Kopitar has turned out okay too.

All that being said, one has to feel bad for Quick. All he did last year was win 39 games in earning the number-one spot and a trip to the Olympics.

Sure, Quick posted an .843 save percentage in three consecutive losses against the Vancouver Canucks in the playoffs to help bring an end to the Kings’ season. And, yeah, he might have gone 0-3-3 in his last six regular-season games last year, allowing 19 goals in the process... 22 in his last seven, if you count a game against the Colorado Avalanche in which he was pulled, but who remembers things like that? Who???

And, yeah, logic dictates that he may... may have been playing over his head all of last year evidenced by his being a third-round draft pick once upon a time. Truth be told, he just doesn’t have the same pedigree as Bernier, who was drafted 11^th overall in 2006. But, man, that nickname is gold. Even if it was taken by NBA player Jason Williams first, it just works, I tell you.

In any case, with the Kings signing Bernier to a two-year, $2.5-million deal on Monday and former back-up Erik Ersberg being placed on waivers, it’s clear it’s only a matter of time before Quick is usurped as the incumbent to the Kings’ throne in the crease. In three games last year, Bernier went 3-0 with one shutout, a .957 save percentage, and a 1.30 goals-against average. Granted, he posted the shutout against the offense-deprived Nashville Predators and let in three goals as expected against the high-scoring Canucks, but he still got the job done.

"If I squint, I think I can see the end of my career with the Kings."

It’s very likely that the status quo will be preserved into the near future, with Quick starting as the number one this year. But, with Bernier set to earn $1.525 million in the second year of the contract, up from this year’s $765,000, the writing is clearly on the wall for a shake-up in nets. It only remains to be seen just how long Quick is able to hold on as his world gets turned upside down.

In fact, things are changing all over the place in L.A. After missing the playoffs for six-straight seasons, the team finally had a breakthrough last year thanks to its core group of young guns, including Doughty, Kopitar, Jack Johnson, Wayne Simmonds, and captain Dustin Brown.

Off-season acquisitions such as defenseman Willie Mitchell and depth forward Alexei Ponikarovsky should only help matters from here on out with the Kings poised to overtake the San Jose Sharks as the team to beat in the Pacific Division. It will happen. Likely this season too. Just like Bernier will Quick as the team’s starter. From there on out, it looks to be smooth sailing. Dare I say, smooth as chocolate?

Now in white chocolate!

Please note no Sasha Pokuloks were hurt during the writing of this post. Hopefully he doesn't get around to ever reading this, though. That dude could probably kick my ass.