Dancing in the Reign: Get Your Agent Talking To The SEL, Erik

Erik Ersberg has been a pleasant addition to the Kings’ Goaltending Depth Chart for the past three seasons. The friendly Swede was never a spotlight player, but held a character full of class. Ersberg failed to earn consistent starts in net, but has been nothing but a humble, positive Plan B…and, sometimes C. I’ve always seen Erik as a dependable back-up option, but he was never able to earn the confidence from Kings’ brass. I vouched for Ersberg when Jonathan Bernier was assigned from Manchester during the birth of Jonathan Quick‘s child. I vouched for him all last season, while Terry Murray over-worked Jonathan Quick into swiss cheese. With a career record of 18-19-12, it’s not like he’s been a burden in the crease, but has never received consistent opportunities to prove his worth.
With an unfortunate injury suffered in training camp last Sunday, Ersberg’s future with the Kings looks all but over. Ersberg hurt his hand while deflecting a shot in practice, and is questionable for Tuesday’s preseason matchup with the Anaheim Ducks. According to head coach Terry Murray, Ersberg was slotted to start in Wednesday’s preseason opener in Colorado. In his place came Jonathan Bernier, who will ultimately become his replacement. Bernier was solid with wins in all three of his starts last year. A goaltending tandem of Quick and Bernier is too attractive to not utilize this season. What should result from this season? A trade of Jonathan Quick or Jonathan Bernier. A system of two elite goalies is intriguing, but won’t work. I truly believe this year will determine which of these two will ink a long-term contract, with the other getting dealt for draft picks and/or prospects.
According to Terry Murray, which was first reported by Rich Hammond of the LA Kings Insider, Ersberg still has a shot to make a case for himself. Murray said the following: “Because it was kind of a surprise to me that he was out there (in practice today), I’ll just take some time here to look it over and think about it,” Murray said. “But yes, I do want to get him in.” What a bunch of nonsense. Let’s not kid ourselves here. The stars have already been aligned, and Murray is only saying what he is mandated to when speaking to the media. Don’t expect Ersberg to be optioned to the Manchester Monarchs. The smart, sensible option would have me guessing Erik Ersberg opting for the Swedish Elite League, where he already has two years of experience. ‘Hej då’, Erik.