L.A. sends draft choices to Canucks in exchange for veteran netminder

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have acquired goaltender Dan Cloutier from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for a second-round selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and a conditional selection in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, it was announced today by Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi.

 

Cloutier, 30, played in 13 games this past season for Vancouver and he recorded a 8-3-1 record, a 3.17 goals-against-average and a .892 save-percentage.  He was limited to 13 games due to a season-ending knee injury he suffered at Anaheim on November 20, 2005. "Dan is a proven number one goaltender who gives us stability at a critical position.  His game has continued to evolve and I believe his best years are ahead of him.  Most importantly, he brings leadership and a competitive fire that translates through to his teammates," said Lombardi. 

 

The first goalie in Canucks history to post three consecutive 30-win seasons (2001-04), Cloutier, a 6-1, 195-pound native of Mont-Laurier, Quebec, set career highs for minutes played (3,539) and goals-against-average (2.27), and he tied career-best marks for wins (33) and save-percentage (.914) during the 2003-04 season while leading Vancouver to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year. Cloutier also recorded 33 victories with the Canucks in 2002-03, and the veteran of more than 300 career regular season NHL contests also had 31 victories – including a career high seven shutouts and personal-best 62 games played – in 2001-02, his first full season in Vancouver.  

 

 Originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the first-round (26th overall) of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Cloutier has a career record of 131-124-33, a 2.66 goals-against-average and a .902 save-percentage in 318 career regular season NHL games with the Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning and Rangers.  In 25 career post-season NHL appearances, Cloutier has a record of 10-13, a 3.31 goals-against-average and a .872 save-percentage. Prior to turning pro, Cloutier helped Team Canada win a Gold Medal at the 1995 World Junior Championship, where he posted a 3-0 record and a 2.67 goals-against-average in three games.  Cloutier’s junior career also included three-plus seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (1992-96) and one partial season with the Guelph Storm (1995-96) of the Ontario Hockey League where he had a record of 68-51-10 in 142 appearances and was a member of the Greyhound club that won the 1993 Memorial Cup.