Vancouver ships Potvin to Kings
El Segundo, CA (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Kings have acquired goaltender Felix Potvin from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for future considerations.
Potvin had agreed to a minor-league assignment by Vancouver on Sunday.
Potvin, who signed a one-year, $2.7 million deal with the Canucks in the off-season, was 14-17-3 this season with Vancouver, posting a 3.08 goals-against average.
The 29-year-old has appeared in 436 career NHL games with Toronto, the New York Islanders and Canucks. Potvin's career mark is 179-183-60 with a 2.96 goals against average and a .905 save percentage.
"It's a big relief, I'm thrilled to go with the Kings," Potvin said on a conference call. "Right now, I'm just putting what happened this year in the back of my mind, going forward with a fresh start.
"My goal is to play in the playoffs every year; my goal is to help the Kings get there. They're a real feared team around the conference. It's a matter of getting on track."
"We feel this acquisition will bring us some stability to our goaltending and give us some momentum as we continue to strive towards the playoffs," said Kings president/general manager Dave Taylor. "Felix Potvin is a proven NHL goaltender with a great deal of playoff experience, and that can only help our team in the future."
"He will definitely be one of our two goalies here,'' said Andy Murray. "He's going to play lots of games for us. As soon as we became aware of the fact that Vancouver had made a deal for Cloutier, there was immediate interest on our coaching staff."
The Kings are in a tussle with several other teams for the bottom spots in the Western Conference playoff race.
Vancouver acquired Potvin from the Islanders for Bill Muckalt, Dave Scatchard and goaltender Kevin Weekes in December 1999.
Potvin was a second-round pick (31st overall) in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by Toronto. He is third on the Maple Leafs' all-time goaltender list in wins (160) and games played (369).
The veteran has a 25-27 record in playoff games with a 2.85 goals against average. He has five shutouts in the post-season, including three straight 1-0 victories over Chicago in the 1994 Campbell Conference finals. Potvin became only the third goaltender in NHL history to post three consecutive shutouts in one playoff series.
Potvin's best season came in 1993-94 with Toronto, when he tied the franchise's record for wins with a 34-22-9 record and a 2.89 goals-against average.
02/15 19:31:31 ET
-Home-