If you missed out on the review of Anze Kopitar, check it out here.
Martin Jones #31
Age: 24
Contract status: 550k through 2014-15 (RFA)
Stats:
His season
In hindsight, it's easy now to say that without the contributions of both Martin Jones and Ben Scrivens the Kings may very well have not made the playoffs. The Kings number one goaltender missed a stretch of two months of the season due to a groin injury, a period of time in which the Kings played 24 games without their bona fide starter.
Jones put together a stretch during that time of 8 consecutive wins, and nine games in which is save percentage was .920 or greater. He also posted three shutouts. While the argument could be made that during that stretch of time the Kings gave much better goal support to Jones than Quick had had previously, the young rookie netminder was not only keeping the Kings in games but he was absolutely stealing them. In five of those 11 games he faced 30+ shots, and only twice did he face under 25 (Islanders, Dallas). When you get down to the numbers of it, over the course of the season Jones received 2.6 goals per game in offense, while Jonathan Quick received 2.4. However, Jones faced an average of 27.4 shots a night while Quick faced an average of 24.5.
Jones played so well during that stretch that when it was time for Quick to be removed from the DL and inserted back into the lineup, the Kings opted to jettison Ben Scrivens from the roster. While all credit is due to Scrivens and his equally impressive run of form when the Kings needed him, Jones composed style, calm demeanor, and fantastic results forced the hand of the upper management to make a spot for him. While he did hit somewhat of a rough patch in early to mid January, the Kings back-up did everything you could hope for as a No. 2.
(Scrivens contemplating his eventual move to Edmonton)
Jones, a goaltender who was passed over in the draft, wrapped up a more than respectable rookie campaign with a 12-6-0 record in 19 appearances, with a .934 save percentage and a 1.81 goals against average.
And really, who could forget his debut nine-round shootout victory against the Ducks?
Moving Forward
Jones will be a restricted free agent at the end of this coming season and there is no reason to believe he won't be back with the Kings. The 24-year old won't command much of a raise from his league minimum contract, and he will be restricted rather than unrestricted. That being said, if he can put together another fine stretch of games in the 2014-15 season we could be looking at another Jonathan Bernier-Jonathan Quick situation.
While the sample size was certainly small on Jones this season, he showed tremendous poise, ability, athleticism, and most importantly an improved bit of consistency. These are the types of things that make teams wonder if one day the current No. 2 with the Kings could be a No. 1.
That, to me at least, seems to be the only question in mind when it comes to Martin Jones moving forward. If he steps up big again are we going to be looking at a possible goaltender battle. I don't think I need to remind anyone that Jonathan Quick is signed until the end of time with the Kings (2023), so at some point the writing on the wall might be there for Jones. The goaltender market is one that is always rather unsettled, and a No. 2 with one team may be a No. 1 with another in the near future. At 24 he is still rather young by goaltending standards, but he did a lot to vault himself into some bit of relevance this season. Whether that strong form continues remains to be seen. However, you have to look down the pipeline a bit and guys like Patrik Bartosak, J.F. Berube, and recently drafted Alec Dillon, and wonder if Jones' time in the sun may be with another franchise. Especially with Quick essentially signed for life with the Kings.
These are obviously things to consider in the distant future. In the more immediate category, Jones will need to replicate his 2013-14 form and be solid when called upon by the Kings. He may get his chances early as Jonathan Quick is recovering from wrist surgery and may not be 100% come time to open the season.
For what he did in his limited albeit critical role this season, it's hard to give Jones anything less than a solid A in my book. In fact, I'd say the Scrivens/Jones tandem as well earns an A+. Like previously stated, the Kings might not have been in the playoffs if not for the play of both backup goaltenders. I don't think anyone expected a run of 14-7-3, (14-2-3 up until Dec. 23rd) while Quick was out.
Final Grade: A
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