Colin Fraser’s journey as a King began exactly as all things should begin: with the Edmonton Oilers proving that they are trash.
Incredible work by Dean Lombardi here:
“The bottom line for me, I would have rather invested my money with Bernie Madoff than invest in Edmonton’s word,” Lombardi said.
ICE COLD.
Colin Fraser was acquired for Ryan Smyth, a huge fall for a man once traded for Tom Preissing and Kyle Quincey. Maybe huge is not the right word.
From there, Fraser would join the 4th line of the Kings for a large chunk of the next 3 seasons. Most notably, he scored the opening goal of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. Thank God for Martin Brodeur.
Also of note is the bizarre “make ’em pay” mantra that followed him around. Perhaps this originated from him making the Kings pay for the mistake of icing him night after night. I don’t honestly know. Of course, Fraser’s teammates also had to pay, often, since Fraser is a fan of Nickelback. A wonderful exchange there between a noted trashboy and a man that likes Nickelback.
At any rate, Colin Fraser’s play on the ice can be summed up by the word bad. One time he went -3 in just 1:52 of ice-time. I know, plus/minus stinks, whatever. That’s amazing. A goal was scored against his team almost every time he stepped on the ice! Rough night, pal.
His possession numbers are pretty ugly. Since arriving in LA, he has a 48.7% Corsi and a -6.2 Corsi Rel. He’s done that in pretty soft minutes, albeit with less than stellar teammates. That is bad. Bad job Mr. Fraser.
In Fraser, St. Louis is acquiring a good soldier. Basically, they have a guy that won’t complain when he inevitably has to be sent down because he’s simply not very good at hockey. Of course, being terrible at hockey hasn’t deterred the Blues from icing players like Ryan Reaves, so maybe Colin Fraser really has found his home.
Skill-wise, Fraser isn’t good at a whole lot. He’s a good character guy. He’s willing to fight for his teammates, though not particularly well (hockeyfights.com has him at 1-7-4 since arriving in LA — literally ouch). The most iconic moment he has as a King is the one where blood started pouring out of his eyes, probably after getting bested in a fight. He will sit well with the very blue collar crowd in St. Louis. He works hard, even though he’s bad. I can’t imagine a more St. Louis Blue than Colin Fraser. This is the team he was born to play for.
Improbably, Colin Fraser has been part of three Stanley Cup winners. Way to grab on to those coattails and never let go, buddy. When told that he could “lead, follow, or get out of the way” as a child, Colin Fraser dedicated himself to being the best follower possible. Hard to argue with his results, as he’s now going to another excellent team. The Blues are a team that is probably a good run of puck luck from finding itself with a deep playoff run. Colin Fraser is really good at this. Thankfully, they’re still the Blues, so they’ll screw this up and trade for something they don’t need at the deadline.
My favorite moment of Colin Fraser’s career is the moment he signed with the Blues. I wish him no ill will as he seemed like a not-terrible dude, but I have no sadness over his departure. Goodbye, Colin. May your first round exit be quick and painless.