Quote:
Originally Posted by thymebalm
What do you guys think of Karri Ramo?
When we picked him up, I heard the opinions range from "best goalie in the KHL" to "total NHL bust".
His KHL club is in the finals right now, his stats are top of the crop, and his toe save is the top highlight on the front page of the KHL website right now.
He's 26 years old. Kiprusoff's NMC is toast on July 1... though the temptation to move him will be high, what kind of value do you put on the impact a veteran Finn like Kipper could have sharing the net with a young Finn like Ramo?
Ramo says he intends to finish out his KHL deal, that's another season after this one. Will Kiprusoff be around then to work with Ramo?
Is Ramo, like so many other prospect exchanges, a mere formality with no NHL potential?
Change is coming for this organization. Another should mention on the goalie front is Danny Taylor. He's matched Irving in his ability to win all season, and at times shown more consistency than Leland. Should we sign Taylor and bring him into the goaltending prospect fold?
Lots of food for thought.
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I'd love to be able to comment on Ramo. I just haven't been able to watch any of him unfortunately. If he can do what he's doing in the KHL, I'll be pleasantly surprised.
The goaltending situation is certainly an interesting one. If Ramo comes over to back up Kipper, what do you do with Irving? (and vice versa). Boy, is it going to be an interesting off-season.
Ideally I'd like to see Kipper stay next season with Irving backing him up full time (getting in about 20+ starts depending on performance). Then, in 2013/14, either trade Kipper or let him walk, bring Ramo over and HOPEFULLY have a St. Louis Blues-type situation where you've got two outstanding young-ish goaltenders. I understand that's unlikely, but it'd definitely be ideal to have Irving and Ramo split time.
In Abbotsford, next season, sign Taylor to a year-long PTO to be the starter (or even a 1-year, $550k contract if that's what's going to keep him in Abby). Have Ortio come over from Finland and back up Taylor. Perhaps give him 15 or so starts to see if Ortio can handle it. If he can, increase that number.
I 100% agree with you about Taylor thymebalm. Taylor's been an absolute gem and whoever it was in the Abbotsford organization that scouted and found him is a genius. I can honestly say, this season, Irving was technically the #1 goaltender on paper, but nobody I know of can argue that Taylor hasn't been #1b while Irving has been #1a. The best part is that he's only 25 years old. He's just reaching his prime.