Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
It's extraordinarily rare for goalies to break into the NHL as starters when they're 21-22. Brossoit and Gillies are 5-6 years away.
And you and I may not like the strategy, but it's clear the Flames' braintrust do not want to spend years in the wilderness. They want to turn this team around fast. The fastest way to to that is to replace Kipper with a 24-year-old goalie knocking on the door of being a quality NHL starter.
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Goalies typically take longer. But it is not 'extraordinarily rare'. Gillies is 6'5" and already tecnically sound.
The Flames can fill their goaltending holes for a few years while they are rebuilding.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JiriHrdina
To offer a counter viewpoint.
- Kipper is already showing steady deterioration in his game. Even if he is willing to play for a few more years, is he a capable #1 goalie still?
- You aren't going to acquire a proven young starter with Iginla. But Bernier is as close as you can get to a guy with enough pedigree that you can project him to be a good #1. There aren't many young goalies around the league I would take ahead of him
- Iginla isn't going to net you a #1 centre, or even #1 centre prospect
I think Bernier is a nice piece to get for Iginla. In a perfect world I would try to get Derek Forbot added as well - he hasn't developed greatly yet but still has some impressive raw abilities.
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No he's not. He was great last year. So unless 'steady deterioration' means this year...
Also, Kipper didn't play during the lockout. Training camp included no actual games. Kipper is typically a slow starter. Several veteran goalies got off to slow starts this year.
Just when Kipper started to get going, he got hurt. He played well last night - let's see how things go before we write him off as a has been.