Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAllTheWay
True enough (admittedly I thought he had played less than that). To play devils advocate though, it was 5 years ago and his numbers were slightly below average at best over the course of his 3 seasons. At both levels.
Agreed. And I'm sure the Flames do have the patience and he will get his shot. Even if it's not right off the bat.
If I'm reading you correctly it seems like you're saying Ramo and Berra's successful adjustment is an inevitability? If so I would have to disagree. There are positive signs for sure but there's no guarantee either guy does it right away, let alone at all.
As of now, for me, Ramo's 5 years removed from a few seasons of average to below average play at the NHL level. Berra has zero NHL experience. Both are pretty much unknowns, Ramo a little less so (looked good tonight, first time I've seen him play).
So enter MacDonald. If Ramo and/or Berra make the quick adjustment then by all means roll with them. If they don't though then what's the rush to continue to try to ram rod one or both into a starters role? If they start to falter then MacDonald is there to take some of the pressure off.
Again, some guys do well getting thrown right into a steep learning curve and some not so much. MacDonalds here for some insurance and I think the Flames agree or why else would they have bothered to bring him back?
Like it or not, over the past 5 years MacDonalds the only proven NHL goalie we have. At the very least he can hopefully help with the development/transition of Ramo and Berra. At best he might become a tradeable commodity, as you said.
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It's not entirely like that. They've seen the three play in camp. If Berra and Ramo are both hands down better goalies in camp it's not like they'll show up to a game and forget how to play hockey. Not saying this will happen, but remember that 04 kipper had very little nhl experience when he came over too. Hell, no one on the planet has nhl experience until they start playing in the nhl. It's not as important as you make it seem. We should go with our two best goalies, this just makes sense to me.