Quote:
Originally Posted by Dion
I remember him coming in for the injured Don Edwards and my late father saying he would never make it in the NHL. We made a bet and I won  |
In 86, when he was actually became a full time NHler and not an emergency call up, it was Lemelin he supplanted not Edwards.
1986 playoffs he almost gave away the St. L series, and then first round exits in 87 and second round in 88 negated decent regular seasons. In 88-89 after losing only 6 games all year, he did not have a good first 6 games vs Vancouver but of course made up for it. The infamous Stan Smyl breakaway was not the best save; a last second reaction skate save on Skriko was not as visually spectacular but more dangerous chance than Smyl chugging in.
From then on he was solid, but yeah, especially after 1990 and the Morel debacle, and the overreaction by ownership which lead to the firing or Crisp and basically the departure of Fletcher the next year, he was getting blamed a lot for the failures. The 1991 loss vs Edm was the last straw for media and fans and playing in the home town that turned on him. Play declined severely and was then traded.
Firmly behind Kiprusoff as #2 all time and no one close to him below him, played his heart out and was a talented fun loving guy, and the treatment of him for his last season in the early 2000s was brutal. Thankfully, amends were made.
Here's the tail end, worth the full watch but the save on Skriko was at 1:57 and replayed 30 seconds later.