Originally Posted by nmhen
You know, I never once doubted your collective passion for the Flames or hockey in general, but this thread demonstrates it without a doubt. 20 pages on this. Seriously, that's remarkable.
As a Wild fan, I wish Backy well. He was a rock for us for several years when we didn't have the offense to not have to rely on our goalie arguably more than is reasonable. Backy was always a positional goalie. Sort of the anti-Hasek. If his angles and his positioning were on, he could gobble up rebounds, and it seemed it was in the proper position to make the save before the shot was even taken. Once the rebounds started popping out, or the puck was hitting him on the skate, or the cheater, or some place other than the crest, that meant he was off on his positioning that night and it would be an adventure.
He has had several injuries the past few seasons and, when he did play, he was simply not as good anymore. Sort of what we're living through with Pominville now. Maybe that was the cumulative effect of the injuries/recovery. I don't know. But he has been a not good goalie for a couple seasons now.
I never blame the player for the contract. If the team offers the deal, it's on the team, not the player for signing it. At the time of his current deal, it wasn't as big a potential risk as it is now. Remember, Harding hadn't really grabbed the reigns as a starter, and then he was diagnosed with MS in 2012. Backy was extended in 2013. I can't fault Fletcher on that. Even giving him the NMC. In a vacuum that made sense (you COULD argue that, with the "backup" having MS, Backy had a virtual NMC as long as he played well, but.....). The issue for the Wild is that EVERYONE gets a NMC, if you're older than 25, it seems. So, outside of the vacuum, in the real world, Chuck has hog tied himself - and that is a part of the Wild's problems for sure. But, back to Backy, whether he deliberately hid it or not, the perception is that he withheld his injury at the end of last season until he wouldn't have been healthy in time for the Wild to buy him out. Again, I'm not saying he and Grossman did that intentionally, but....
I don't know what you can expect from Backy in games. He got a full game in the preseason, and had a shutout. But he hasn't had a sniff all season, and really the entire second half of last season. If he plays to the level he was playing at the last time he was healthy, he's more or less worthless. If all the rest he's gotten the past year helps him find the fountain of youth, then he can be effective.
By the looks of this thread, I guess I shouldn't expect much from Jones. Maybe that means I end up pleasantly surprised, but it definitely means I won't be disappointed.
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