Quote:
Originally Posted by New Era
Yay! Stats! Yet the eyeball test said other things. Hiller scared the every loving crap out of every Flames fan the moment the puck crossed into the Flames zone. Hiller was looking every bit the shooter tutor be became this season. I'm sorry you didn't see it that way, but it was extremely evident where Hiller was headed. Since Treliving was doing his best to move Hiller I have a feeling he saw things the same way. I think he knew it was only a matter of time before the book was made on Hiller and his habits were exposed. Sadly it happened on, and to, the Flames and not someone else.
I really hate it when people rely so heavily on stats. This is the trap Oilers fans fall into all the time. Nail Yakupov isn't complete dog dookie in a hockey jersey, look at what he did in so-and-so month! Yeah, he scored some points, but his play was still compete garbage. He still made poor reads, still couldn't check hit coat, and was still lost on the ice for most of his shift. But... but... stats!!! But... but... watch the freaking games and tell me you can't see the how the guy really looks! I mean, it's like the whole "bring back Iginla" argument where the fanboys point to his stats and say, "See! Iggy still has it!" All you have to do is watch one Colorado hockey game to recognize the stats are flawed and so is the player. The stats say one thing but the eye balls say something completely different. For Hiller it was very obvious after the all star game last year where he was headed. When a guy can't catch a puck or control a rebound anymore it is a pretty big sign where that goaltender is headed.
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Spin it however you want, Jonas Hiller was instrumental in helping last year's team make the playoffs, more than Ramo that's for sure. This year was a travesty but you can't take away last year's contribution. You are right about signs appearing, especially in the playoffs, but I'll let it go because without his early/mid season form, the Flames would be 7 years out of the playoffs right now. He got older and lost his game, it happens to everyone eventually. Doesn't change the fact that last year's Hiller put in, overall, one of the best goaltender seasons in Flames history, outside of Vernon and Kiprusoff.