I hope Bishop happens - still think he is the best available goalie out there right now. I would be comfortable in re-signing Ortio at that moment too. Only the acquisition cost + what is the ballpark number that Bishop is hoping to sign the following season is the question.
The Reimer vs Ramo talk.
Who cares? I like Ramo, and I think he is comparable to Reimer actually. In any stretch of games, one is going to look much better than the other - that is the problem with both of them. Ramo stepped up and looked like a pretty decent starter 2 seasons ago quite often, and again after he got recalled and all the way up to his injury.
Now, I would have been hoping that the Flames re-sign Ramo if the other rumored goalies didn't work out - but not after the injury (and I feel really badly for Ramo there). Too much risk in re-signing him, and he won't be back until pre-season(?), and that carries a lot of risk. Flames start off badly again, and it snowballs into a lost season rather quickly.
Reimer is just the headliner on some other goalies available for free this off-season. If the Flames sign Reimer, I would probably not be very comfortable with re-signing Ortio. I would want a much more experienced backup who has also played a season or two as a starter. Enroth seems like the best bang-for-the-buck type goalie out there in the back-up category. Maybe Montoya instead of Reimer, also with Enroth as the backup/1B guy if need be.
I look at all the names above as a stopgap - including Ramo if he was healthy. Reimer is not a tier above Ramo, and Reimer has consistently blown-up and looked terrible at times as well. I would agree that there is some potential left (as I would also think there is some potential in Ramo) but not a heck of a lot I bet. I don't think he has the ability to become a consistent top 10 goalie in the league.
With that being said, I really hope that the acquisition cost and the contract Bishop is looking for in a year's time are both decent. It would place the Flames in the top 5 or so in the league for goaltending (IMO), and provide time for Gillies, MacDonald, Schneider and even Rittich a chance to develop without being rushed. Having Bishop in the organization will allow these goalies to properly develop, until one of them pushes themselves onto the roster as a backup and then pushes Bishop out.
I don't favor 'blocking' goalies as much as the 'catching' goalies, but there is no arguing that Bishop is one of the elite goalies in the NHL, and if the rumors are true that he doesn't use over-sized pads, then there is little to worry about any 'correction' that may happen next season. He also handles the puck really well, and that is something that can completely disrupt zone entries for opposing teams. Especially some of the big heavy teams like LA, St. Louis and Anaheim, who send it in and use their over-sized forwards to battle the puck with our regular or undersized D. Bishop will help disrupt those dump-ins and get the puck going the other way. That has always been a huge asset to a team to have.
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