Quote:
Originally Posted by ResAlien
I know that as a fanbase we're desperate for a clear cut starter after the goaltending fiasco the last few years...
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For me, this is the key (Elliott debate aside for a moment). And the way I figure it, we desperately need one of our "deep goalie draft pool" to step up and take charge in the next few seasons (like a Holtby) because we haven't had much success in the FA market, overall.
Arguably, without Kipper's reign, our goaltending history since the mid-90s has been Flyer-level bad. Who was the last goalie we DRAFTED to become a consistently successful NHL starter AS A FLAME? Vernon? (Surely not The Kidder, you jest!)
With respect to the Elliott debate, I'm not a big fan of his upright-style. He seems to be cut from the "puck blocker" cloth. The more I watch, the more I think his stint in St Loo was successful because of the team defensive structure. Our young team needs a guy who can make a save he shouldn't possibly make every now and again (possibly even more regularly than that) as we strengthen team D. I'm not sure Elliott is that guy.
Kipper spoiled us because he kept a lot of sub-par Flames teams afloat post 2004 (as many posters have elsewhere mentioned on this board). So many unreal saves that seemingly only he could make. It is probably unrealistic to expect this level of goaltending again...right?
Here's a link to the list of Flames goalies since 1980, for interest's sake.
http://goaliesarchive.com/flames/index.html
(Year by year:
http://goaliesarchive.com/flames/yearbyyear.html )