I was really excited when Elliott came here last season because I thought he would solidify the position, but look how that turned out. There's no way he could come back after that start and the playoff disaster.
I'm not really high on Smith, but I'll reserve judgement until a few months into the season. It can't be any worse than Elliott's start last year.
I agree that BT likely ran into some hard options:
- Bishop wanted to play in Dallas (and for big money/term)
- MAF didn't want to play here
- Raanta would cost an arm & a leg to acquire and there's no guarantee he would be the next Talbot
He went with a guy who he's familiar with (along with Maloney) who's a stopgap until Gillies and/or Parsons are ready. He'll provide 55-60 games of solid (not spectacular) goaltending and hopefully the with the team not having to learn GG system again, he will flourish.
I hope they leave Gillies in the AHL for another season, bring up Rittich as the backup and leave Parsons in the ECHL. Both of them need to play a lot of games and learn.
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