Quote:
Originally Posted by GoJetsGo
A young goalie that we hope will be a starter some day isn't going to be developed by not playing.
Treliving has spoken about this topic at length.
It makes zero sense to have Gillies sitting on the bench. He needs to play.
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I took a look at most of the starting goalies for this season. The most common pattern I found is that these goalies generally go through anywhere from 1-3 seasons in the AHL, typically playing around 40 games by the end as well as picking up some games in the NHL presumably as a call up.
For the next season or two after, there's usually a backup role of ~20 games at least before taking over the starting goalie job the next season.
There were a couple anomalies (Pekka Rinne took over starting job without spending significant time in the AHL, Lundqvist came over from SHL and became starter etc) but otherwise remained relatively consistent.
Super small data pool (looking strictly at only starting goalies for the 2016-17 season) but thought it's worth mentioning. There is no specific make or break deadline when you look at what age some of these guys become the starter or even get NHL starts. All I'd take from this is that both sides have a point of getting these prospects playing time, and in time pushing them onto the next level.
Given Gillies and Rittich have only spent ONE season in the AHL playing significant number of games, it's okay to buffer the team with a veteran backup for at least another season. See how these two do in the next year and reevaluate then.