Quote:
Originally Posted by kehatch
The bottom line for me is the Flames need better goaltending this season then they got last season. But they have the same goalies, and one is turning 36 and coming of an injury / poor finish.
We can debate semantics, individual details, or hypothetical situations all day long. But the above is fact. There is legitimate concern that the goaltending will be the same/worse and it is a legitimate risk going into the season.
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Absolutely.
Its the teams Achilles heel for sure.
Smith has age and health. The other goaltenders have a lack of experience.
The added depth and offence should provide a bigger buffer than the 27th ranked offence afforded them last year though, so that helps. Hopefully the coaching staff makes the powerplay more impactful taking some pressure off as well.
The big thing is to have a season that gets off to a good start, gets them in a playoff spot somewhat comfortably so they can rotate Smith in a reasonable fashion.
My biggest worry is the Rittich waiver issue that may or may not create enough worry to keep the team from seeing how ready Gillies is to share more of the workload for next season.