Quote:
Originally Posted by 868904
I think it's pretty clear that the Flames don't think Rittich is capable of being a number 1 goalie, this is supported by what Burke said. They felt their best chance of getting a number 1 was to have Smith work through his problems.
Rittich has always been the "extra". Management can't stop talking glowingly about Gillies and Parsons. In Stockton, Huska always seemed to favour Gillies even with Rittich playing well.
Seems to me they think Rittich is a good back up who can put up good numbers when he is the backup, but when forced into carrying the ball, he will fail. They are basing this on last year, rightly or wrongly.
They have no choice now but to see if Rittich can be the number 1 because every other goalie in this organization has failed. Rittich is the number 1 by default!
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I don’t understand why management would feel this way. No one really knows if a guy can be a number 1 until he is given the opportunity. Right now, the opportunity is there and Rittich should be given the chance to go with it.
Kipper was never a number 1 goalie until the opportunity came up. There was no doubt he was a number 1 goalie for this team after he ran with that opportunity.
Last nights game would have been a perfect way to transition Rittich into playing more games. It’s against a less-skilled team that the flames can dominate when they play their game... which they did last night. Let’s Rittich get his confidence up for his next game that is a bigger test because he’s coming up against McDavid. I know the oilers are no good but McDavid’s line is always dangerous.
Now, instead of a confident goalie who would have gotten a nice win last night to start a home stand... Rittich will be a goalie that
1. hasn’t played in a week,
2. is facing the best offensive player on a division rival on Saturday night in a must-win game, and
3. is probably thinking that management sees him as merely a last resort because smith is just that bad instead of showing confidence in Rittich by giving him the net against Montreal.
I bet if Rittich has a bad night, they go right back to smith. Smith gets multiple bad games to regain his confidence and play... but rittich will have a very short leash.
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