Quote:
Originally Posted by transplant99
There is little question that Smith either needs to be better or get replaced somehow and at some point.
He is now the defacto back-up moving forward so he needs to put up those kind of numbers.
So where are his numbers in those regards?
Using those who have played at least 12 games (roughly a 1/3 of the schedule thus far) and assuming a backup plays 1/3 of a season (26 games)...lets extrapolate.
Smith is 36th in GAA.....so 5th among backups assuming the 31 starters are above him
47th in save %.....16th among backups assuming 31 starters are better.
21st in wins...again assuming other teams starters are better across the board he is way ahead of most. (I realize this is very flawed given his status at seasons start).
So, as a backup, and assuming he plays as he has all season, he is actually pretty good numbers wise even if the optics have been brutal.
Again, Rittich cant start them all and given what we have seen thus far, Smith is not a terrible option to play the backup role.
That should buy BT lots of time to see if he can address the issue this season or if he will have to wait until the draft when lots more options and certainly more value can be found.
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Unless I am doing it wrong, according to NHL.com, only 50 goalies have played 12 games or more. That would make all those ranks out of 50. The most important stat is probably SA%, where he is 47th out of 50 goalies.
Out of goalies that played in 21 games (the number Smith has), he is 24th out of 24 in SA%, 20th in GAA and 19th in wins.
Considering the team was 1st in the West until a few days ago, it's not hard to see that Smith is holding the team back from being better. We could be building a cushion over other teams instead of having to battle and jostle for position all season.