Quote:
Originally Posted by mikephoen
In the modern NHL back up goalies play 30+ games on most teams. That’s far, far more important than 13th forward. It’s probsbly more important than 3rd line centre or #4 defensemsn.
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Not sure I'd go that far but you're right that I probably slightly underrated the importance of a backup with that statement. I think top 4 defensemen and 3rd line centre are more important as they are playing 100% of the games while healthy. Goalie is the most important position in the game but the backup only plays a quarter to a third of the time approximately. Guess I was guilty of some of the hyperbole I was complaining about lol. That said in the playoffs the backup sees almost no time unless the starter craps the bed. If Rittich starts all the playoff games then where is the issue? Do people really think we're going to acquire a starter better than Rittich mid season? That's massively unrealistic.
We do not auto lose with Smith. Smith doesn't always let in a weak goal. Sometimes we win even when we let in a weak goal. Smith may start letting in less weak goals. We may start playing Smith even less.
I just don't see this as a critical issue that must be solved immediately. And even if it were its not as simple to fix as people make it out to be. There aren't a wealth of teams who have clear upgrades in goal that are actually available for trade. How many goalies clearly better than Smith/Rittich are available and at what price? I'm not sure there's more than a handful and I'm sure the prices on some of them make them not a realistic option for Treliving.