I think they are working on it. You can see when he is confident he challenges the shooter and puts himself into positions to make save. The problem is when things start to go south on him he retreats to the goal line and just tries to be big or chases the pucks.
He has had his ups and downs and it seems he just can't keep his confidence at a level that is needed as a goalie right now.
IMO the reason why the team is trying to let him work through it is two-fold.
Firstly, a Mike Smith that can get back to form is an asset because his puck handling skills is a game changer when he is on. He is the best in the league playing the puck and absolutely neutralizes the dump and chase game because he can quickly recover the puck and get it to a dman to start a rush.
Secondly, I don't know if they have an appetite to give up assets for something that isn't a sure thing as an upgrade. Maybe closer to the trade deadline something may come up.
For me, I hit the reset button after the Pittsburgh game as that was the low level point for Smith and the team. From that point you can see that Rittich has been getting more minutes. Probably would have even more if not for that six game run Smith had. So you are seeing shift in the starters job, which I am okay with. He seems to have a great relationship with Rittich. I think the general consensus around those that follow the team is that Rittich is learning a few things from Smith in regards to playing the puck.
Smith numbers since that Pittsburgh game 8-4-1 .901 with GAA of 2.49. That is something to build off of since we are seeing Rittich start to get the bulk of the starts anyways.
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