Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Is this something that EVERYONE does not know? I seriously doubt it.
I suspect that the Flames coaches, who have a better read on Gillies than anyone, likely decided that Smith was a clearly better option than Gillies on Thursday night. They also have a better grasp of what is good or harmful for Gillies’s own development, and they are furthermore highly invested in seeing Gillies succeed. The Flames coaches are probably leery of a situation in which they are riding a first-year NHL starter and a NHL rookie into the playoffs as their goalie tandem.
There are plenty of good reasons to refrain from giving Gillies NHL games at this juncture.
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Sure there are, and I would love for them to have found a backup that solves this problem without Gillies.
But they haven't, Gillies was there, and Smith sucks.
If Flames management is still primarily invested in getting Smith going, then that is concerning. We need to be looking at a solution at this point, and trying your goalies is a part of that. If what we're seeing from Smith is so much better than what they expect from Gillies that it's not worth starting him (as in, the start in Boston that was pretty predictable was
still better than they thought Gillies would do)... then move on from him.
What I can't figure out is if it's a distrust in Gillies or if what happened in Boston was still a surprise.
Hitching us to the Gillies wagon is unfair. I'm on the 'start a goalie that isn't Smith' wagon. The goalie sitting on the bench in Flames gear is usually a pretty solid option to talk about.
Every trade option, waiver pickup and goalie call-up are shouted down. So what is the solution?
Are you going to continue to tell me Smith is a good option back there?
All I keep seeing is every hopeful solution being shouted at every time it comes up. But I don't understand what you guys think is the best way forward here besides 'keep letting Smith work it out'.