Quote:
Originally Posted by powderjunkie
I posted this in the Big Save Dave thread a few weeks ago; seems relevant at the moment:
Right now we have the privilege to piss away some trivial points in the middle of the season, which is more likely to help than hinder in late May. The worst case scenario might be losing a game 7 on the road. Then again, we might lose a game 7 at home with a tired goalie...
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Rittich isn't going to be getting over 50 starts, never mind 60 +, so maybe I'm missing the main point of the argument.
Another problem I have with Smith is that he's wasting a valuable development spot. A lot of goalies develop as backups and end up gradually becoming starters. Look at how the Capitals, Lightning, Kings, Sharks, Ducks, etc. have been developing goalies. It would be nice if our backup had at least some upside, rather than an extremely sharp decline.
You want to give Rittich a rest? Good, I largely agree. But why not give starts to someone who has potential and can grow. I hope the Flames don't acquire any goalies on the wrong side of 30. Definitely no one on the wrong side of 35 (like Smith, Howard, or Anderson), except maybe McElhinney if he's dirt cheap.
People are saying the Flames shouldn't trade Smith, but I think that's silly. It's clearly the biggest whole in the organization by a mile. Why not fix it.