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See, I don’t know how you undo all that has been done.
Last off season, “standing pat” would have been something a lot of fans wouldn’t like to see, but for me, there were some pieces that I would have preferred to see back.
This team, IMO, would be better if, for example, Talbot and Brodie had returned.
Tre chased a #1 goalie and made a big commitment and the cost, which he accepted, was extra dollars and both players.
There are cases to be made both ways on Markstrom.
It is kind of like the Peters decision, in the sense that he wasn’t necessarily proven as a top goalie year in and out, he was a positive contributor on an otherwise unsuccessful team. We do know he for sure was Tre’s guy.
We also do know that
- Talbot signed for 3 yrs at 3.67 M, Markstrom 6x6
- Talbot career stats 341 GP, 167-128-28 2.58, .916
- Markstrom 307 GP 127-135-34, 2.80, .910
How do we know Markstrom is worth an extra 2.3 million a year?
You can make the case that stats aren’t everything and Markstrom is a “top goalie”.
You can also propose the case that statistically, Markstrom is, well, … an average goalie, his career year was .918 last year in Vancouver (while Talbot put up .919 in Calgary), and Tre bought high, paying a guy starting the back 9, for a career year
It was reported that Tre was focusing on Markstrom and when he got around to lower priority Brodie, TJ had decided to accept the Leafs offer (although Tre had already soured that by trying to trade Brodie)
Meantime, this year
Talbot - 17-6-3 , 2.33, .926
Markstrom - 17-17-2, 2.73, .903
That’s a pretty stark difference. I know there are 2 sides of the street. The chances the team allows, and then what the goalie does to keep his own side of the street clean. On Markstrom’s 983 shots against, a .926 would be 23 fewer goals allowed. Even a modest .920 (which you probably want to see for 6 million bucks) would be 16 fewer goals
That would most likely put Calgary in at least reasonable contention for a playoff spot, even despite their scoring woes
Maybe it was Elliott’s stinkers that made Tre convinced that all star bulletproof top shelf goaltending was absolutely required, but at the sand time, teams with goalies like Osgood and Crawford won Cups. A weak goal can kill you, but you don’t need to find the greatest goalie on earth to win. Or more to the point, yeah, Elliott cost the team, but that’s just one of many things that needed upgrading to make the team a contender of any sort
The team in front has a lot to do with it. On that front, we have also seen that Rasmus was paid early for the next step he has not yet taken. His 4.55 cap hit is just a hair over Tanev’s 4.5. And he is absolutely nowhere near the player that either Tanev or Brodie are.
Can you imagine having Brodie and Tanev as the dependable guys in your top 4? Removing Hamonic and adding Tanev would have been a huge upgrade
If it’s me in charge, the GM change has to happen immediately
- Shop Tkachuk. All talk off the ice, and has quit on the team. Find someone who still believes he is a leader who drags his team in to battle and values him as such. Certainly someone who can work with his contract, because I suspect it does not end well here
- If it’s 1 for 1, target a top line RW
- Build a roster with people who play their position. No more of this 5 x middle 6 centres and 1 x RW nonsense
- Target a 1C, and make other Cs available (try to keep Lindholm)
- Ex. explore some kind of package for Buffalo targeting Eichel. (Really depends what Buffalo values, but little is off the table. It would be great to be able to offer Tkachuk plus another piece)
- See if Gio wants to go to a contender, out of respect for him
- Shop Markstrom, target a top pairing D. I’m not convinced that many goalies are worth 6 million, or that he is one of them. I believe he can put up a .920 under a full season of Sutter D but also I think a lot of goalies could
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