Quote:
Originally Posted by Flacker
My issue with Sigalet this year is the return of Smith following his injury. As a player he is going to say he is ready, even when he isn't quite there yet. It was pretty clear that Smith returned before he was 100% and Rittich/Gillies likely would have given them a better chance to win those games. That is 100% on Sigalet IMO.
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Except that when Smith did actually return it was absolutely not clear that either of Rittich or Gillies would have given the Flames a better chance to win. Both guys stumbled pretty hard when they were given the reins, which is also disappointing.
I am still hopeful that Rittich can be a lot better over the course of a full season. He looked excellent prior to Smith's injury. Just for consideration, Mikka Kiprusoff was stellar in his first two years as a backup it SJ—playing 5 games with a 1.95GAA and a 0.902 SP in 2001, and then a 2.48GAA and a 0.915 SP in 20 games in 2002. In 2002–03 he replaced Nabokov as the Sharks new starter, and he stumbled to a 3.25GAA and a 0.879SP. He was 26-years-old. Rittich is 25 and just finished his first NHL season with some real bright spots and some blunders. I think he will be much better next year.