Flames goaltending 2019-20

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I doubt very much that he will find a situation like what you describe. Smith is likely not going to find a playing situation in which he is getting even half the NHL starts. Who is in the market for a 37-year-old starting goalie who played in 42 games last year, and not because of injuries?

He won't be guaranteed 42 or whatever starts...anywhere. But he will probably find somewhere that will give him the opportunity to compete for that many starts. Which his salary will reflect.

Calgary may be the final destination or not, but there are others looking at the same situation. Edmonton comes to mind as well.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Toonage

^ Agreed. But I don't think that will stop him from having a look or his agent making calls. Regardless of what GMs think of him, he clearly still feels he has it. It will be his gamble.

That's why I feel he's going to be too proud to take a low salary or accept a backup job. Listening to his interviews all season he was pretty defiant towards any criticism and he may think given his playoffs that he can still start which commands starting salary. Time will tell I suppose as he may change his tune when reality sets in as likely no teams will be offering him a starting job or anything more than backup goaltender contracts and that's if there's much of any interest at all given his age and sub-.900 SV%.

[Toonage]

Exactly. He may still be looking for a job come the fall and the Flames are likely to grab their 1B around the draft or July 1.

I just can't see Smith committing to a deal with the Flames.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

That's why I feel he's going to be too proud to take a low salary or accept a backup job. Listening to his interviews all season he was pretty defiant towards any criticism and he may think given his playoffs that he can still start which commands starting salary. Time will tell I suppose as he may change his tune when reality sets in as likely no teams will be offering him a starting job or anything more than backup goaltender contracts and that's if there's much of any interest at all given his age and sub-.900 SV%.

I have a terrible feeling that management still has confidence in him. I certainly hope I am wrong, I would not be interested in seeing another Mike smith game in flames silks.

[Roof-Daddy]

I think management loves Smittys puck handling and how much of a load it takes off the defense. I hope they don't sign him but wouldnt really be surprised if they did.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Monahammer

I have a terrible feeling that management still has confidence in him. I certainly hope I am wrong, I would not be interested in seeing another Mike smith game in flames silks.

I thought he had well deserved criticism and some over the top criticism as well. But at the end of the day, while he certainly cost some wins, he didn't cost the Flames anything in terms of the standings. And he certainly showed he had some game left in the POs (too bad almost all of the other players didn't have the same switch to turn on).

For next year, I don't want him. Too much downside, too old, would cost too much even as a backup. I'm not down on his puckhandling like some, but I think it's probably overrated by people who like it as well. I prefer a guy who can handle with confidence, make a good short pass, stop a ring around, etc.
I don't need long pass attempts (and even if I did, there are otehr guys almost as good).

I do think there should be a guy brought in who can carry a pretty big percentage of the load, but he's not the guy.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Mike Smith is likely looking at a PTO if he's in a NHL camp this fall.

[Azhouse]

No Smitty please.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by transplant99

He won't be guaranteed 42 or whatever starts...anywhere. But he will probably find somewhere that will give him the opportunity to compete for that many starts. Which his salary will reflect.



Calgary may be the final destination or not, but there are others looking at the same situation. Edmonton comes to mind as well.

The Oilers already have +$3 m tied up in goal with Kostin’em. I can’t imagine they have anything more than the bare minimum available to spend on a second goalie. I don’t see this as a realistic destination for Smith, and more to the point, I do not see many more than two or three teams looking to add a 1B goalie. Who is there? Buffalo? NYR? Florida?


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[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

The Oilers already have +$3 m tied up in goal with Kostin’em. I can’t imagine they have anything more than the bare minimum available to spend on a second goalie. I don’t see this as a realistic destination for Smith, and more to the point, I do not see many more than two or three teams looking to add a 1B goalie. Who is there? Buffalo? NYR? Florida?


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*$4.5mil.

Cue hysterical laughter.

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I sense Smith being a proud & confident guy isn't going to be keen on signing a deal that pays him considerably less than the $5.6 million he earned last year which makes it tough to bring him back. He was good in the playoffs but at 37 years he's not likely to be any better next season and he certainly wasn't a $5 million goaltender last season.

If he won’t sign for considerably less than $5.6M, he’ll spend a lot of time next year watching Netflix.


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[dammage79]

All I see in the Flames not too distant future is Semyon Varlamov. We're going Russian and a veteran would help the incoming players immensely. Because I also believe that Yelesin is going to be Fantenberg/Prouts replacement full time on the main roster.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I think management loves Smittys puck handling and how much of a load it takes off the defense. I hope they don't sign him but wouldnt really be surprised if they did.

The puck handling thing is very important but at the end of the day that may be the only Dimension Smitty has left next year. The cons outweigh the pros on the idea of re-signing Smith. Unless his role within the dressing room Dynamic is a major thing for the other players.

[bigrangy]

Smith was crap for most of the year because he was still working off his injury from the previous year.

He’s been an all star and he’s been the Flames best payer in the playoffs when he made it.

He’s shown enough for another year, especially because I believe Rittich is ready for a 50+ game starter role anyways. Smith is more than good enough to fill the role he needs to fill.

[DoubleK]

What is a 1B goalie again?

A guy who's not good enough to be a #1???

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by Roof-Daddy

I think management loves Smittys puck handling and how much of a load it takes off the defense. I hope they don't sign him but wouldnt really be surprised if they did.

I think his puck handling is actually detrimental in the long run. Colorado picked it apart.

Thanks to Smith for battling through a mediocre at best regular season and good playoffs, but Calgary won't win anything with him.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

I think his puck handling is actually detrimental in the long run. Colorado picked it apart.

Thanks to Smith for battling through a mediocre at best regular season and good playoffs, but Calgary won't win anything with him.

No it isnt.

It was the skaters inability to adjust to what the Avs were doing...not Smiths.

As for the "wont win anything with him" nonsense...same was said of Billington as well at seasons start, or he would have been with the big club from day 1.

I'm not a huge fan of Smiths either, but reality is what it is.

Goaltending predictions are impossible...goalies league wide have better seasons some years and worse ones at other times. Carey Price sucked the life out of his team a couple years ago....should he have been dumped too?

[Party Elephant]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

What is a 1B goalie again?

A guy who's not good enough to be a #1???

Essentially, yes. The 1A/1B system is employed by teams that dont have a true #1 starter capable of playing 60 games per season, but instead have two ok goalies where one is somewhat better but still not great. Think of the 2015 flames with Ramo and Hiller who split the starts fairly evenly. If Ramo was running hot he would get lots of starts, and if he cooled off then Hiller would start for a while.

Contrast this with a team like this years Lightning where Vasilevskiy started the vast majority of games apart from when he was injured, with Domingue only seeing spot duty on bak to backs. This is a traditional #1/#2 situation.

[ForeverFlameFan]

I think if the Flames can trade Neal+ for Allen somehow, that would be very beneficial to us.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Bingo

The team was 21st in save percentage so I don't think it's out of question to suggest the goaltending needs to be better.

Agree they are unlikely to make a big splash for a permanent goaltender though.

I think the big hope is that Rittich's injury is the principal reason for why his first half was elite and his second half was pedestrian.

I hate relying on hope. Again