Wotherspoon in the lineup it will benefit the gaudreau line especially I think. I've noticed that, especially on the road, gaudreau's line tends to be on the ice with the engelland-Smid pairing. Not sure if this is due to matchups from Hartley or from the other teams' coaches. Either way, Smid and Engelland struggle with a composed breakout to leave the zone... Rarely make a solid, playmaking first pass out of the zone. Instead, it's usually a rim around the boards or a chip off the glass which lead to a loss of possession. With gaudreau's line those are wasted offensive minutes when they can't move up the ice with speed and are instead hemmed in their own zone.
A guy like Wotherspoon has the composure and skill to add some smart plays out of the zone to the 3rd pairing. It might take a few games for him to get to that point but we all saw that ability last season and he's shown it at the AHL level this year as well.
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Man, how good does that Erixon for Horak, Granlund and Wotherspoon trade look right now?
Sure, Horak is in the KHL now and Granlund has been inconsistent during his stint this year, but Erixon has failed to crack the NHL on a consistent basis himself.
Pretty good return at the 11th hour by Mr. Feaster.
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Doesn't matter, really. The demands of the situation will always play a role in a personnel decision, and we simply can't carry three goalies long term. I'm sure the team is already working angles to see if they can move Ramo, but if nothing materializes soon, then necessity will dictate Ortio goes down.
Was Erixon scratched or injured right now in Chicago?
I saw he played 6 games but hasn't done anything since.
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Didn't Wotherspoon have two points in his debut with us last year? I know a blind squirrel can find a nut once in a while, but he didn't seem so bad offensively either.
When the Flames acquired Shore, he had to play 2 NHL games before he would become waiver eligible. It looked like the Flames were going to use those 2 games up until Ortio forced a 3 goalie rotation.
This dawned on me watching Shore sit again last night. He really didn't look too bad in that first game, but when Ortio was recalled they had to reconsider who would need to be sent down should someone get healthy, and Ortio needed to be here for as long as Ramo was out, so he wasn't going anywhere. Now that Ramo is healthy, they have to carry 3 goalies until either Ortio cools off and looks incapable of handling NHL duties (doubtful), or a trade can be orchestrated to move one of Ramo or Hiller. My money is on Ramo, only because he is an UFA and there probably won't be much value for Hiller with his inconsistencies.
A little surprised they wouldn't send Granlund down since he's had struggles, but they clearly feel he's getting more out of being on the NHL team right now, and Shore still needs to work on some things (conditioning, systems) before being on the the NHL squad full time.
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"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
Man, how good does that Erixon for Horak, Granlund and Wotherspoon trade look right now?
Sure, Horak is in the KHL now and Granlund has been inconsistent during his stint this year, but Erixon has failed to crack the NHL on a consistent basis himself.
Pretty good return at the 11th hour by Mr. Feaster.
At the end of the day it turns out to be Erixon and Broissoit for Smid, Granlund and Wotherspoon.
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I thought that defensively, Wotherspoon was ready last year. The only reason he's spending so much time on the farm is probably because they think he's more than a bottom pairing shut-down defender, probably more of a 3/4, and they want him to work on his skills down there and perfect them before coming up to the big club full time.
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That hit Smid took was dirty. The LA player 'pretends' to go for the puck but just places his stick near it and comes up with a shoulder up high. I really think next time we play the kings Wolf NEEDS to play and hammer Reggie.
I'm still looking forward to seeing what the Wolf can do when he gets his North American legs under him.
I suspect you're right though, I wasnt happy about some of the liberties Regehr was taking last night and no one did anything about it.
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Originally Posted by Resolute 14
I suspect they ride Ortio until he loses a game, at which point he will be on the first plane, train and automobile to Addy.
See, I'm not totally cool with that either. Its like 'make one mistake and you're cut!!"
Which isnt a great way to inspire or encourage players. I understand that its only like that because of contract status and such, but it still sucks.
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Doesn't matter, really. The demands of the situation will always play a role in a personnel decision, and we simply can't carry three goalies long term. I'm sure the team is already working angles to see if they can move Ramo, but if nothing materializes soon, then necessity will dictate Ortio goes down.
Yup. And I'm sure they will say to him: "We have to send you down, because we'd lose the other guys for nothing if we waived them. But we are working on a trade and as soon as we make room you are back up". He and his agent will understand.
Yup. And I'm sure they will say to him: "We have to send you down, because we'd lose the other guys for nothing if we waived them. But we are working on a trade and as soon as we make room you are back up". He and his agent will understand.
So what are the feelings on the goalie situation? Surprised that the Ortio thread hasn't been bumped with Ramo being activated. We're surely not going to run with 3 for very long.
