Opening Night Backup

[Iceman90]

I am not doubting that Rittich is a capable backup, playing 10-12 games a year. What I am doubting is that he's capable to jump into a starter's workload if Smitty gets hurt long-term. That's why I think Kari Lehtonen or Steve Mason is the right ideas.

[mrdonkey]

Originally Posted by Iceman90

I am not doubting that Rittich is a capable backup.

He is not.

What I am doubting is that he's capable to jump into a starter's workload if Smitty gets hurt long-term.

He is definitely not.

[Finger Cookin]

Most organizations have a clear #1 and #2 goalie and do not have a #2 goalie that is capable of jumping into a starter's workload if the #1 goalie gets injured. #1 and #1A can work, but I also don't see a problem with clear roles and then addressing an injury situation should it occur. I get that others don't share that comfort.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Iceman90

I am not doubting that Rittich is a capable backup. What I am doubting is that he's capable to jump into a starter's workload if Smitty gets hurt long-term.

I think that is a legitimate concern, but by the same token I think with Rittich there should be a lot of room for growth. Last year was his ROOKIE season. He only just turned 26-years-old. (By way of comparison, when Pekka Rinne started his 26-year-old season he was a NHL rookie, and just came off of a pedestrian year in the AHL where he posted a 2.47 AGG and a 0.908 SP.)

I think that with the last season behind him and the benefit of a full two years now playing professional hockey in North America we should expect him to be better in this regard. So, for me, I get the concern, but it also does not keep me up at night.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by flambers

I bet the Flames will start the season with Rittich, however they will be watching the waiver wire closely.

To see if there are any other options available.

Rittich has struggled however Gillies has also been inconsistent.

Since Rittich requires waivers, Gillies will be sent down.

I don't think it's even an issue considering a team would have to keep him on their roster or put him back on waivers at some point. I can't see any team in the league not having someone equal or better than Rittich currently pegged for a backup role. In the rare circumstance that he'd be an upgrade (maybe 3-4 teams), they'd be risking having to bury their current backup in order to carry him. He does not have any tangible value above any other random backup until he proves his case with much better numbers.

For me, unless you're waiving a 1B type goalie it is a complete non issue. If Gillies is deemed to be better, Gillies should be staying.

[NewFan]

I think Rittich will be the backup, at least next 2 months. Then they will decide next move. If the team think Gillies is the next goalie, he needs to play lots and develop, and he needs to mature. Tell him that he is the man for the AHL team, and it is his team. That is a young team which need a good goalie and a leader. Learn how to become a one of the leader of the team and carry the team. And if he can perform well then call-up to play more games than just sit in the bench as a backup.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by mrdonkey

He is not.



He is definitely not.

There is nothing definite about this, but you are rather emphatically wrong in your assertion that Rittich is not a capable backup goalie. Among goaltenders who played a maximum of 25 games last season he ranks fourth in wins with 8, 11th in SP among goalies with 10–25 starts, and had the 12th best GAA. He is clearly at worst an average backup, but based on the numbers is probably better than that.

[1qqaaz]

Rittich isn't the next star goalie for this team. He might be a somewhat passable backup (although I have my doubts).
I'd rather the Flames use the backup spot as a development role. I'd rather them try to develop someone with potential - Parsons, maybe Gillies.

Rittich is 26 and has been in North America for 2 years.
His save percentage has gone down since arriving, so I don't think we can use the "North American game" as an excuse anymore.

Gillies' AHL stats actually improved from the year before. Since his injury, his development has gone the right way.
I still believe he has a high ceiling: it's not easy to have 3 consecutive 93%+ seasons. Gillies did this. It's not easy to win the World Juniors. Gillies did this.

I don't think Rittich is better than Gillies. Gillies probably has a higher ceiling. In the past 2 years, he has developed more than Rittich.
I think Gillies will best develop as an NHL backup, especially since Smith's backup will probably play a lot of games.
Gillies has outplayed Rittich in the preseason, and I think he has earned the job.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

History has a few lessons for Flames fans in this regard.

1) Practice matters. One of the big reasons we heard for Lack not getting any playing time at the start of the year was that he didn't look good in practice. So while we have only a few pre season games on which to judge the goalies, the coaches are seeing a lot more in practice.

2) Waiver status matters. This is the team that was afraid to expose Joni Ortio to waivers so he sat up here doing nothing for weeks.

Yes but then next season you are in the scenario as they were with Ortio in that Gillies will have a short preseason to impress and if he doesn't the team is in the exact same situation with Ortio where they won't want to send him down but may have another backup on the roster. I would rather they see if Gillies is up to the task this season so they don't have to play that game of keeping him on the roster out of fear of him getting picked up. If he disappoints this season then they know they may need to fill both goaltender slots via free agency or trade. I just don't see Rittich as looking any better to date and if that's the case go with the guy the organization heavily invested in.

[bax]

Originally Posted by Iceman90

I am not doubting that Rittich is a capable backup, playing 10-12 games a year. What I am doubting is that he's capable to jump into a starter's workload if Smitty gets hurt long-term. That's why I think Kari Lehtonen or Steve Mason is the right ideas.

It was pretty obvious last year that injuries have caught up to Mason. He was terrible in Winnipeg

[dammage79]

Its too late to bring in a UFA goalie IMO. But I did want Lehtonen.

I'd prefer Gillies over Rittich.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

Rittich isn't the next star goalie for this team. He might be a somewhat passable backup (although I have my doubts).
I'd rather the Flames use the backup spot as a development role. I'd rather them try to develop someone with potential - Parsons, maybe Gillies.

Gillies may very well be the Flames backup on opening night, but he is in precisely the same bracket as Rittich. He is one year younger, but also one year ahead in terms of NA pro-hockey experience. The idea that Parsons—who only last week came of drinking age in the US—is ready to jump in to the role is nonsense. He is extremely raw and coming off of a season plagued by injury and setbacks. This is to be expected with any young goalie trying to break in to a professional career. Development can occur at the NHL level, but this very typically only takes place after a goalie has established himself as a dominant player in the AHL. Parsons has a long way to go to do that.

Rittich is 26 and has been in North America for 2 years.
His save percentage has gone down since arriving, so I don't think we can use the "North American game" as an excuse anymore.

It is not an excuse. It is an accurate description of his path to the NHL. It is pretty disingenuous to assert that his SP has slipped since arriving, given that he has played only one season in the NHL, and two in the AHL. Rittich was fantastic for his first three months in Calgary, and he clearly showed that he possesses the requisite fundamentals to be a NHL goalie. I think he struggled with the expectations foisted upon him in the midst of an intense playoff race, and it may be that he will never get over that. But I really believe it is far too early to close the book on him.

Gillies' AHL stats actually improved from the year before. Since his injury, his development has gone the right way.
I still believe he has a high ceiling: it's not easy to have 3 consecutive 93%+ seasons. Gillies did this. It's not easy to win the World Juniors. Gillies did this.

I don't think Rittich is better than Gillies. Gillies probably has a higher ceiling. In the past 2 years, he has developed more than Rittich.
I think Gillies will best develop as an NHL backup, especially since Smith's backup will probably play a lot of games.
Gillies has outplayed Rittich in the preseason, and I think he has earned the job.

Gillies also outplayed Rittich in the preseason last year, but then was clearly the second best goalie in Stockton through the first two months of 2017. It is why Rittich was recalled to be the Flames backup over Gillies, and it was a position he ran with and was successful in posting stellar numbers through his first ten games. I understand that people are really put off by how his NHL season ended, and also by his poor showing in the pre-season, but there is A LOT more to consider here.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Iceman90

I am not doubting that Rittich is a capable backup, playing 10-12 games a year. What I am doubting is that he's capable to jump into a starter's workload if Smitty gets hurt long-term. That's why I think Kari Lehtonen or Steve Mason is the right ideas.

Why? Neither of those guys are capable of replacing Smith either.

If Smith goes down then you trade for a goalie. You don’t mess up developing all your young goalies by signing a crappy vet in front of them because you’re paranoid about injuries.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Some of y’all are blaming the goalie when the defense left them out to dry. A reporter asked about evaluating the goalies last night and Coach Bill Peters said you could throw out for the first half hour in terms of evaluating goalies because of all the defensive breakdowns.

Rittich will Likely be the backup. He was excellent backing up last year as a rookie. Struggled as a starter but that was to be expected. Gillies really just needs to play more games so the AHL is likely a better option for him right now than backing up, he’s less experienced in pro than Rittich.

Anybody giving up on Rittich based on last nights game doesn’t really understand goaltending and how many breakaways and such a goalie should be expected to save.

[Enoch Root]

The best thing that could happen to the Flames' goaltending right now would be for the defensive coverage to tighten up.

You can't expect them to build confidence and get on a roll when the D is giving up multiple 5-alarm chances. Clean up the defensive coverage and the goaltending will clean itself up.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The best thing that could happen to the Flames' goaltending right now would be for the defensive coverage to tighten up.

You can't expect them to build confidence and get on a roll when the D is giving up multiple 5-alarm chances. Clean up the defensive coverage and the goaltending will clean itself up.

And I think this is largely indicative of a couple of things: pre-season hockey-slop and the crazy practice/play schedule the Flames have been under. If you look around the League almost every game features a tonne of goals for at least one team. It's because there are a lot of little things that defensemen and back checkers don't do in the pre-season that they must do once the games actually mean something.

[DeluxeMoustache]

I appreciate the cogency of the past few posts and am glad Peters has expressed an appropriate understanding of the situation.

I like a lot of what I have seen of Peters so far.

[Stay Golden]

It will be Gillies, I had high hope's for Gillies the last 2 seasons but I dont think he has lived up to his strong cache from the team USA portion of his career. He looked like the future starter at that time but he unfortunately hasnt come close to that standard.
I really do not like his bad habit of going down too early and stays down far too much. A big goalie that makes himself small is a real head scratcher.
Gillies is too far back in the net as well.
Maybe this year he makes big progress at the NHL level who knows, Rittich on the other hand has looked terrible this preseason.

[Textcritic]

I am listening to Francis on the FAN 960 and he just revealed that David Rittich underwent surgery over the summer for something minor. An injury could have been a mitigating factor in the success of his season last year, and the recovery could also go to help explain why he has not looked great in September.

[Ashasx]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I am listening to Francis on the FAN 960 and he just revealed that David Rittich underwent surgery over the summer for something minor. An injury could have been a mitigating factor in the success of his season last year, and the recovery could also go to help explain why he has not looked great in September.

Francis also said he thinks the Flames will be looking at the waiver wire over the next few days and wouldn't be surprised if the Flames pick up Sparks or McElhinney if they are available.

Personally, I hate that idea because it creates too much of a goalie jam in the organization. It forces Parsons back to the ECHL for another year and that seems really dumb.