Mike Smith's... woes? He blows? Eating crows? Who knows! (Also David Rittich exists!)

[Bunk]

The best illustration of Smith vs Rittich. Rittich helping win games, Smith causing losses. Gibson out of his mind.

https://twitter.com/crowdscoutsprts/...217313281?s=21

[DazzlinDino]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

MOD EDIT: Quoted post removed.

I don't think he should have questioned you as a fan, but your response is just as bad. Lets keep the discussion civil we are all on the same side just different opinions.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

It’s the colour of the pads.

Change them to white and we’re all good.

It’s not the color of his pads. He was fine last season. There’s no doubt in my mind a bog factor has been the slimming of the equipment (i.e. chest protector). Look at how many goals are sneaking through his arms. Could also be his reflexes as shots are going through his five hole and through his blocker. He’s in his late 30s now so none of this should be a surprise I suppose.

All I know is, his performance is up there with the worst in the entire league among goaltenders and opposition teams are game planning around that. You can see that they’re attempting to shoot from anywhere now and it’s getting embarrassing at this point. Fans give him the bronx cheer every game and it’s absolutely demoralizing for the entire team.

Peters really needs to stop pandering towards some of these veteran players right now and play the players who deserve to play. The games are getting tougher and our lead on the division seems to decrease every game now. Anaheim, San Jose and Las Vegas are all on fire right now and it’s not inconceivable that we could drop into a wild card spot if the current trends continues.

[redforever]

Where I think the whole problem with Smith giving up soft goals and costing the team points comes at the end of the season.

Some say, well Smith is not costing the Flames anything now as they are still winning.

Yeah, but what if at the end of the season, those points mean the Flames meet a tough team in the first round of playoffs compared to a weaker team?

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by redforever

Where I think the whole problem with Smith giving up soft goals and costing the team points comes at the end of the season.

Some say, well Smith is not costing the Flames anything now as they are still winning.

Yeah, but what if at the end of the season, those points mean the Flames meet a tough team in the first round of playoffs compared to a weaker team?

Yeah that’s how this place can be sometimes. I remember making threads very early on last season about the lack of bottom 6 production and how reliant the Flames were on just a few players. I remember getting flamed pretty bad for that.

Well, the scoring dried up a bit for the top players, some got injured and then the season was toast. The Smith situation is very reminiscent of that. It’s likely not going to cost us a playoff spot this time around, but would anyone here be happy if the Flames ended up in a wild card spot after one of the best starts this franchise has ever had?

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by redforever

Where I think the whole problem with Smith giving up soft goals and costing the team points comes at the end of the season.

Some say, well Smith is not costing the Flames anything now as they are still winning.

Yeah, but what if at the end of the season, those points mean the Flames meet a tough team in the first round of playoffs compared to a weaker team?

The idea that Smith isn't costing the Flames because overall we're winning lots of games isn't a smart one, imo. It's an opinion bred out of watching a mediocre to crappy team for so many years and thinking "We're so much better now, why are we complaining about anything?", and not realizing what it truly takes to win a Cup in this league.

We've come so far and are closer than ever, but we're not there yet, and goaltending could still easily be our downfall this season.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Yeah that’s how this place can be sometimes. I remember making threads very early on last season about the lack of bottom 6 production and how reliant the Flames were on just a few players. I remember getting flamed pretty bad for that.

Well, the scoring dried up a bit for the top players, some got injured and then the season was toast. The Smith situation is very reminiscent of that. It’s likely not going to cost us a playoff spot this time around, but would anyone here be happy if the Flames ended up in a wild card spot after one of the best starts this franchise has ever had?

You got flamed because you dismissed Gulutzan as part of the problem and blamed it on a lack of talent. The scoring dried up due to injuries. But Gulutzan was indisputably a big part of the problem.

[djsFlames]

It doesn't matter the history, the reputation or how good of a guy or fierce of a competitor you are. If you're putting up an .888, you shouldn't be getting starts on a division leading team, let alone most if any in the league.

It's not a small sample size any more. And this is what it comes down to for me.

[Flames67]

I hate saying it after seeing how good this team can be, but this year is a bit of a write off. That is primarily due to our goaltending situation.

No one is going to take Smith, and there's no sense in us sending out talent and/or picks for someone to take him. Any goaltender that we would want is not worth the trading price as they're all going to be FA's come spring. Varlamov, Bobrovsky, Howard, etc. I would only trade for one if it somehow helped us with signing negotiations, and perhaps it could offload one or more of Stone, Frolik, Neal, Brouwer's buy-out, etc.

I really hate that feeling of apathy for this year, but it's the reality of it.

The only trade that I think would work outside of a vaccuum is to go for Craig Anderson at the deadline. Send Smith the other way, maybe even one for one, or try and pry Stone or Duchene from them if we can send stuff back. (without giving up good picks).k

[memphusk]

Nope. Do not go get another aged goalie. Play Rittich. He hasn't faultered this year yet. If need be go get a proven backup to finish the year behind Rittich, or go get Quick if you think you can win it all.

[SeanCharles]

I'm done with him.

His play, his attitude and the way the team plays in front of him all frustrate me.

Mike Smith plays bad: "some tough bounces, some bad defensive breakdowns, I did what I could but it was it just wasn't our night"

We lose when Rittich is in net by one goal: "I needed to make that one extra save, I let the team down. I need to be better"

Obviously I'm paraphrasing but this is the kind of crap I've heard all season.

I will admit I've heard Smith humbly say he didn't know how a goal got past him before but that was after the Montreal game when he was absolutly crushed knowing he lost the team the game.

Rittich is a goalie who shoulders the responsibility of not making a save even when he knows he didn't have a chance in hell of saving a grade A chance.

Smith doesn't hold himself as accountable with even routine saves that he lets in.

I loved Smith last year and I wanted to root for him again cause he really struggled after injury last year but his comments after a loss in which he let in a bad goal after some of the games this year has made me lose all my love for the guy.

Look at his stats.

He has some of the worst stats out of any goalie in the league, starters and backups.

A second goalie we can rely on and depth scoring are things we needs to address.

If Neal can get going it will go a long way to fixing some of our depth issues but I think we've seen enough of Smith playing bad since last February to know it's not just a rough patch.

36 year old FA goalie is not worth the time to try and rejuvenate after he has struggled so mightily for almost a year now.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Originally Posted by Flames67

I hate saying it after seeing how good this team can be, but this year is a bit of a write off. That is primarily due to our goaltending situation.

No one is going to take Smith, and there's no sense in us sending out talent and/or picks for someone to take him. Any goaltender that we would want is not worth the trading price as they're all going to be FA's come spring. Varlamov, Bobrovsky, Howard, etc. I would only trade for one if it somehow helped us with signing negotiations, and perhaps it could offload one or more of Stone, Frolik, Neal, Brouwer's buy-out, etc.

I really hate that feeling of apathy for this year, but it's the reality of it.

The only trade that I think would work outside of a vaccuum is to go for Craig Anderson at the deadline. Send Smith the other way, maybe even one for one, or try and pry Stone or Duchene from them if we can send stuff back. (without giving up good picks).k

The team is first in its division and this year is a write off?
Cruise you must be a relatively new fan
We’ve had plenty of write off seasons. This ain’t one of them

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Flames67

I hate saying it after seeing how good this team can be, but this year is a bit of a write off. That is primarily due to our goaltending situation.

No one is going to take Smith, and there's no sense in us sending out talent and/or picks for someone to take him. Any goaltender that we would want is not worth the trading price as they're all going to be FA's come spring. Varlamov, Bobrovsky, Howard, etc. I would only trade for one if it somehow helped us with signing negotiations, and perhaps it could offload one or more of Stone, Frolik, Neal, Brouwer's buy-out, etc.

I really hate that feeling of apathy for this year, but it's the reality of it.

The only trade that I think would work outside of a vaccuum is to go for Craig Anderson at the deadline. Send Smith the other way, maybe even one for one, or try and pry Stone or Duchene from them if we can send stuff back. (without giving up good picks).k

I'm still holding out hope that Jonathan Quick can pried out of LA.

Though I'm sure that will be difficult to navigate much before the deadline, if at all.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

You got flamed because you dismissed Gulutzan as part of the problem and blamed it on a lack of talent. The scoring dried up due to injuries. But Gulutzan was indisputably a big part of the problem.

Well I suppose if Gulutzan was such a gargantuan issue with keeping the bottom 6 from scoring, then why are so many players who were here last year on pace to produce virtually the exact same number they had last season despite the upgrades? If what you’re saying is true, then why aren’t more of these guys on pace to crush their previous totals under that terrible Gulutzan?

I don’t like to blame coaches nor do I like to pump up their tires because they can only do so much in a fast paced, read and react game like hockey. But even Treliving felt the same way at the end of the season since he rid himself of so many players and replaced them with others. But it’s still currently an issue with this team despite a new coach and new players. This team is still very top heavy and still rely too much on a few players to win every game. When the Fab 5 doesn’t score, this generally loses and that’s not a good recipe for the playoffs.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Well I suppose if Gulutzan was such a gargantuan issue with keeping the bottom 6 from scoring, then why are so many players who were here last year on pace to produce virtually the exact same number they had last season despite the upgrades? If what you’re saying is true, then why aren’t more of these guys on pace to crush their previous totals under that terrible Gulutzan?

I don’t like to blame coaches nor do I like to pump up their tires because they can only do so much in a fast paced, read and react game like hockey. But even Treliving felt the same way at the end of the season since he rid himself of so many players and replaced them with others. But it’s still currently an issue with this team despite a new coach and new players. This team is still very top heavy and still rely too much on a few players to win every game. When the Fab 5 doesn’t score, this generally loses and that’s not a good recipe for the playoffs.

For what it is worth, the forwards outside the top 6 goal scorers are on pace for a 33 percent improvement this year. Bottom six scoring is still a factor in my opinion, as the Flames are only on pace for 60 goals out of those forwards, but there is a marked improvement this year. Probably a credit to coaching as the additions (Neal) have brought nothing. But Bennett is on pace for more goals, Frolik is on pace for more goals, Hathaway is on pace for more goals.

Hathaway is on pace to double his total from last year on a goals per game basis.

Bennett is on pace for a 25 percent improvement.

Only guy who is on pace to score less is Jankowski, although he is on pace for the same number of points.

The guys that are still here that traditionally make up the bottom 6 are doing better this year as a generalized statement.

On the subject of Smith though, he is terrible and will not improve in my opinion. I hope after failing 3 times we have given up on getting old men to man the pipes, maybe we should get a goalie that was not able to legally drink at the start of this millennium.

[GreenLantern2814]

One might argue that if David Rittich were on another roster putting up 11-4-2 with a 2.29 and .923, a not insubstantial number of us would be pushing to acquire him a la Jones/Grubauer/Raanta etc.

[Freeway]

If Rittich can be even close to what he is now in the playoffs, the year isn't a write-off.

[calgarygringo]

The problem here is we have no really good backups anywhere. Peters is between a rock and a hard place. Rittich is number 1 but does need the odd nights rest to not be burned out by playoffs. Who else can he put in? Stockton is hurting bad in the goal dept and has nothing to bring up. The only answers are Smith figuring it out or Tre pulls a trade. I am not sure what is out there for a decent backup without losing valuable players. Could get interesting.

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by calgarygringo

The problem here is we have no really good backups anywhere. Peters is between a rock and a hard place. Rittich is number 1 but does need the odd nights rest to not be burned out by playoffs. Who else can he put in? Stockton is hurting bad in the goal dept and has nothing to bring up. The only answers are Smith figuring it out or Tre pulls a trade. I am not sure what is out there for a decent backup without losing valuable players. Could get interesting.

What this guy said: https://forum.calgarypuck.com/showth...83#post6918683

[skcli]

Can we look for some backup goalies in KHL ?