Big Save Dave: Is he the long term answer?

[GreenLantern2814]

He knows where the puck is. Always. It's especially noticable when they're playing a lesser goalie who can't keep up with the play. It's also noticable when Mike Smith is in net, because Mike Smith guesses a lot.

Rittich doesn't guess. His rebounds are good. Maybe the best goalie at defending breakaways/penalty shots the team has ever had. Can't speak to pre Kiprusoff years, but if Kipper had kryptonite, it was the shootout.

Goalies are so up and down from year to year, so while I want to believe he's the next 34, I'll temper expectations and say that he reminds me a lot of a bigger Jaroslav Halak. If he's able to do good things for the team in the post season, I'll have no issue giving him 3/$10-$12M this summer.

[ComixZone]

Treliving believes that unless you have a Price/Quick in net, you need a tandem.

I want to see Rittich + Lehner here. Hopefully NYI bottoms out this year and is willing to trade him. Having both guys locked up for around 3M gives us a solid 1-2 punch in my eyes, and then you get the roster-push from Gillies, Parsons, McDonald and Schneider as they develop.

Goalies are weird.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

While I agree with your statement (we absolutely have to take a wait and see approach, Rittich is playing well, but this is way too soon to sign him for starter money long term), it’s worth noting that Murray has been in god-mode since returning.

The thing is, Rittich is an RFA this summer. Say the flames do take the wait and see approach. What if Rittich finishes with his current sv% and GAA? What if he gets Vezina votes? What if he wins a playoff round or 2.

What’s going to stop him from getting near or Hellebuyck like money? Goalies are voodoo to me as well and the idea of paying Rittich $5M-$6M on a long term deal scares me. That’s why I’m in the sign him early camp to get that number as low as possible.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

The thing is, Rittich is an RFA this summer. Say the flames do take the wait and see approach. What if Rittich finishes with his current sv% and GAA? What if he gets Vezina votes? What if he wins a playoff round or 2.

What’s going to stop him from getting near or Hellebuyck like money? Goalies are voodoo to me as well and the idea of paying Rittich $5M-$6M on a long term deal scares me. That’s why I’m in the sign him early camp to get that number as low as possible.

I would be surprised if Rittich gets more than a 3 year deal and $4.5m/yr after only one good season. Hellebuck had a couple of good seasons before his contract. The Flames don't have the cap space to pay him more than that. I think Rittich will be reasonable with his contract demands. I don't believe he would be willing to miss a season or just sign a one year deal. Way to risky for him after only having the one good season.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

The thing is, Rittich is an RFA this summer. Say the flames do take the wait and see approach. What if Rittich finishes with his current sv% and GAA? What if he gets Vezina votes? What if he wins a playoff round or 2.

What’s going to stop him from getting near or Hellebuyck like money? Goalies are voodoo to me as well and the idea of paying Rittich $5M-$6M on a long term deal scares me. That’s why I’m in the sign him early camp to get that number as low as possible.

I'd much rather wait and extend Rittich in the summer. If he costs an extra million or two because he won a few rounds, at least we're paying him for coming up big at the biggest time of the year.

The last thing we should do is Turek him. Nobody is going to offer sheet David Rittich with Bobrovsky and Varlamov hitting UFA. Anything lower than $5M would be matched, and if anyone wants to give us a 1st+ for a guy we found for free in the Czech league, I'm cool with that as well.

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

The thing is, Rittich is an RFA this summer. Say the flames do take the wait and see approach. What if Rittich finishes with his current sv% and GAA? What if he gets Vezina votes? What if he wins a playoff round or 2.

What’s going to stop him from getting near or Hellebuyck like money? Goalies are voodoo to me as well and the idea of paying Rittich $5M-$6M on a long term deal scares me. That’s why I’m in the sign him early camp to get that number as low as possible.

Performance history, or lack of it.

Look at Andrew Hammond. Dude went on an unreal run (24 games) and earned a 3 year, 1.35M per year contract. So even if Rittich maintains this play all year, and he gets 55 games...what type of contract does he get?

It's not Hellebuyck money, that's for sure.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

The thing is, Rittich is an RFA this summer. Say the flames do take the wait and see approach. What if Rittich finishes with his current sv% and GAA? What if he gets Vezina votes? What if he wins a playoff round or 2.

What’s going to stop him from getting near or Hellebuyck like money? Goalies are voodoo to me as well and the idea of paying Rittich $5M-$6M on a long term deal scares me. That’s why I’m in the sign him early camp to get that number as low as possible.

I don't think Rittich will get a lot of Vezina votes. He doesn't have the name recognition yet. And the team is pretty well-rounded so winning a round or two will not just be down to him.

But moreover, Treliving is really good at this stuff. And contracts are all about performance and Rittich only will have one year of work product to rely on. I expect Rittich will be re-signed at a great price.

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I agree. I remember Turek playing just lights out and the Flames figured they needed to extend him on a longish and expensive contract. Then he sputtered (I think he struggled under expectations, not because he coasted).

CSB time. Mods remove if not appropriate.

I heard from a very close source that soon after Turek got that big contract, the eastern European mafia came knocking on his door and shook him down.

[Wolfman]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Treliving believes that unless you have a Price/Quick in net, you need a tandem.

I want to see Rittich + Lehner here. Hopefully NYI bottoms out this year and is willing to trade him. Having both guys locked up for around 3M gives us a solid 1-2 punch in my eyes, and then you get the roster-push from Gillies, Parsons, McDonald and Schneider as they develop.

Goalies are weird.

You'll be lucky to get Lehner at 3M. He's gonna get paid on July 1

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Fire

I would be surprised if Rittich gets more than a 3 year deal and $4.5m/yr after only one good season. Hellebuck had a couple of good seasons before his contract. The Flames don't have the cap space to pay him more than that. I think Rittich will be reasonable with his contract demands. I don't believe he would be willing to miss a season or just sign a one year deal. Way to risky for him after only having the one good season.

Rittich could help win the SC and he would be hard pressed to get 4.5 per.

Look no further than Matt Murray as example....a guy who will have had more experience than BSD regardless what happens the rest of the way. when he signed his 3 year deal at a cap hit South of 4 million.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Shazam

CSB time. Mods remove if not appropriate.

I heard from a very close source that soon after Turek got that big contract, the eastern European mafia came knocking on his door and shook him down.

I wouldn't have believed this two years ago, but it makes perfect sense in 2019. Might have to wear the Horse head Turek to the Sabres game out of respect.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Fire

I would be surprised if Rittich gets more than a 3 year deal and $4.5m/yr after only one good season. Hellebuck had a couple of good seasons before his contract. The Flames don't have the cap space to pay him more than that. I think Rittich will be reasonable with his contract demands. I don't believe he would be willing to miss a season or just sign a one year deal. Way to risky for him after only having the one good season.

Did Hellebuyck have a great year though? He had a .907 sv% & 2.89 GAA the previous year to his Vezina like season.

Rittich sported a .904 sv% and a 2.92 GAA last season and is now having a similar ascension that Hellebuyck had last season. He’s sitting around the top 10 in sv% among starters and if the season ended today, he might be top 5 in Vezina voting or possibly even top 3 depending on who you ask.

I was hoping the Flames could get him at $3.xx as soon the year changed over, but I’m not sure he or his agent will want to sign for so cheap now. I’d even take $4.5M, but I don’t think the Flames can afford to wait till the offseason because it might in the 5’s or 6’s which is just too much for our cap situation next season.

[Enoch Root]

The problem with signing Rittich to a long term contract now, as many have said, is that we don't yet know what we have. Too risky.

Let's see how he handles the increased workload, and the increased pressure of the playoffs with expectations. If he knocks it out of the park, well that's best case scenario IMO, and I won't mind paying him.

But even if that does happen, he isn't getting Helle-money. If he knocks it totally out of the park, I could see something like $4.5M to $5M for 2 or 3 years. At the most.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Did Hellebuyck have a great year though? He had a .907 sv% & 2.89 GAA the previous year to his Vezina like season.

Rittich sported a .904 sv% and a 2.92 GAA last season and is now having a similar ascension that Hellebuyck had last season. He’s sitting around the top 10 in sv% among starters and if the season ended today, he might be top 5 in Vezina voting or possibly even top 3 depending on who you ask.

I was hoping the Flames could get him at $3.xx as soon the year changed over, but I’m not sure he or his agent will want to sign for so cheap now. I’d even take $4.5M, but I don’t think the Flames can afford to wait till the offseason because it might in the 5’s or 6’s which is just too much for our cap situation next season.

If Treliving calls Rittich's agent now, Treliving looks like he is a little desperate to get a quick signing, especially since I can't remember a mid season deal by Treliving. If he waits like normal he's giving a "business as usual vibe".

Plus, it's been only a half year. Just a little before this time last year I bet there were people asking for a Mike Smith re-signing as well.

I'd be shocked if Rittich gets 5 or 6, even after a great year.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

That’s exactly the contract I’d like to stay away from. The Jets let Hellebuyck go from a likely cheap back up to a Vezina nominee. They didn’t get to him early enough. That’s the hope for Treliving, he’s gotta get Rittich signed early or else what happens if Rittich gets a top 3 Vezina finish and a long playoff run? It’s going to be another Hellebuyck contract that the Flames absolutely cannot afford.

Do you believe that Winnipeg put-off negotiating with Hellebuyck’s agent while he was waiting eagerly at the table? I sincerely doubt it. The thing is, Rittich and his agent also see exactly what everyone else does. They are in no hurry to sign a contract now when they know that Rittich will be worth A LOT more in the summer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by TheOnlyBilko

Is he the long term answer?

If he plays good then yes. Silly question ��

Would love to get Capitals top prospect goalie Ilya Samsonov but no way they get rid of him

Also would like Calgary to draft a real good WHL goalie and bring him along. Carey Price, Martin Jones and Carter Hart are all good examples of a WHL goalie. I know Calgary didn't have luck with our last 2 real high draft pick goalies from WHL. Brent Krahn and the guy from Everest Silvertips his name escapes me ATM I think we drafted him in 1st round or 2nd round

Samsonov has been Gillies level bad in the AHL this year. Will be interesting to see if he can turn it around as he gets used to the North American game.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

If Treliving calls Rittich's agent now, Treliving looks like he is a little desperate to get a quick signing, especially since I can't remember a mid season deal by Treliving. If he waits like normal he's giving a "business as usual vibe".

Plus, it's been only a half year. Just a little before this time last year I bet there were people asking for a Mike Smith re-signing as well.

I'd be shocked if Rittich gets 5 or 6, even after a great year.

I don’t think any of us really know how the business/agent nuances really affects contracts, so I won’t personally go there.

But it’s true that Mike Smith had an incredible 3 months, but he was also in his mid 30’s and the equipment change this season has really tanked his career. Being a lanky guy like him, I’m not surprised it’s affected him so much. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with BSD.

I can’t guarantee he gets 5 or 6 either, but I also didn’t expect Hellebuyck to get 6+ after 1 good year. Rittich’s agent is probably going to use Hellebuyck as a comparable and the more things that match by season’s end, the more comparable their contracts could get. Personally I hope I’m wrong because our cap situation would be ****** in the summer.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

I don’t think any of us really know how the business/agent nuances really affects contracts, so I won’t personally go there.

But it’s true that Mike Smith had an incredible 3 months, but he was also in his mid 30’s and the equipment change this season has really tanked his career. Being a lanky guy like him, I’m not surprised it’s affected him so much. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with BSD.

I can’t guarantee he gets 5 or 6 either, but I also didn’t expect Hellebuyck to get 6+ after 1 good year. Rittich’s agent is probably going to use Hellebuyck as a comparable and the more things that match by season’s end, the more comparable their contracts could get. Personally I hope I’m wrong because our cap situation would be ****** in the summer.

The agent will undoubtedly use Hellebuyck as a comparable. And Treliving will counter that he isn't currently earning it, that you need more track record to justify that kind of money. Also, Hellebuyck had a longer, and stronger, track record.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Do you believe that Winnipeg put-off negotiating with Hellebuyck’s agent while he was waiting eagerly at the table? I sincerely doubt it. The thing is, Rittich and his agent also see exactly what everyone else does. They are in no hurry to sign a contract now when they know that Rittich will be worth A LOT more in the summer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well this is something I also had in mind because the situation is currently trending towards a gigantic pay day for Rittich and his agent. But as with all players, there’s a risk/reward in signing earlier vs signing later. All I know is, I’m in the camp of attempting to sign him early rather than after the season ends.

[Classic_Sniper]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

The agent will undoubtedly use Hellebuyck as a comparable. And Treliving will counter that he isn't currently earning it, that you need more track record to justify that kind of money. Also, Hellebuyck had a longer, and stronger, track record.

I actually don’t think the difference between the 2 is that far off with what we’re currently seeing, but who knows how that negotiation is going to go. It really comes down to leverage and the fear is, he’ll have quite a bit of it if his current play continues.