Was Rittich actually an astute pickup or is he a replacement or slightly above replacement level backup?
I know browna has some opinions on Rittich...
I don't know how to really compare or judge goalies, but a .908 save percentage doesn't necessarily scream much to me? Alex Stalock just put up a .910 sv% over 38 games this year and cost the wild 750k x 3.
Goals saved above average or expected seems to be on par with Malcolm Subban, Louis Domingue, Peter Budaj etc...
37th highest paid goalie in the league.
Is it really astute to find a goalie in Europe who can put up a .908sv% ?
Cam Talbot had the same acquisition cost, was that also very astute or just the regular motions of getting free agent goaltending?
Yes I would say he is a great pickup because he has shown enough flashes of great play to remain in the NHL, which is a plus. but what I have also seen for two years now is that he is very good when rested and is prone to inconsistent play when he is not. he plays three good games in a row? you can pretty much count on him blowing the fourth.
So for me he is the perfect guy to keep around as a backup as long as we can because we know coming in fresh off the bench has never been a problem for him, in fact it has been his greatest strength.
If we can get a goalie that can consistently handle 50-60 games a year, I think it's a safe bet that Rittich in his 25ish games will put up great numbers as a backup.
Interesting as he also seems to indicate they won't be qualifying Virtanen.
I would take a stab at virtanen.
I would think there would be lots of interest from many teams in a guy like Virtanen. A right shot right win with 18 G and 18 A last season. That's quite valuable.
Interesting as he also seems to indicate they won't be qualifying Virtanen.
I would take a stab at virtanen.
Me too.
RH shot RW. Big but can skate. Only just turned 24. Would have been a 20 goal guy last season. Familiar with the city and organization from his time with the Hitmen. And really can't think of an organization where he's going to get a better shot on RW.
Honestly it feels just like when Brett Connolly wasn't qualified by Boston after the 15/16 season. Same age, similar draft pedigree, similar concerns about dedication and training.
Connolly ended up being great in a thrid line role for Washington the year they won the cup.
Interesting as he also seems to indicate they won't be qualifying Virtanen.
I would take a stab at virtanen.
He will be a consistent 20 goal scorer in the NHL. The big issue with Virtanen is that you see the tools, but the head just isn't there. But every season, by about January or February you'll start to get glimmers of consistency and you'll say to yourself "Here it is, he's turning the corner!" And he'll finish off strong and you'll be super happy. Then when he gets in for training camp in September, he's back to step one. He's out of shape, a step behind, and looks like he sat around all summer. Showing up to bubble camp out of shape was pretty much the end for him. He'll get more than the Canucks are willing to pay in arbitration, so much like Ben Hutton, he's probably gone. Suspect the Canucks end up with Leivo on the cheap in his place.
Edit - Jake Virtanen is Rene Bourque.
If Markstrom leaves the Canucks. If. Colorado will throw a dump truck of money at him. If I'm the Flames, I look else where for my goaltending needs.
Edit- What am I saying? A top end player that's available but is super likely to never play for the Flames? Tre loves talking about that sort of stuff.
If Calgary plan on not qualifying Jankowski and same for the Canucks and Virtanen, why wouldn't they swap rights? At least gives another team a shot at qualifying them. Jankowski could turn it around and be a serviceable pker and 4th liner.
What is Virtanen's QO? (where do you find Qualifying offers?)
Last edited by CalgaryFan1988; 09-10-2020 at 03:55 PM.
If Calgary plan on not qualifying Jankowski and same for the Canucks and Virtanen, why wouldn't they swap rights? At least gives another team a shot at qualifying them. Jankowski could turn it around and be a serviceable pker and 4th liner.
What is Virtanen's QO? (where do you find Qualifying offers?)
Let's look at the goalies available over the last two seasons and their play at 5v5 (generally the best indicator of success for a goalie vs including PK) and where they rank in the league for that stat:
If you look at the more granular save percentage numbers Murray and Kuemper actually have very similar underlying numbers. The biggest difference happens to actually be in the mix of shots their team gives up.
Lehner is just lights out on Medium / Low danger shots. Guy doesn't seem to give up bad goals.
Markstrom appears to be a guy who's steady across the board and based on xGA/60 he faced the toughest competition of this group.
Interestingly enough he actually has the best high danger save percentage of any of these goalies. His problem has been letting in shots from outside the high danger area but that could be corrected I think.
For example here is Darcy Kuemper at close to the same age when he was in Minnesota the two years before getting moved.
Sv Pct: .911
HDSV%: .835
MDSV%: .890
LDSV% : .958
Looks to me like Kuemper before moving to LA/Arizona looks a lot like Rittich looks now. Good HDSV% but struggled from the outside. It's why I don't want to write him off quite yet because if he can correct that (mental/focus based IMO) he has the physical tool kit to be great.
Wow thanks for this. I liked Lehner, but didn’t really follow him... had no idea his stats were this solid.
Adding a Rene Bourque type to this team sounds fantastic.
Lol. Rene Bourque is legitimately the dumbest hockey player I've ever watched.
I still remember a game vividly. Against the Avalanche, on the power play, Rene Bourque makes a nice move and freezes the d-man can easily take one step to space in the middle of the ice and get a great chance himself, or make an easy pass for a nice back door tap-in chance. He steps away from the open lane in the middle towards the boards and then fires it hard into the shin pads of the prone d-man which ricochets the puck out of the zone for a clear. I laughed until I cried it was so bad.
__________________
THANK MR DEMKO
CPHL Ottawa Vancouver
Last edited by Blaster86; 09-10-2020 at 04:11 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to Blaster86 For This Useful Post:
If you go after a guy like Murray you potentially solve your starter problem for at least 4-5 years. But if he doesn't rebound you are back to square 1.
A veteran guy may have more certainty - but then you are only solving for maybe 2 years.
So that's the tension point.
30 isn't really that old for a goaltender though. Kuemper is the 31st oldest goalie to play 25+ games this past season. Almost 1/3 of the golaies older than him are at least 5 years older.
Kuemper also has pretty low mileage for goaltenders of his age. Compared to Matt Murray, Kuemper has only played 16 more games in his career.
I don't see why Kuemper can't be a good starter for another 4-5 years.
The Following User Says Thank You to Crown Royal For This Useful Post:
Went to high school with him when he was on the Hitmen. I wasn’t a fan. He did some scummy stuff and treated some of my friends like garbage.
I don’t want to get too specific, that would be getting into unfounded rumours territory (even though I know they aren’t rumours, but there’s no way to verify them for the site and I don’t want to get CP in trouble for some of the claims I could post). It was also years ago now so hopefully he’s changed.
He just wasn’t my type of guy. Left a sour taste in my mouth. I’ll leave it at that.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to N-E-B For This Useful Post:
