Who should Treliving target as a potential replacement for Mike Smith?

[David Struch]

Goaltending is 50% of the game unless you don’t get it, then it’s 90% of the game.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

What AHL quality were Niemi, Crawford, Bishop, Jones, Rinne? All guys to play in or win a recent SCF.

You don't need star goaltending in the playoffs, you need solid goaltending behind strong team defense. Heck we probably could have won a cup with 2014-15 Hiller-Ramo if we had a bit more skater talent. Ramo wasn't the reason the Ducks beat us. You can't have 2017 Elluott meltdowns but that was an outlier among playoff performances.

You do need stars at center as that position is crucial to team defense (and offense).

Niemi doesn't belong with that crowd - every other guy listed is an elite goalie. Niemi is trash.

You do need superstar centres. The only way you get those is to draft them. And even when you have them, you don't win anything without the guy in the crease. See the Penguins during Fleury's mid career crisis.

We complain about the defense, but this top six is as deep as I've seen in Calgary since 2005/06. Much more has been done with much less, because of a goalie.

You're right that you don't necessarily need a Vezina winner to win it all - very rarely does a goalie win the Vezina and the Cup in the same year. Whoever he is needs to be a consistent .918+ guy, who can elevate his game to .920+ in the playoffs. He needs to be able to hold the line, and he needs to be able to minimize weak goals. Nothing destroys a hockey team like a softie.

Kiprusoff was that guy. Beyond rare moments in 14-15, and the first half of last year, we haven't gotten that.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Niemi doesn't belong with that crowd - every other guy listed is an elite goalie. Niemi is trash.

And yet it is a fact that Niemi has a Stanley Cup as a starter. Which is more cups than Price, Bobrovsky, Bishop, Rinne, Varlamov, Lundqvist, Rask combined (Rask might have one as a backup but that hardly counts). He was a "Cup-caliber goalie" in his prime. It's a low bar.

[Zoller]

Tkachuk is the best player on this team and deserves the most money

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

And yet it is a fact that Niemi has a Stanley Cup as a starter. Which is more cups than Price, Bobrovsky, Bishop, Rinne, Varlamov, Lundqvist, Rask combined (Rask might have one as a backup but that hardly counts). He was a "Cup-caliber goalie" in his prime. It's a low bar.

Niemi is, by a country mile, the worst goalie in the modern era to win a Stanley Cup, playing on arguably the most stacked team of the modern era. He's the Trent Dilfer of the NHL, and just because Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl, doesn't mean you should aspire to have Trent Dilfer at quarterback.

When people talk about 'all you need to do is get in and anything can happen', that's only the case if you have someone who can make big saves steal you a game or two every series.

Varlamov, Bobrovsky and Price haven't been to a Cup Final, but Rask, Lundqvist, Bishop and Rinne all have, and their respective teams would've have gone as far as they did without them.

The Canadiens have been an AHL team for five years and are consistently kept relevant by Carey Price.

A goalie isn't the only thing a team needs, but it's the only thing this team needs. The only way we're getting a centre better than Backlund is if Jankowski becomes one. Unless you want to trade some core players, the best way forward is to go get a top flight goalie and let the chips fall where they may.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

What AHL quality were Niemi, Crawford, Bishop, Jones, Rinne? All guys to play in or win a recent SCF. BTW Rittich was really good the one year he played in the AHL. Looked NHL-ready that year (I said as much in threads and got laughed off the board by people not watching). I even voted for Rittich as a top ~5 prospect of ours after that season in the polls. He didn't fluke his way to the NHL. He even nearly won a playoff series against a very good AHL team after Gillies lost the first two games. It came down to a game 7 overtime where a career AHL defenseman on our power play coughed up a shorthanded breakaway to win the series. Rittich is a fine goalie

You really don't need star goaltending in the playoffs, you need solid goaltending behind strong team defense. Heck we probably could have won a cup with 2014-15 Hiller-Ramo if we had a bit more skater talent. Ramo wasn't the reason the Ducks beat us. You can't have 2017 Elliott meltdowns but that was an outlier among playoff performances.

You do need stars at center as that position is crucial to team defense (and offense).

Rittich’s career AHL save percentage is .914, his NHL save percentage is much worse.

Comparing him to goalies like Bishop is just silly. He has played some nice games but there is no data to support he can take a team through the playoffs. None at all, other than hope and speculation.

He almost won an AHL series. And apparently the Flames were close to wining the Cup in 2015 too.

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Rittich’s career AHL save percentage is .914, his NHL save percentage is much worse.

Comparing him to goalies like Bishop is just silly. He has played some nice games but there is no data to support he can take a team through the playoffs. None at all, other than hope and speculation.

He almost won an AHL series. And apparently the Flames were close to wining the Cup in 2015 too.

I am not saying comparing him at this stage to what Bishop eventually became is not silly, but his NHL save percentage is .912, which is worse but I am not sure it qualifies for the subjective title "much worse". The difference is that right now he gives up an average of 2 goals for every 1000 shots at the NHL level. If one assumes he faces 30 shots a game on average, that means he gives up an extra goal once every 17 games or so, which is worse but not necessarily much worse.

Also of interest, at the same age Bishop had a .902 sv percentage, which is actually much worse than his current career .919 sv percentage. He improved (as players sometimes do) over time. I suspect Rittich is also a candidate to be a player who improves. At the same age, it appears like Rittich is a much better goalie than Bishop was.

I would love to see the Flames at least try Rittich more as the number one guy, rather than find another Hiller, Elliott or Smith from the scrap bin. The Flames are also in a position standings wise to see where Rittich can take them over the next 5-7 games and then play it from there.

[Yoho]

Originally Posted by Zoller

Tkachuk is the best player on this team and deserves the most money

He deserves money, but Jonny stirs the drink on this team.

[Red Slinger]

What's the story with Schneider? He's lost the starting net in NJ but is there any hope for him finding his game again?

[EVERLAST]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

What's the story with Schneider? He's lost the starting net in NJ but is there any hope for him finding his game again?

Id like Schneider as well but why do we always have a gamble in the mix with our choices?

To me it's like the pto players every year . We know they bring them in for healthy competition but these guys aren't really supposed to make it .

If somehow he could regain his form to where he was sure but I'm skeptical.

[Flames1217]

Originally Posted by Red Slinger

What's the story with Schneider? He's lost the starting net in NJ but is there any hope for him finding his game again?

Hes had two major surgeries within the last two years. Doubt he is ever going to get back to Elite top 3 goalie status he was before the injuries/surgeries.

[Monahammer]

Schneider at this point is no better than Smith, Elliott, or Hiller. If we need to pay a bit extra to get someone of Bob's caliber then so be it imo but let's not make the same mistake over and over again

[Ped]

Originally Posted by EVERLAST

Id like Schneider as well but why do we always have a gamble in the mix with our choices?

To me it's like the pto players every year . We know they bring them in for healthy competition but these guys aren't really supposed to make it .

If somehow he could regain his form to where he was sure but I'm skeptical.

You have to gamble because teams don't often give up elite goalies in their prime.


The only reason Bob is available is because there's no long-term future in Columbus for him - by his choice.


Other than that, anyone acquired is not going to be a sure thing, whether due to age, injury concerns, inconsistency, not proven, or beaten out by a younger guy.


The Flames aren't going to get a Kiprusoff in his prime. They're going to get a guy that needs a change of scenery or something else to kick-start or reignite his career.


Kiprusoff had fumbled the ball in San Jose. He became elite in Calgary.



Bernier was at one time the next great starter. Now he's backup.


Schneider got traded in his prime because of Luongo.


Jones got traded because of Quick


If you're looking for a guaranteed thing, that's not going to happen.

[jonkaupp]

Start Rittich majority of next ten games, keep an eye on how Schneider is playing. If he looks to be regaining a semblance of his former form then make a deal, should be able to acquire him for very few assets because of his contract. But unlike Smith, Schneider was truly an elite goalie before. He’s also 32 which isn’t a terrible age for a guy with his kind of talent. To say he’s the same as Elliot, Smith etc seems silly. That said, if he looks like he’s lost it then you gotta stay away. Hope Rittich runs with it.

Love the idea of Bob but being a pending FA means the 1st is out of question for me. This team is bleeding it’s prospect pool and it has to stop.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Aarongavey

I am not saying comparing him at this stage to what Bishop eventually became is not silly, but his NHL save percentage is .912, which is worse but I am not sure it qualifies for the subjective title "much worse". The difference is that right now he gives up an average of 2 goals for every 1000 shots at the NHL level. If one assumes he faces 30 shots a game on average, that means he gives up an extra goal once every 17 games or so, which is worse but not necessarily much worse.

Also of interest, at the same age Bishop had a .902 sv percentage, which is actually much worse than his current career .919 sv percentage. He improved (as players sometimes do) over time. I suspect Rittich is also a candidate to be a player who improves. At the same age, it appears like Rittich is a much better goalie than Bishop was.

I would love to see the Flames at least try Rittich more as the number one guy, rather than find another Hiller, Elliott or Smith from the scrap bin. The Flames are also in a position standings wise to see where Rittich can take them over the next 5-7 games and then play it from there.

Whoops. When I looked at Rittich’s NHL save percentage I didn’t include this year’s. My mistake.

I don’t think anyone at all is arguing against giving Rittich all the chances possible. I’m certainly not. We need to see what he can do. But at this point, I’m keeping my expectations in check until he shows he can carry the mail over a regular workload.

[Sylvanfan]

I remember how everyone was screaming at the Kings to get a goaltender in 2008 when the had Quick, and Bernier in the system.

I can see why Management hesitates to go out and committ big dollars and term to that position. The long term answer may be in the system, just requires a bit more seasoning and a chance.

[David Struch]

Anything new on the Steve Mason front?

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Joshua "Insider" Marshall has an "idea"

https://twitter.com/user/status/1058188464825323520

[Aarongavey]

Originally Posted by David Struch

Anything new on the Steve Mason front?

Maybe he will be the time we hit as a franchise on old formerly good goalies that we pick up off the scrap heap. We missed on Fuhr, Vernon, Wregget, Hiller, Elliott and Smith. Maybe it is 7th time lucky.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by David Struch

Anything new on the Steve Mason front?

No, he still sucks

[BandwagonFan]

Tkachuk negotiations are going to be difficult if he follows his father's advice, and he will.