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

[Shazam]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

I like it, now the door’s open to call anyone an internet schmuck whenever you disagree with their opinion. It serves to embiggen us all.

Schmuck is actually a word for "penis", so now we're all bunch of pricks.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by ikaris

I would say Smith has let in one or two softies on most of his losing performances and even in a couple of wins. I don’t think those are intentional, but it is actively costing us points.

Badger’s Nose is not wrong. An “active” contribution to an outcome is an intentional one. It would be better titled “Mike Smith is costing this team games.”

FYI, my apologies to anyone who found my usage of the term “internet schmuck” offensive. It is a term of globalization akin to “ordinary joe”—my intent was to draw a sharp distinction between an expert and the vast numbers of anonymous laity.


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[Shazam]

Pfft, that's hardly an apology. As punishment your title should be "Likes the Edmonton Oilers".

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Schmuck is actually a word for "penis", so now we're all bunch of pricks.

This I agree with.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Shazam

Schmuck is actually a word for "penis", so now we're all bunch of pricks.

Eww. That’s gross.


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[Strange Brew]

Some would say throwing out “G** d***” is a million times more offensive than schmuck.

I can’t decide if that is a refection of the times, a reflection of the internet, or of CP. It’s probably more the latter two as it’s not something I would say in a group today, generally speaking.

I’m not offended by it but I’m always momentarily taken aback when I hear it or read it in certain settings. It is funny that you can’t get a frequently used scatolgical reference through the swear filter but a term that offends millions (billions?) of Christians is no problem.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Some would say throwing out “G** d***” is a million times more offensive than schmuck...

I finished my annual viewing of Breaking Bad yesterday.




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[ikaris]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Badger’s Nose is not wrong. An “active” contribution to an outcome is an intentional one. It would be better titled “Mike Smith is costing this team games.”

At this point we are obviously just engaged in semantics, but I’m not sure that I agree that an active contribution is an intentional one. You could actively play hockey as the goalie with the intention to win but the outcome could be the opposite to that because you unintentionally let in a soft goal.

Ultimately, I agree with the better title but I’m having a hard time reconciling active with intention.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by ikaris

At this point we are obviously just engaged in semantics, but I’m not sure that I agree that an active contribution is an intentional one. You could actively play hockey as the goalie with the intention to win but the outcome could be the opposite to that because you unintentionally let in a soft goal...

The first def’n I find for “actively” says “in a deliberate and positive way.”
"the company is actively looking for a buyer."




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[TheScorpion]

Look, I don't think Smith is sabotaging this team. Perhaps the title could've been clearer. But I stand by what I say so it's staying.

[Strange Brew]

Yeah no one thinks he is throwing games. You would have to try in order to be confused by the title even if the word actively is not in fact necessary. Point is that Smiths play is likely more directly resulting in losses than say Neal’s poor play.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Look, I don't think Smith is sabotaging this team. Perhaps the title could've been clearer. But I stand by what I say so it's staying.

Yeah, the titling is a quibble. But you made this thread on 15 November, insisting that Mike Smith needed to be replaced “immediately.” In that time the Flames have a 6-1-0 record in his last seven starts.

I tend to think that even amid the current level of frustration we are bound to see this cycle continue—Mike Smith will not be replaced; he will split wins and losses as he has done, occasionally with spectacular performances and often also allowing bad goals and having bad games; posters will spend the season demanding an immediate change. On, and on we will go.


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[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

I like it, now the door’s open to call anyone an internet schmuck whenever you disagree with their opinion. It serves to embiggen us all.

And Mike Smith stinks but we’re stuck with him this year. Would it be smart to try and get a better player to be a 1b or backup to Rittich? Of course it would. But you work with what you have not with what you want. Hopefully Rittich can handle becoming a starter and Smith doesn’t cost the team valuable points or possible playoff games.

Twenty-nine goalies played in the playoffs last year. If the Flames make the playoffs, there is a good chance that Smith gets called on at least once.

[Aarongavey]

Where does Smith rank in terms of BT goalie acquisitions? He is unlikely to lead his team to the playoffs as the starting goalie, unlike Hiller or Elliott. His stats though are similar to Hiller’s, does the playoff appearance by Hiller make him the superior goalie? What about Elliott? Was he better? I think Smith is the worst, but I cannot decide which goalie acquisition was the best, Hiller or Elliott. I think Hiller likely was because he did not have an acquisition cost, but it is a toss up for me.

[Lanny_McDonald]

This argument has gotten a little out of control, where the apologists are suggesting the "He-man Mike Smith Hater Club" is not being logical and not using facts. Well, as one of those members of the "He-man Mike Smith Hater Club" allow me to inject some facts into the argument by letting Mike Smith’s play speak for itself. We’ll call this a critical review of each of Mike Smith performance.

October 3rd, @ Vancouver (L 5-2)


Welcome to the NHL Elias Pettersen. Smith gets beat for Pettersen’s first goal on a great wrist shot to the top shelf. On the 2nd goal Smith gets caught making a bad guess as to where the puck is going and gives up an easy one. The 4th goal was just bad play by Smith. On an alley-oop into the zone Smith waited deep in his net for the play to come to him then allowed a soft tip move to slide between his legs. In a game where the Flames dominated the play, then ended up on the short end of the scoreboard because of the goaltending battle.

October 6th, vs Vancouver (W 7-4)


A bounce back opportunity after a horrible game in Vancouver. Smith starts out rough, playing back in his net allowing Pettersen to pot a close in opportunity. 2nd goal was a shorthanded effort that Smith let get through him from the faceoff dot. 3rd goal was a result of a good play by the Canucks. 4th goal was a result of Smith sitting in the back of his net and allowing another pass into the paint of the crease to be converted into a tap in. Flames were by far the better team, but Smith was still the 2nd best goaltender in the game.

October 9th, @ Nashville (W 3-0)


Smith’s best performance of the season. He looked confident and played well fundamentally. Was out on top of his crease, challenging the shooters. This is how Smith should play all the time instead of stay in the back of the net and flailing around on his face.

October 11th, @ St. Louis (L 5-3)


Coming off a shutout against one of the best teams in the league there was hope for seeing a turnaround by Smith and beginning of a trend. Flames work hard to take an early lead, then Smith gives it right back off the next rush into the zone. Smith just flat out misses with his catching glove on a wrist shot from almost the top of the circle. 2nd goal Smith over commits to a player almost on the goal line and allows a cross ice pass through the paint at the top of the crease to be easily converted. 3rd goal was a bit of a lucky bounce, but the 4th goal was all on a wandering Smith who mishandled a puck on the PK allowing for an empty net conversion. This one’s on Smith.

October 17th, vs Boston (W 5-2)


One of Smith’s better efforts of the season. He played fairly consistently and didn’t get caught making any big mistakes. A sign of things to come, or an aberration?

October 19th, vs Nashville (L 5-3)


First shot, first goal, but it wasn’t the back breaker. In a game where the Flames were playing catch up the whole time, and had shifted the momentum in their favor, with a goal to draw even in the third. The 4th goal, the game winner, came just over a minute later when Rinaldo scored off the rush, catching Smith deep in his crease instead of out challenging. Smith loses another goaltending duel with his consistently inconsistent play.

October 25th, vs Pittsburgh (L 9-1)


Six goals on 21 shots. Ugly. 1st goal Smith gets beat by Crosby on a short side backhand on the goal line. Caught deep in his goal and down way early. 2nd goal was a long wrister from the point that was tipped. 3rd was another wrist shot that Smith couldn’t handle clean and coughed up a big rebound that got jammed in by the shooter. 4th goal was another shot that Smith couldn’t handle and generated a rebound that was immediately converted. 5th goal was Smith whiffing on a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff dot. 6th was just unfortunate as Kessel got a breakaway off a bad bounce at the Penguins’ blueline and he didn’t hesitate beating Smith. He was chased and the Flames were already done like dinner. Too many softies again, but Smith can’t be blames for the loss, no matter how many softies he let in.

October 29th, @ Toronto (W 3-1)


A goaltender’s battle that Smith ultimately won, but not without some moments of heart palpitations. Flames caught a break when the time ran out in the 2nd with Smith in the downward facing snow angel and the puck loose in the crease after he lost track of it. He was beat on a 5-3 PP that anyone would have let in, but late in the game had one sneak through that ended up on the outside of the mesh. It wasn’t pretty, and Andersson was the better goaltender in this game, but Smith managed to get a big win for the team, even if it did cause some angina symptoms for the fanbase.

November 1st, vs Colorado (W 6-5)


1st goal is a long shot from top of the circles that Smith just flubs as he gets beat on the short side. 2nd goal was a strange one with a couple of deflections on the way into the net. 3rd goal was a cross ice feed where Smith was hiding way deep in his net and didn’t challenge the shooter. Those cross crease plays continue to be a weakness. 4th goal was all Smith. A weak shot that Smith muffed again, allowing it to leak through and into the net. Flames come roaring back to score five in the third to take a 6-4 lead and win it 6-5 after a late Colorado goal. Flames won this one in spite of Mike Smith, who gave up two softies.

November 7th, @ Anaheim (L 3-2)


1st goal was a complete misplay on Smith. Silvferberg takes a long shot that Smith just can’t squeeze. 2nd goal was brutal Smith as well. A long wrist shot from the point from Manson generates a massive rebound right to the slot where the puck is immediately finished. Meanwhile at the other end, Miller makes a number of big saves and steals a game. Two soft goals cost the Flames a win here.

November 11th, @ San Jose (L 3-1)


Tough game as it was a measuring stick game. 1st goal Smith got beat by Kane on a good wrist shot. Smith was too deep in his net and gave Kane way too much to shoot at. This is a consistent problem with Smith, and Kane took advantage of this weakness. On the 2nd goal Kane held the puck behind the net waiting for someone to come open. Smith hugged the near post and then allowed a pass along the ice to come right past that post. An active stick would have prevented this puck from getting out and eliminated the scoring chance. Poor fundamental use of the stick causes another goal against. The rest of the game was a goaltender’s battle where Jones was just a couple saves better than Smith.

November 15th, vs Montreal (L 3-2)


On a night where Carey Price is stopping everything in sight you need your goaltender to make some saves. This was one of those Smith performances that was cringe worthy. 1st goal Smith allowed a shot from the slot to get through him. Playing way too deep in his net and not prepared for a shot from right out in front of him, he let a puck get right through him. The 2nd goal was a result of some poor rebound control and a pinballing puck. These happen in scrambles so not a major complaint here. The 3rd goal was horrific. Smith allowing an off balance wrist shot from the top of the circle to somehow squeeze through his legs. Two weak goals in a game where the other goaltender was standing on his head, stopping 43 shots. This was a game Smith cost the Flames.

November 25th, @ Arizona (W 6-1)


The hapless Coyotes had a lot of shots, but not many dangerous chances. The defense was great and Smith provided the type of puck stopping you would expect in a game like this. Only a late brainfart from Hamonic cost Smith a shutout.

November 30th, @ Los Angeles (W 4-1)


Anytime a goaltender only has to face 14 shots in a game, it should be an automatic win. The only goal that Smith gave up was one he should have had. Playing way back in his net Kempe found a way to thread a short side shot right through the Flames goaltender. Smith did make a really good blocker save against Brown, one of his few difficult opportunities against. Fortunately LA didn’t have many shots and the Flames earned the win for Smith. Petersson for LA was the much busier and better puckstopper on this night, but if not for the goalposts this would have been another laugher.

December 2nd, @ Chicago (W 3-2)


The infamous “scorpion save” game. This was a pretty even game. Crawford made a number of highlight reel saves and was the bigger story in this game, but Smith provided the type of goaltending needed for the win, including the desperation scorpion save. Toews beat Smith on a partial breakaway, sliding the puck through his five hole. This is one of Smith’s fundamental weaknesses, so I get why the fans get torqued when he gives up one like this. Strome beat Smith on another partial breakaway with a backhand. But the big story of this night was Asimov being stopped by a desperate prone Mike Smith. Smith, in his usual downward facing snow angel, made a desperation leg kick as Asimov lifted the puck toward the empty cage. The puck stayed out and Smith’s save preserved the victory, but the performance was not great, but it was also not poor.

December 4th, @ Columbus (W 9-6)


This was a goofy game. Rittich got pulled after the 1st period, after letting a softy in on the 3rd goal scored. Smith came in and gave up a goal early on a short side shot that he likely should have had. Was a great shot by Atkinson, so not really on Smith. 5th goal against was a breakaway and an awesome shot by Foligno. Smith thought he should have had based on his reaction, but I don’t think he had any chance as it was a backhand snipe by Foligno. 6th goal was a great tip by Atkinson, leaving Smith with no chance. Smith wasn’t really that busy, and his stat line doesn’t look very good, but none of the goals against him were of the questionable variety and he actually came out of the game with the win in a game where no goaltender looked good.

December 6th, vs Minnesota (W 2-0)


Smith earns a shutout in a game the Flames had fewer shots, but better scoring opportunities. Smith didn’t have to face a lot of great opportunities but he did have to face 31 shots to earn the shutout. The Flames defense was good at keeping shots to the outside, but Smith still deserves full credit for the performance between the pipes. I thought this was one of his most fundamentally sound games of the season.

December 8th, vs Nashville (W 5-2)


This was a good performance by the Flames defense. Smith made some stops when needed, even if a few of them weren’t pretty, but the Flames did a great job keep the Preds outside and eliminated many dangerous opportunities. The 1st goal was a good tip, but Smith really played the original shot poorly. Again, fundamentals were weak and exposed his five hole. Some slack can be cut on this one as the tip was a great play by the forward. The 2nd goal was just weak as hell. A wrist shot from well out and a bad angle somehow manages to find its way into the net. Smith’s stats were good, but he still allowed a softy that should have been stopped. Full credit to the Flames blueline on this one.

December 12th, vs Philadelphia (W 6-5 OT)


This was the performance that really got the pitchforks out, and for good reason. Mike Smith was exposed in all his glory for all to see. 1st goal was a Mike Smith special. Sanheim comes in on a deep push and goes cross crease, sending Smith into the downward facing snow angel, for an easy goal. This is Mike Smith weakness. He is fundamentally a poor goaltender on players cutting across the front of the net. He doesn’t use his stick to either poke check or to keen the paddle on the ice and close the five hole. Goal two was not on Smith at all as the puck pinballs around and leaves Van Reimsdyk with a wide open net. Goal three was also not on Smith as Voracek made a great pass for a solid tip in. Goal four though, well this was the final straw for most fans. This was an easy shot along the ice that just went in. Four goals on 14 shots saw Smith not come out for the third. Only a great push by the Flames in the third turned the worm on this game. Smith almost cost the Flames this game.

December 22nd, vs St. Louis (Loss 3-1)


This is by far the most quintessential Mike Smith performance. Posts good enough numbers to keep the advanced stats junkies at bay, but puts in an abysmal performance for those who use their eyes to pass judgement. 1st goal was beyond weak. Perron has a poor angle and still manages to find a hole through Smith. Even the announcers were shocked the puck found its way through Smith. 2nd goal was somewhat expected as it was a jam play off one post, where Smith couldn’t control the puck, resulting in him going full downward facing snow angle in an attempt to make a save. Another lateral movement goal on Smith. Goal three was another Mike Smith special. An easy high shot from well out Where Smith could not control the rebound. That big juicy rebound was right into the slot and the Blues 4th line cashed in. Meanwhile, Jake Allen at the other end stones the Flames, including multiple highlight reel saves. I won’t say this game was completely on Smith, or he gave this one away, but it was not a good performance.

The bottom line on Smith is he’s become a fundamentally poor goaltender. He sits too far back in his net and allows too much to happen around his crease. For a goaltender who is supposedly so strong with his stick in handling and moving the puck, he’s one of the worst goaltenders around in using his stick to make plays while he is in the crease. He is terrible with the poke check, can’t stop or interrupt puck movement across crease, and can’t keep the paddle square to the ice and protect his massive five hole. To make matters worse, he is not good with his gloves and struggles to catch or direct the puck with consistency. He’s a big goaltender who relied on his equipment to help him block the puck more so than make saves. The smaller equipment is likely bothering him and making the game tougher for him, because there are just way too many pucks going through him. You can throw all the advanced stats in the world around, but Smith just isn’t making saves, especially at important times during the game. Its time to move on. Because of his poor fundamentals he’s not even trustworthy as a backup.

[Yobbo]

schmuck

/SHmək/

noun

INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN

a foolish or contemptible person



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[Yobbo]

Originally Posted by Yobbo

schmuck

/SHmək/

noun

INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN

a foolish or contemptible person



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Just had to clarify the proper meaning. LoL

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[kukkudo]

Great post New era.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by New Era

The bottom line on Smith is he’s become a fundamentally poor goaltender. He sits too far back in his net and allows too much to happen around his crease. For a goaltender who is supposedly so strong with his stick in handling and moving the puck, he’s one of the worst goaltenders around in using his stick to make plays while he is in the crease. He is terrible with the poke check, can’t stop or interrupt puck movement across crease, and can’t keep the paddle square to the ice and protect his massive five hole. To make matters worse, he is not good with his gloves and struggles to catch or direct the puck with consistency. He’s a big goaltender who relied on his equipment to help him block the puck more so than make saves. The smaller equipment is likely bothering him and making the game tougher for him, because there are just way too many pucks going through him. You can throw all the advanced stats in the world around, but Smith just isn’t making saves, especially at important times during the game. Its time to move on. Because of his poor fundamentals he’s not even trustworthy as a backup.

Many have identified this, why doesn't he work to fix it in practice?

This can't just be some kind of "universally accepted" flaw with the player, it's obviously fixable with some coaching and video review, no?

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

This is an incorrect use of the term impossible.

Actually it isn't. You can never know how the game would actually have gone with a different goaltender. it's not like it would have been the exact same, just with a different goalie. Everything would have been different.