[PGT] Blues - 5 Flames - 3

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

Yes, and during that time, the Flames have missed out on Grubauer, Raanta, Andersen, Fleury, Bishop, Jones, Lehner, Condon, Demko, Dubnyk, Howard, Hutton, etc. All of these guys have been moved while Treliving was GM.

Rankly, the Flames are unlucky to be where they are in terms of goaltending.
Basically every alternative we didn't take has worked out for another team.

Yes I am really not offering up his efforts as a defense nor an indictment. Simply that Hiller, Ramo, Elliott, Johnson, Smith and Lack were hoped to be a part of the solution. Of this group, we are left with Smith.

You can't say Treliving hasn't tried. I also think it's totally fair to evaluate his results to date.

[kukkudo]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Yes I am really not offering up his efforts as a defense nor an indictment. Simply that Hiller, Ramo, Elliott, Johnson, Smith and Lack were hoped to be a part of the solution. Of this group, we are left with Smith.

You can't say Treliving hasn't tried. I also think it's totally fair to evaluate his results to date.

The only goalie on that list that legit should of helped was Elliott the rest are cast offs.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

It's pretty damn funny at this stage, no?

I don't think I've ever seen one player so comically snake-bitten/boned by no-goal calls.

It makes me like Bennett even more. It's like he's one man standing against the hockey gods or something. Gotta love an underdog!

Is there a stat that tracks no-goal calls by player? Bennett must lead the league since he entered, no?

[AC]

Originally Posted by Buff

Is there a stat that tracks no-goal calls by player? Bennett must lead the league since he entered, no?

Last night was #8 by my count.

[Buff]

Originally Posted by AC

Last night was #8 by my count.

That must seriously be double the next total by an individual player.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by redforever

That's what people said about GG too, he is figuring out his lines, it will come around, give hime time, blah, blah, blah.

A bad coach is a bad coach and a bad goalie is a bad goalie.

In the mean time, the Flames are spinning their wheels and wasting talent up front.

Mike Smith is not a bad goalie. He played in the NHL All Star Game last year on the strength of his record through 50 games last season, which was pretty impressive. Has he lost a step with age and the recovery from his injury in February? Maybe, but I am not convinced. There has been a lot of things I have seen from him in the last four games which make me think that he has not.

[Flames67]

I'll bet Corey Perry has more called off goals the little twerp.

The flames needed to do exactly what Neal said post-game, "when the puck drops, we're ready to play". Had the Flames actually given a ####, that game was theirs for the taking. They got unlucky with posts, a few missed open nets, yadda yadda. Allen had a handful of really good saves, but the flames made him look like a god.

I vote the flames have a cup of coffee ten minutes before every game, and actually own the first period and move forward with that energy. I've seen it too many times that they only start fighting hard when they get down a goal, or sneak an early one in and realize they're in a hockey game.

[AC]

The Neal goal is great to watch.

Dube with his great speed gets on Bortuzzo before he knows what's happening, knocks the puck away from him to the boards. Dube then wins the race again to the puck against Tarasenko and makes a gorgeous little touch pass to Bennett. Bennett with a great drive to the net deking past Bortuzzo . Bennett gets hooked and looks like he's about to lose the puck at the last second like usual, but makes another great little pass to Neal for the empty net goal.

https://streamable.com/02a74

[Mike F]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Good god. Did I hit a nerve?

No, and I don't see anything in my post that would indicate I was worked up. I framed my response the same way you did yours

Originally Posted by Textcritic

In terms of the market you are correct in pointing out that neither one of us knows what is available, but do you honestly think that there are teams looking to move quality goalies after 5% of the regular season has been played? It seems like a pretty reasonable suggestion that the market is just not there right now.

Again, who knows? Who knows who might be looking to upgrade other aspects of their lineup, and would like guys like Bennett, Frolik, Jankowski (not that I'm in any way advocating for him to be traded, but it takes good assets to get good assets), etc. and, isn't looking to move a goalie, but would do so to improve their team short or long term.

Originally Posted by Textcritic

And as much as you accuse me of making assertions about what the GM is or is not thinking and doing, you are doing exactly the same thing in your sentence about Sigalet. I would imagine that he, the coaches, and management have a very good handle on how Smith entered the season, and likely where he is at now and whether a change is needed.

I'm not making an assertion about what Sigalet is thinking. I don't know that any more than I know what the market is. But without that knowledge, I can only base my opinion on what I do know:

1. Post All-Star break last year, Smith put up an .893 sv%
2. To start this year, he has an .881 sv%;
3. Throught his career, including during his "peak", he's put up a decidedly average .914 sv%;
4. Mike Smith is far from his peak, being 36 years old and frequently injured.

Based on that, I have zero confidence that he's going to turn around and provide 55 games with a .920 sv% (i.e. a good starter), and little confidence that he can even provide 55 games with a .914 sv% (i.e. a mediocre starter) for the above reasons.

What are your expectations for Smith this year?

Originally Posted by Textcritic

As for the process, did I ever say that this was an issue that should be allowed to continue into perpetuity? No. I have suggested that the GM likely has more time to make this work than most fans would provide for him to do so. I personally think that Treliving is a good GM who should have more time to fix the problem. No doubt, he will not be content in burning another season on substandard goaltending, but he cannot simply will it to a solution. The primary point I was making in my above post was that it is a possible outcome for Treliving to do what he can without jeopardizing the team and still finish the year without trading for a new goalie. That could very well happen in spite of his best efforts and correct decisions.

What you said was that it's way too early to be making that evaluation, that putting together a team is a LONG process, and (seemingly) that you were content to wait until the season was over to address it.

Had you said something like, "Smith probably isn't the answer this year, and Treliving should be working the phones to see if they can upgrade. However, realistically, the solution may not be out there for a while." I would have had no problem with it.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by AC

The Neal goal is great to watch.

Dube with his great speed gets on Bortuzzo before he knows what's happening, knocks the puck away from him to the boards. Dube then wins the race again to the puck against Tarasenko and makes a gorgeous little touch pass to Bennett. Bennett with a great drive to the net deking past Bortuzzo . Bennett gets hooked and looks like he's about to lose the puck at the last second like usual, but makes another great little pass to Neal for the empty net goal.

https://streamable.com/02a74

That’s been my favorite goal thus far in the season.

[shogged]

Bennett can feed Neal like that all year long