Where is Karri Rämö?

[Locke]

I really liked Ramo, I thought he could have been something really good.

[Flash Walken]

Best goalie outside the NHL!

[marchmallow]

Originally Posted by Locke

I really liked Ramo, I thought he could have been something really good.

I agree with this, he gets unfairly lumped in with Hiller and the like as examples of our bad goaltending of recent years but I think he was a solid goalie for us. In fact I thought he was improving over time as he learned the league more, and if he hadn't gotten hurt he could have likely reached the level of a true #1. He was playing lights out before the injury happened, I thought he played a bit like Kipper in style so the comparisons were actually kind of apt.

[TheAlpineOracle]

Hartley clearly favoured Hiller and it really held Ramo back in my mind. I remember almost pulling my hair out how he'd go back to Hiller time and time again the minute Ramo faltered. Hiller could let a goal from center ice, and he'd always get a second chance the night after.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I liked Ramo a helluva lot more than Elliott. If he wasn't injured so badly I would have been happy to re-sign him for last year with a decent backup like Johnson.

[Vulcan]

Yeah, I liked Ramo and even liked Ortio and think it was bad luck and management that screwed up. Ramo lost his form with the injury and had no contract while Ortio lost his confidence.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Yeah, I liked Ramo and even liked Ortio and think it was bad luck and management that screwed up. Ramo lost his form with the injury and had no contract while Ortio lost his confidence.

Do you think Ortio was really ever that good? I am just not that convinced he was ever all that. Maybe its the ultimate we'll never know.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

Hartley clearly favoured Hiller and it really held Ramo back in my mind. I remember almost pulling my hair out how he'd go back to Hiller time and time again the minute Ramo faltered. Hiller could let a goal from center ice, and he'd always get a second chance the night after.

I disliked Hiller as much as the next guy, but I don't believe this is altogether fair. Rämo started 19 of 24 games between 15 Dec and when he was injured on 11 Feb, including seven starts after a loss. Your recollection is wrong—before the end of Dec 2015 Rämo had clearly solidified his position as the Flames starting goalie; there is no need to exaggerate the facts here.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

Do you think Ortio was really ever that good? I am just not that convinced he was ever all that. Maybe its the ultimate we'll never know.

I bought into the Ortio hype only as much as he was the goalie next in line to have his shot, and I wanted to see him get it. I remember a development camp where he looked particularly atrocious, as one of the older players in attendance, letting in softies from 40 feet out, and displaying very poor body language. At that point, I was on the side of 'he's not an NHL player'.

Ortio wasn't good enough to earn starts from Bob Hartley in a season where Jonas Hiller had a sub .880 save %. That's nobody's fault but Ortio. If you can't convince your coach in practice that you're better than a checked out Hiller or a 38 year old Backstrom, you don't belong in the NHL. Hartley would've rather played Ramo's one-legged corpse than Joni Ortio. That says it all.