Would you re-sign Brian Elliott?

[N-E-B]

Just curious as to what CP thinks of Elliott so far? Do you re-sign him short term until we find a better replacement? Are you satisfied with his play so far? Do you think he's just in a funk and will play his way out of it? Obviously tonight wasn't his best performance but he has also had a few decent games.

My personal opinion is that I wouldn't re-sign him for longer than two years. I think he's been good but not nearly what I had hoped for.

Mods, if this thread seems reactionary to the game tonight feel free to shut it down. Just curious as to what everyone thinks at the halfway point. It's a topic I've been wanting to discuss for a while now but waited until the halfway point to gauge interest.

[ComixZone]

Taken from the PGT

For goalies who have played 15 or more games (45 goalies total):

Elliott ranks 36th in GAA with a 2.95, and 45th in S% with a .889.
Johnson ranks 13th in GAA with a 2.34, and is tied for 15th in S% with a .920.

I find it hard to believe the team is satisfied with his performance up to this point. There are still games to be played this season, but as of now I don't think he's earned a contract for next season.

[PepsiFree]

Re-sign both him and Johnson.

Some rough patches, sure, but where is the goalie going to come from? I wouldn't want to commit to someone like Bishop at a huge price tag long term and no other FA inspires much confidence.

These guys are good enough to win us some games but not so pricey that Gillies couldn't bump one out next year or the year after. I say sign him.

[Dion]

Elliott would be my last option as I think he would be looking for a long term deal.

[bigrangy]

Not at the cost of the 3rd round pick that would be forfeit to St. Louis if I did.

I like Elliott and I think that he's better than what he's shown but unless he turns around his game I don't know if he will be getting a contract from anyone for next season.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Barring a hot run in the second half Elliott may not be wise looking for a long term deal.

I think he will right the ship enough to warrant considering a 1 year show me deal.

[GranteedEV]

No, only because

-We lose a 3rd round pick if we do
-Johnson is a very good goaltender
-I would like to see one of Rittich or Gillies in the NHL next year

[Classic_Sniper]

Definitely would not re-sign him. He allows too many softies, plays poorly against tougher competition and hasn't stolen a game for us this season. There was a reason St. Louis acquired Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur to play over him as they didn't trust him and I can see why now.

I'd rather keep the conditional 3rd round pick and re-sign Chad Johnson or sign Ben Bishop or see if Jon Gillies or David Rittich are ready for the big leagues.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Classic_Sniper

Definitely would not re-sign him. He allows too many softies, plays poorly against tougher competition and hasn't stolen a game for us this season. There was a reason St. Louis acquired Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur to play over him as they didn't trust him and I can see why now.

I'd rather keep the conditional 3rd round pick and re-sign Chad Johnson or sign Ben Bishop or see if Jon Gillies or David Rittich are ready for the big leagues.

Forgot about Miller in StL. Ouch. This game adds insult to injury.

[Monahan For Mayor]

Nope.

[1qqaaz]

For me, it's still too early to say.

But as of now, I'd be leaning towards no. I doubt he'd want to stay with a team that he didn't perform well for.

[Frank MetaMusil]

I'd turf Sigalet and see if he turns it around before offering a contract.

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by Frank MetaMusil

I'd turf Sigalet and see if he turns it around before offering a contract.

This is an interesting train of thought for me. On one hand he hasn't had a ton of success with the goalies, but on the other hand how much can you actually blame the coaches for the goalies not performing up to par?

[Calgary4LIfe]

For the Flames to re-sign him, he needs to give them a reason to do so, right? I don't think he has done that. He has just been too inconsistent. Even the games he has won, there were too many 'softies'. I don't think he has been 'solid'. He hasn't been horrible (outside of a few games), but he hasn't looked like a world beater.

With that being said, he is capable of going on a really massive hot streak. Again, is that who he is, or is this who he is now - a capable 1B type who gives 'ok' goaltending?

Flames also really need to take a look at Rittich this season. He is an RFA next year. Is he worth another contract? His AHL record seems to think so, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Is he a Curtis Joseph, or is he a Curtis McElhinney (or not even)? Only way to figure that out is to give him some starts at the NHL level, but it is always difficult giving breaking a goalie into the NHL. I am not sure he is ready (no idea). I just know that he has been doing well in the AHL, and is an RFA.

Flames are also facing a bit of a logjam in the system:

Rittich (AHL, 24 this year, RFA next season)
Gillies (AHL, 22 this year, RFA next season)
MacDonald (ECHL, 20 this year)
Schneider (Junior, 19)
Parsons (Junior, 19)

I would figure that Parsons (maybe even Schneider) should probably graduate this year, though I am sure one is going back to Junior. One takes over Mason Macdonald spot in the ECHL, MacDonald graduates to the AHL, and there has to be some room made.

Gillies of course will get re-signed. Does Rittich walk? I have no idea. I think you have to play him some games at the NHL level to figure that out, but Flames find themselves in the midst of a playoff race where one game can drop you out of the playoffs at season's end.

Elliott has not been 'great' by any stretch. Probably not as bad as his record indicates, but he hasn't provided the Flames with consistent high-level goaltending.

I would mark a big X across Elliott's name for next-season. Question is, do the Flames promote from within, or trade for one in the off-season/sign one from the UFA bin? I would be inclined to believe Johnson gets another contract from the Flames. Big question for me is who else?

I really do think that the Flames have to figure out if Rittich is at least a capable, dependable backup at the NHL level. Going to be difficult working him in (outside of a long-term injury issue with one of the existing Flames goalies).

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

Flames also really need to take a look at Rittich this season. He is an RFA next year. Is he worth another contract? His AHL record seems to think so, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Is he a Curtis Joseph, or is he a Curtis McElhinney (or not even)? Only way to figure that out is to give him some starts at the NHL level, but it is always difficult giving breaking a goalie into the NHL. I am not sure he is ready (no idea). I just know that he has been doing well in the AHL, and is an RFA.

I'm not goalie expert, but my scouting report on Rittich would be that his positioning and rebound control has impressed me, his skating is some of the best out of any goalie I've ever seen allowing him to get into position so quickly, and he's a battler. I really like him.

Gillies (AHL, 22 this year, RFA next season)

Technically, Gillies turns 23 in two weeks.

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

This is an interesting train of thought for me. On one hand he hasn't had a ton of success with the goalies, but on the other hand how much can you actually blame the coaches for the goalies not performing up to par?

There are quite a few comments on how the Flames goaltender was too deep in the net, not covering the posts, etc.

The only guy who seemed to improve under Sigalet is Ramo, imo.

[dying4acup]

Originally Posted by dying4acup

I heard this interview, and didn't like it. Tonight is the night teammates need to hear a goalie say "I wasn't good enough tonight" regardless of how the team played.

I'm kind of done with this guy.

Something Derek Wills said on radio, how, good days or bad, Johnson speaks to media before and after game days. Always accountable. Same time Elliot isn't always so friendly, not so approachable.

Makes me wonder if this might be why this is his 4th? Organization? Maybe team mates don't love him so much.

The Flames might have played their most domminent game of the season, and the goalie, who stopped 9/13 was talking about turnovers? Seriously!!??

Quoted myself

[calgaryblood]

Absolutely not. He's been bad this year and has given up a tonne of softies. I really don't see how the answer to this thread isn't a definite no so far.

He does have time to persuade us but as of now he's literally one of the worst goalies in the league. Why would you possibly want to re-sign him?

[Poe969]

No, I'd try to trade him at the deadline.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

I haven't loved Elliott's game enough this year to re-sign him. He's not nearly as bad as everyone is saying, but he's definitely been culpable on far too many goals this year. He's not a guy I would want to give anything more than a 1 year contract to, and even then, it would be a low salary 1 year deal hoping for a rebound year.

I imagine that Treliving is looking for a permanent solution in net, but I doubt he wants to do a long term deal with anyone since we have Gillies, Parsons, and to a lesser extent McDonald all in the pipeline. At some point you have to allow for one of them to be your cheap starting goaltender so you can allocate funds elsewhere. Of course, that is probably 3 years down the road, so I think if you can find a guy who can start on a 3 year deal, you get it done.

In the meantime, I re-sign Chad Johnson in a heartbeat. He's shown that he can handle the starters net for long periods of time, and while he's not an elite goaltender, he can win a lot of games if your starter goes down. I sign Johnson to a 3 year deal ASAP. If you don't find that starter, you can still rely on Johnson for the majority of games. The perfect swingman option.

A lot of this is clouded by the expansion draft and which goalies could be available through trade. Hard to see, the future is.