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darth_henning

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Everything posted by darth_henning

  1. darth_henning
    Ortio had 8 straight good periods followed by a stinker. Right now he's a slightly better option than Hiler, but his consistency is definitely a problem. Had a couple go in on him that maybe shouldn't, but of the 10 goals against him in the last 3 games, I would say you can only fault him on 4 of them (3 tonight). Going down too early is definitely the problem with his style. Rebounds are big, but that's a problem with most young goalies, that alone wouldn't be a problem. Still say he's a better choice than Hiller.
  2. darth_henning
    Um....what? Our Stanley Cup window opens in about 2-3 years. Probably best shot is in about 5 years. Gio will be in his mid-30s at that point, and while he won't likely be a top 2 he'll almost certainly be a top 4 still. Kylington and Anderson are also about 3 years away each. They won't walk in and be top players but they'll be solid right as we enter the cup window and only get better once we are there. The problem isn't D on our cup team its D until we get to that point.
  3. darth_henning
    We definitely don't go after a goalie until the season ends. Otherwise we'll be paying out the nose. Free agency if you can find a 4-5 mil player who's an improvement on Ramo, for a 2-3 year term, then sure, definitely go for it so long as we don't break the bank on a trade (UFA would be ideal, but a limited crop). Ortio if he keeps his play league average the rest of the season has earned the backup for next year. But that's still an IF. Really we won't have closure on the goalie issue until the end of the season and what direction we take.
  4. darth_henning
    if he continues to play as well as the last 2 games, I think he comes in around 2 mil. Assuming that he's likely to drop off a bit to about league average probably lookint at 1.5. Definitely affordable, presuming he keep up decent play. Hopefully he doesn't have some injury or collapse. I think there's a bit of a difference between what the two sides are arguing. No one is saying not to get a starting goalie who plays #1. Everyone agrees we need a #1 goalie. The question is how people are defining #1. If we're talking about going after a 6-8 million player who steals games on a nightly basis like Price, Quick or the like, then we simply cannot afford that this season. If we're talking about getting a 4-5 million goalie who will be consistently good, but not mind-blowing, then that's something we definitely have to look at. There's a big difference between those two types of goalies. Right now we can afford one of them. Not the other.
  5. darth_henning
    Spoon is definitely improved over his appearances last year. He, Kulak and Nak could easily fill out the 5-7 roles competently. The problem is the money we have tied up in Eng/Wide/Smid. But after next season we're in great shape on D once we find a top 4 guy.
  6. darth_henning
    Goaltending is definitely our biggest problem. We have NO goalie signed for next year. Hiller is a disaster. Ramo was playing better of late, but has gone down with an injury that could permanently alter his play style for the worse. Ortio is an unknown at the NHL level and inconsistent in the AHL. There isn't a single other position you can point to on the team where we have NO proven or likely NHL caliber player for next year. Up Front we have 4 of a solid top 6, and Shinkaruck may be able to make that 5 as early as next year. We have good LW depth, amazing center depth. We are however light on RW, but between Frolik, Poirier and Jooris, we have acceptable options (and Shore has also played wing) We have a great top 3 D, and while we have some vets clogging up the bottom 3, but we have some good prospects NHl ready for the bottom pair (Wotherspoon, Kulak, Nakladal). Looking at our holes 1RW, 2LW, 3RW, 4D, 1G, 2G. The ONLY position that's utterly vacant is goal. That's a problem.
  7. darth_henning
    Glad to see it. If he can keep even decent quality goaltending through the season, he's bought himself a job next year. Lets hope.
  8. darth_henning
    Ortio had a very good game. The two goals that went in he had no chance on, and you can't fault him for that. The going down for a windup shot is an issue, but that's a tendency that can probably be fixed by the goalie coach. He's earned another game (or few). The only concern is that in the AHL this year he had a great game or two then a horrible game or two. If that's what he does in the NHL we have a problem. But if he can be consistently good, or even consistently league average, he's worth signing for next year as a 1A/1B with Ramo or someone we get in free agency. Hiller in my opinion should probably ride out the year on the pine unless he's needed for relief, and then head into retirement. After this year, I'd be amazed if he got a contract with any team in the league.
  9. darth_henning
    Wotherspoon and Nakladal have looked good with limited minutes. If we could clear out Smid, Engellend and Wideman for next year, I'd feel comfortable (though not thrilled) with them as the bottom pair. Given that Kulak is also close that gives us good options. Only question is if any could manage top 4 duties, and right now I lean towards no. Brodie did get absolutely ripped for one of the goals tonight, but that was uncharacteristic.
  10. darth_henning
    The more we play Hiller, the more I'm sure we're trying to Matthews. Ortio may not be what we all once hoped he would be, but I'm pretty sure he couldn't be worse than Hiller is right now. No matter what he is, we should be trying to find out. We know what Ramo has. We know what Hiller has (or rather doesn't). Ortio is still partly a question mark.
  11. darth_henning
    Horrible timing for Ramo to go down. Had finally gotten out of his slump and was playing arguably his best of his career. This injury itself could be career ending for some goalies, and especially given his overall stats for the year he's going to have a hard time getting a contract next year. Which might not make him a bad option to re-sign. We could get a hefty discount, and could either get great goaltending, or at the very least not be handicapped by a large contract if he doesn't work out. I think this season spells the end of Hilller's career for different reasons though.
  12. darth_henning
    I'm not arguing that we don't need better goaltending. My question is whether we take a 4 mil stop-gap (like Ramo) or go to break the bank on a cup winning tender NOW. The thing is because of five vetran contracts (Bollig, Stajan, Wideman, Engellend, Smid) taking up 16 million of our cap (not to mention Raymond's 3 mil burried in the minors) we are limited on what we can add this year. We can't afford a top end goaltender without either sacrificing on our need for a #1 RW or #3/4 D man, which I think are more urgent needs. We can get by with league average tending, if we get better at forward and defence. But even Price won't help the team if we're lacking scoring or have poor D coverage. When those contracts are traded or come off the book naturally at the end of next season? Sure, go after a top goalie. When we can afford it. Even as it is, its going to be nigh on impossible to sign a team with any improvements and be under cap: Gaudreau 7.5 Monahan 6.5 ????? 5 Ferland 0.825 Bennett 0.925 Frolik 4.3 Bouma 2.2 Backlund 3.575 Poirier 0.863333 Granlund 1.2 Stajan 3.125 Colborne 1.3 Grant 1 Bollig 1.25 FORWARD TOTAL: 39.56333 Brodie 4.65 Giordano 6.75 ??? 3.5 Hamilton 5.75 Wideman 5.25 Engellend 2.916666 Smid 3.5 DEFENCE TOTAL: 32.31667 Ramo 4.5 Ortio 1 GOALIE TOTAL 5.5 ROSTER SIZE: 77.38 CAP (ESTIMATE): 73 Even assuming relatively budget signings for a 1RW and 3/4D. That puts us about 4 mil over cap unless we find a way to shed salary. Where do we find money to ALSO pay for a top end goalie? We don't.
  13. darth_henning
    JJ put it in better terms than I did. Right now, a #1 goalie isn't an immediate need. Do we need one when we're ready for the cup? Yes. Do we need on this season or next? No. If Gillies or MacD aren't ready in two years, THEN we trade some assets to acquire one. Until then, we need some decent tending that gives the rest of our team time to grow and mature into the stanley cup contenders that they should be without worrying about being scored on 6 times per game. We need a decent tender (or two) for the next couple years. That may be Ramo/Ortio. That could be Ortio and someone else, or it could be two guys we don't have. But trading for a stanley cup tender right now is unnecessary. Goalies can come onto a team and play at their level basically immediately once they have a couple games to figure out where the holes are from the D-men in front of them. Forwards and D-men need time to develop chemistry.
  14. darth_henning
    Oh I won't argue that this season has been anything but consistent. Even in the AHL. But he has shown flashes of talent there, some games with great numbers, others with numbers as bad as Hiller's numbers this year. But honestly? Lets s give him 5 games or so and see what he has. If he craps the bed, then we can cut him loose in the off season. But if he can even do better than Hiller, he's more worth keeping around due to his price. Goal really just needs a stop-gap for a season or two until Gillies and/or MacDonald are ready.
  15. darth_henning
    So...after today whats the over-under of Ortio actually getting a few consistent starts to see what he really has? Also, best on Hiller having a really hard time getting a contract next year?
  16. darth_henning
    This is Ortio's time to prove what he has. If he does well? We can sign him for about 2 mil for next year (due to his lack of experience and inconsistent AHL numbers) and see if we have an NHL goalie in him next year. If he does badly? We get a better chance at a lottery win and know how to cut our losses on him. Regardless, I'd like to see Ortio get most of the remaining games this year. But realisticaly we all know Hiller will bar another injury to our goalie. (someone wanna fall on him?)
  17. darth_henning
    Sorry that Ramo went down. He had been playing very well in the recent months, and was the goalie we were most likely to re-sign this summer. This means we'll see Hiller in probably 30+ of the remaining games and Ortio in about a half dozen. Its a very much sink-or-swim situation for both. If Hiller wants any kind of good contract (here or elsewhere) he needs to greatly improve his play from earlier this season (good start on that last night. If Ortio wants to stay, let alone play in the NHL he needs to show he's capable and not all over the place like his numbers have been this year.
  18. darth_henning
    Its relevant to note that the average is VERY skewed by the huge number of players who play only a single season in the NHL. http://www.quanthockey.com/Distributions/CareerLengthGP.php If you look at players who last 3 or more seasons (ie, more than boarderline players) but less than 21 seasons (not ridiculously long) the average basically doubles to 10 years. So the replenishment rate drops more to about 2-4 per year. Which is much more reasonable.
  19. darth_henning
    Just looking at those stats that IS exactly the problem Horrible Good Horrible Good Good Bad Bad Good Bad Bad Bad Great Great Bad Great Bad Bad Great The good news is that the good is starting to outweigh the bad, but there is still a distinct lack of consistency. He can put up multiple games of 0.95+ , but they're every other game essentially.
  20. darth_henning
    Realistically if the Flames really want government funding, the only real bet bet is for the city to bid on (and win) an olympic games. The governments would then kick in money and the new arena could be done as part of an "olympic village" style development on the west side of downtown. With or without though there are several issues. 1) The Creosote cleanup - this is something that the city and province are going to have to pay for. No private developer is going to take that land so long as they're on the hook for millions more to do that. They'll just find another parcel elsewhere. 2) The stadium design - overall I like the idea of a clear roof, but the portion over the football stadium should be retractable. 3) The area re-development - there were some brief renderings released of a masterplan by the city a few years ago for the "West Village" but those have to be redone if a stadium is put in (While we're at it how about a new Glenbow as well? Turn it into an arts and entertainment area. Pumphouse theater is supposed to be getting a major expansion, and the old science center is being turned into an art gallery) 4) The abysmal road system in the area - this needs complete overhaul and needs to be done first after the cleanup 5) The Greyhound station and car lots need to move out before any of this can start. The stadium is a good catalyst for redevelopment. But there's one HUGE problem. The current economic downturn. Really there's nothing that's going to be done on this project for at least the next 3-5 years until oi and the economy in general turn around and there's money in the city again. Both the provincial and federal governments are projecting deficits, and I don't think that this is anywhere on their radar for priority.
  21. darth_henning
    I always question the "coming in cold" thing. Do goalies not practice between games or something? No its not the same situation, but by that logic you should only ever have one goalie so they're always "going" or alternate ever game no matter how they play if you have two so they're as fresh as possible. Neither of those makes sense. Ramo was given a lot of straight starts, his first few were terrible and he improved. But it took a while. Hiller by contrast has sat on the bench for two months and came in to play his best two games of the season (arguably the last two seasons). There's really no logic to worrying about someone going "cold" on the bench IMHO.
  22. darth_henning
    To be fair, Kipper was never the problem in our abrupt playoff departures. THat one year where we got blown out by the Ducks he stopped something like 185 of 200 shots over 4 games. Which is as much as you can ask.
  23. darth_henning
    Hopefully Ramo can keep playing at this level. He's been consistently getting better as the season goes on. He might be worth retaining next year as a starter as his game clearly improves the more workload he has (sort of like Kipper)
  24. darth_henning
    That's interesting. There has been definite improvement over the past month or two now, if that's a new style or just more confidence, or both, its working. I was really hard on him this season, but supported him most of last. My main issue last year was he'd have 4 or 5 really good games, then get blown out. Wash rinse repeat on a predictable cycle. The last bit we haven't seen that from him, and he's shown that (despite one or two off games) he can be a predictable and dependable starter. That's what we needed him to be. Hiller won't be here next year, Ramo might get another year or two of a contract until Gillies is ready.
  25. darth_henning
    I think that's definitely not true of the more recent contracts Bouma is on the high end but fair. Hamilton and Gio are both a mil or more less than I'd expected. Everyone else signed in the last year and a bit is fair. Yes, Raymond, Gouchi, Engellend were overpaid, but that was before we knew how fast the rebuild would actually be as stop-gaps.
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