travel_dude

Whether or not he would be a fit here, we do need to upgrade the goalie coach. I have not been impressed with the starter decisions, the work done with the goalies, nor the results in the last three years. Need to go another direction if we plan to improve the position.

Francois Allaire fired by the AVS. I thought he was one of the better ones. Could he be a target for the Flames?

Your play adjusts. Bishop had success playing behind a good defensive system, plus having a team that could score its way out of a jam. He won't have that in Dallas. Being tall is nice, but it doesn't guarantee success. Hrudey etc. have their opinions. Doesn't make them true. Any goalies going to let in "soft" goals. It's a mistake to generalize how a goalie did here and project that towards what you need to win. Every year is different and the way a goalie plays causes teams to adjust, both in front of and against.

It worries me a bit. Both Raanta and Gru are available right now. Maybe, as you say, teams are looking at the potential loss elsewhere as a reason to expose their backups. Depends on what the team is planning on protecting. I can see NY being ok in exposing other players and not woirrying about it. I think that WASH trading Gru for picks/prospect brings back more than they lose. Holtby is going nowhere for some time. They can pick up a backup easily.

It's easy to remember the bad we saw from Elliott. How many remember how good he played in his win streak. Regardless, he won't be the starter in Calgary next year. He may or may not be the 1b goalie here next year. He could get claimed by LV as a pending UFA (not likely), claimed by LV in the draft if signed by CGY and not protected, or signed by any team in FA. Wasn't sure. I am fine with a fall back assuming we get a Grubauer or equivalent. Bigger would be trading for a #1. Stay away from Dallas and Carolina. Don't pay big for MAF. Explore options for Schneider or Mrazek or other. Not a fan of many of the UFA options. I personally think Miller will regress due to his small size and huge pads he was so opposed to stop using. NOTE: I doubt Mrazek is even going to be available. He's probably a better netmider to have during a re-tool or re-build. Nothing wrong with Howard, but he will be too old by the time the Wings are relevent again.

Neither Raanta nor Grubauer are "big", but they are similar in size to MAF. I think either of them would be the way to go, with the fallback plan there (injuries, not ready for 40+ games).

Nice reporting there Cross. The decision between Mason and Elliott should come down to cap hit and cost to obtain (3rd in 2018). I think both are likely to have better seasons as Flames. But we need a longer term solution than either of those guys can provide. I don't have faith that any of the Flames prospect goalies can be ready for full time starter roles in less than 3 years. That said, you can't assume that any of them ever will. Better to get a long term solution in place and be stuck with a great vet and a great prospect chomping at the bit over a two year plan that leaves you in the same boat after two years.

Estimated cost to obtain, from lowest to highest: Grubauer - pending RFA with arbitration rights Raanta - one year remaining on cheap deal MAF - lost his starting job in the playoffs, and PITTS could be in a bind. They do have options, though. Saros - doesn't need to be protected, and NSH has no reason to trade him Schneider - not young anymore, but still a good goalie Mrazek - if even available, the cost would be very high The first three are likely to be a pick and prospect. Considering what PITTS wanted in the summer for MAF, the ask could still be out of reach.

It's a little hard to compare apples to apples here. Elliott supposedly good at MD, but not great at LD and HD. The HD numbers are possibly impacted by coverage down low, which the Flames struggled at. I can't say with any certainty that Philly's defense down low was any better. Besides, Mason had a down year compared to his historical numbers. The first chart shows what the eye test did, and that Gru is a good goalie. Maybe not 100% ready for a starter role, but has the best numbers of the 3. Better than Condon, Bernier, CJ. Put a better defense in front of Mason for 46 games and Gru for the other 46 and you could well have a great tandem. The only cost to obtain would be for Gru. Maybe there's a better 1b goalie out there than Mason, but he will rebound. Sign him to a one year term or two years at a reduced cost.

Maybe King is part of the problem. Was given the task of concentrating on the Arena project and he has butted heads so much that he may never be able to close a deal. You get two guys like Nenshi and KK together and the egos/agendas collide. Then you get Bettman coming in and adding his comments.

NAME GP GAA SV% ES SV% LD SV% MD SV% HD SV% RECORD ANTTI RAANTA 30 2.27 92.20 93.31 98.66 91.81 82.72 16-8-2 JOONAS KORPISALO 14 2.88 90.52 90.80 95.80 91.46 80.85 7-5-1 PHILIPP GRUBAUER 23 2.05 92.60 93.98 99.5 93.19 82.55 13-6-2 NAME GP GAA SV% ES SV% LD SV% MD SV% HD SV% RECORD MARC-ANDRE FLEURY 38 3.02 90.90 91.69 98.56 91.13 81.61 18-10-7 BRIAN ELLIOTT 49 2.55 90.97 92.12 97.92 93.32 77.74 26-18-3 CHAD JOHNSON 36 2.59 91.00 91.57 97.72 91.71 80.33 18-15-1 STEVE MASON 58 2.66 90.81 91.77 98.25 91.59 76.47 26-21-8 MICHAL NEUVIRTH 28 2.82 89.10 90.21 94.76 91.87 74.62 11-11-1 MIKE CONDON 41 2.50 91.44 91.98 97.06 90.93 82.53 19-14-6 JONATHAN BERNIER 38 2.51 91.55 92.27 97.16 92.75 80.09 21-7-4 RYAN MILLER 54 2.80 91.36 92.65 97.46 92.82 79.95 18-29-6 BEN BISHOP 39 2.52 90.96 92.45 97.97 89.56 81.62 18-15-5 MIKE SMITH 55 2.92 91.42 92.53 97.74 91.92 81.60 19-26-9 Just some stats for the goalies out there.

Sorry, I don't see the transformation. Still homeless people living 1/2 a block away, sleeping on the sidewalk. Big buildings around, not so much entertainment. Parking is available in a muddy unpaved lot behind the arena. City is going to pay a lot in leasing for their offices now.

Carty - I read this article last week and thought the exact same thing. How amazing is the atmosphere in Nashville's Arena District. Compare it to the "Ice Dirstrict" in EDM and it's like night and day. The fans had no place to gather and watch, unless they wanted to pay $80 to stand in Ford Hall and watch TV. No outdoor area. Maybe the Wintergarden will address that, but the area is still a crap area. And I fear that is how the one in Calgary will go, since the view is so short-sighted.

Backlund will get inked again or traded, so it's 50/50. I don't know if Philly values Backs as much as our coach and GM do. Does Schenn have good faceoff ability? His stats don't show that, but limited usage may account for that. If you want to kindle the BOA, adding Manning would do it.

If you are suggesting a combo of Elliott/CJ, then you can keep them. If you are suggesting CJ as a backup, you can keep him. CJ played himself out of contention with his games in December through March. Not sure I would bet the farm on either of those backups with Gru. Too much risk. Retooling teams do not trade their heir apparent. LA, ANA, and NYR were not retooling when they sent their 2nd best goalies away. They had starters that they could not give enough games to. DET may be forced to buy out Howard. Or they could trade and retain $$.

Schneider I will not comment on, as I think he isn't in play. But, I would say the same about Mrazek, unless they have issues with his attitude. He was their #1 last year, so why would they trade him for futures? The Andersen deal was a little bit complicated, as it included 30th overall, and a 2nd in 2017. Part of the deal, though separated due to the $2m bonus owed Berner, included getting Bernier without sending anything unless he played in 50% of the playoffs or was traded and reaches the SCF, as well as plying in 50% of the games. The reason for Anaheim trading him then was that Gibson was set to be the starter and they wanted to get something ahead of the expansion draft. And they got the pick in a strong draft. There is no reason to trade Mrazek. Elliott was set to be the starter last season. They even had talks with him about re-signing in October. A good backup should "net" you about 30 games, unless you live in EDM. If you want to pay the 3rd in 2018 and the cost of Gru, then fine. Let them play about 40 each. Or you can go for another "starter" over Elliott and only pay the $$. I don't blame Elliott for the playoff first round exit. But, no way would I endorse bringing back both him and CJ.

To begin with, you are pinning hopes on a career backup, except with Mrazek or or MAF or Scheider. Elliott was a career 1a/1b goalie, and CJ was a backup that played a starter role when Lehner went down at the start. There's every reason to believe that Gru or Raanta could be starters, but are you (BT) willing to bet another season on a guy you think is ready to be a starter? Mrazek and Schneider (if either available) will cost you a lot of assets. DET will either expose Howard or trade for the best offer Mrazek. Schneider will probably cost lest due to age and salary. NJ is years away from being a contender, so they can afford to shed his salary now.

We did assume that Elliott would be a starter too, but signed CJ as a 1b/backup. I would love to get Grubauer, but BT can't pin his hopes 100% on him. Signing a Mason or whatever as a 1a/1b option hedges that bet. BT strikes me as a careful GM, and signing a FA goalie costs nothing more than $$. A Gru trade shouldn;t break the bank. If you have your goalies signed for less than $6m, then we can fix the rest of the roster without leaving the net to chance.

Mason has played as a starter most of his career, playing at least 50 in the last 4 years. His numbers in Philly may not be as good as Elliott's in STL, but I would argue that STL is a better defensive team. I don't have a big beef with Elliott and I think he could be in line for a big bounceback season, but he will cost a 3rd in 2018 even if we sign him as a FA. Mason costs only salary.

Ok, so I am going to backtrack a bit. Trade for Grubauer or Raanta. Sign Mason in FA. The total cost would be likely less than MAF alone.

No to the deal with the Flyers. It's probably fair to both teams, but I don't know that Schenn gives us enough back for losing two centers. Yes to the Hanifin and/or Murphy. RM would need to be protected, so that might need to hold off until the 22nd. Hard to know what the cost would be.

I'm all for adding a 4th D. A real one. I don;t have a problem with Stone as a 5/6 guy, other than the possible cost to re-sign. He may think he can get $4m, but I would not want to pay that for depth. Bart is a 6/7 guy as far as O can tell. I think that Andersson could be in the top 6, assuming we don't sign Stone. With Engelland in the lineup, Gully still played him close to 17 minutes on a nightly basis, regardless of what line he played on. I would prefer to get away from that and use the top four closer to 50 minutes.

I guess the NHL teams do not agree. For some reason, none of the players you are suggesting is drawing any interest. Since I am not a scout, I would ask what any of these players bring to the table. The older ones tend to have a solid history of pro play, regardless of the league. The younger ones are less proven at the pro level, and would require years of development in the AHL before they could be ready. Signing a Russian prospect is fine, if you can get them over here and pay them $70k for years before they ever make the NHL if ever. I would compare the early career with Andersson or Kylington. Neither is guaranteed to be in the NHL, but have been offensive forces. Both are still young for the NHL. Bottom line is that all of these guys are risks in one way or another. Our development system is slow for transitioning them into NHL players.

You don;t follow the rumours then. CHI was/is interested in Rutta. The lure to going to CHI is less after they have been eliminated in the playoffs 1st round two years in a row.

Do you think that the Hawks are a god judge of talent? Perhaps the Oilers are just following around the Hawk scouts.