travel_dude
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Everything posted by travel_dude
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Truth is we had a very average team during our cup run. No elite players. No true #1C. Drafting after that year was horrible. When I say he may never surpass, that means records, games played, etc. There are few in the NHL that will surpass him.
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We are truly exposed with Gio out; Butler just doesn't have it to be a top line guy. Brodie is doing well, but still makes rookie mistakes. Wideman has good night offensively and bad night defensively. Russell is amazing for his size; he play like a giant. Smith is not a bad 5/6 guy, and Smid will become a 3/4 th guy soon enough. The goalie situation is distressing. Even when Berra has an awesome game, he still lets in some squeakers. Ramo has looked good and bad in the same game, but is not getting any opportunity to show that he can improve. If we are trying to find that elusive #1 goalie, then we need to play them equally and play the best lines available. That does not include Jackman as a 4th liner or Gratts playing every game. Nobody will fight him (other than a Gazdic or Parros type), so what is he taking up space every game for? I would rather see a Knight or B.Jones playing opposite Bouma and Colborne/Backlund and have them play 10 minutes. As far as Ortio goes, he is the mid-range guy, in case Berra or Ramo can't hold the job. Don't want to see him till later in the year, though. Gillies is currently playing elite-level goaltending, the same way Johnny Hockey is playing elite-level LW. Gillies has gotten They will both have an adjustment to pro hockey. I expect Gillies to continue to excell this year, as he has already posted 8 shutouts in the early part of his second season. That is other-worldly, not the second coming. His size and technique give him an early advantage over Kipper. He may never surpass Kipper, but I think he will surprise a lot of people.
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Wow, those are some awesome stats that Joey has compared to Berra and Ramo. Any stats other than this year's mean nothing. Apples and oranges. By obvious choice, I mean obvious who we had targeted to play this year. Joey started on the Flames because he was waiver eligible, not because he was the better goalie in TC. Waiving an NHL goalie is akin to the end of the road. Like the guy, but time to move on from a 33yr old sub-standard goalie; he won't get any better than he is.
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It should have been obvious that JoeyMac was the one to go. You don't waive him hoping he makes it through waivers to play as a backup to Ortio. He is gone pending an injury to one of Berra or Ramo. Even then, we may just see Ortio come up. Joey PO'd a lot of people on his way out of town. He is one level below B.Jones at this point. His success rate and/or stats are nothing we couldn't get on the waiver wire anyway, so I think he is toast. Nothing to do with proving value to the Ramo/Berra signings; he was a signing that was at best a stopgap measure. If he had come in and provided over .900 and GA of 2.5 he would still be here. He didn't so we get to see what we have in Berra and Ramo.
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I don't really know what we have as far as goaltending goes. Berra has played 5 games? Ramo 7? Maybe if we were able to keep the number of shots below 30, we could get an accurate picture. Maybe if you did video review with the whole team, they might see why goals are coming fast and furious. BTW, the Avs lost by the exact same score tonight. JS Giggy with 5 GA. Point is it happens.
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Based on look and feel, Berra is #1, followed by Ortio (great stats in AHL, but it is the AHL), and Brossoit. I'm not writing off Ramo yet. He has shown some good skills, some ok stuff, and some really bad stuff. Depending on how the coach draws up starts, he could fare a lot better. I'm not a big fan of the "play the hot hand", because here is how it is being used: - Play a guy, if he wins he starts next game, if he loses but doesn't totally suck or you can blame the team, he starts next game - Above doesn't hold true if a back-to-back game What you end up with is a guy plays 2-3 games (more for Joey) and in the meantime, the other goalie cools off. I would prefer that goalies are matched to the team they play against. It will take a bit of effort to figue this out. Take the win/loss/good try out of it.
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JMac hasn't exactly endeared himself to the Flames. Being sent down doesn't mean you get the call to start either. Joey will need to earn the trust from Ward.
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It is possible that they want to see a few games to see how his game is progressing. More likely in the near future. Less likely if we are fighting for a playoff spot. They can call him up (assuming he is waiver exempt) and carry 3 goalies by dropping a D down to the AHL again (Smith/Butler/Billings).
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One step at a time for LB. He needs to gain confidence before coming back to the AHL. His last two games were forgetable. There is no rush with him, as we have 3 better goalies ahead of him on the depth chart, and another playing his butt off in the NCAA. In fact, it is actually better for him to stay in the ECHL for now, as JoeyMac can play a limited backup role on the Heat. For now, until proven otherwise by a significant number of starts, we have 2 quality goalies in the NHL. Ramo will get better, and Berra could stay the same, and we have 1a/1b goalies. Many probably feel Ramo has been crap, but he is still adjusting to the style of game and the lack of defensive help. He's has two very good games (LA & WASH) and a couple where he let in some softies. His first game should have been a win, but OV and the team woke up. Ortio will eventually get a call up, assuming we can send someone down without waiving them or someone is injured. That will come in time. Brossoit will get back to the AHL once they decide he is ready. Joey will probably get traded to a team in need of a backup later in the year, probably for future considerations. No real value there.
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Don't worry man, Ortio is playing hot, so he will get the starts. Ward wants to win as well, and there is no pressure from management to develop JoeyMac. He is only there as a backup, and will (might) only get a call up if one of the Flames tenders is injured or falls on him face. His parting comments probably soured the coach a bit. You might be more likely to see Ortio as a call up.
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Spooky. Another thing that sounded similar was Harley talking about 5 game sets. Dutter did a similar thing as they got closer to the playoffs, so that they wouldn't look at the standings so much. The fireman's helmet is a throwback to the green hardhat as well. The one thing missing is Marty Gelinas as the FO specialist. We have two Finnish goalies in the system; Ramo and Ortio (from the same place as Kipper). I will hold off a wee bit on the predictions, as we haven't been too successful in Cali yet. When we can beat the Ducks in Anaheim, then we may have something.
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I like that we have two goalies with different styles. Coaching just needs to figure out which styles play the best against which teams. Berra was solid, and what worked against a team like the Hawks was freezing the play a lot. Lots of face-offs hurts a team like them, because they are great on the rush. Beyond that, team defense kept a lot of shots to the perimeter. I haven't totally figured out Ramo's game yet; he does seem good on defending against break-aways. Think he may be more of a butterfly goalie, but a bit scrambly at times. Not enough games yet to get a read on him, though.
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To be fair, we only have had one starter in that bunch. He has had the reins since 2004, and started the vast majority of games. This is really the first year that we are searching for a new starter. Our backups have not fared well over the years, but none of them really had "starter" potential (IMHO). Sure we messed up with Irving, but he showed he couldn't even beat Taylor or Brust for the Heat job. This year was supposed to be Ramo and Berra competing for #1 or #1a/1b, but we were stuck with McBackup to start the year. That was just because coaching was not ready to commit to the rebuilding at the net 100%. The Ramo/Berra tandem will at least show us how much we are in need, or at least provide us with some league (or below) average goaltending we lacked last year. Combine that with the strong early showing by this team (no surrender) and we are not a bottom 5 team this year. We have been somewhat lucky with shots against not killing us, but then again we have been better lately at the PK.
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One has to think that the defensemen on the Flames' "list" were picked prior to where we wanted to pick them. I would not have given up Mony or Poirier for the defense that were still available at those picks. Klimchuk is a great pick and may just be the steal of the draft. I was never that big on Nurse, and none of the guys I was big on made it even as far as the Poirier pick. I'm not losing sleep over this as there are several guys in the pipeline that may (could possibly) end up as a #1/2. As you said, we have some vets that could fetch some pieces we could use. This year's cap constricts some of the contenders from making moves to help their teams, so they might have to give up something good to make room for the Iggys and Jagrs at TDL time. There may be players available this summer that we can easily afford that match our long term need. Either through trade or FA.
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No argument about him letting in soft goals. Dubie let in a ton so far. He was an NHL goalie last year and is having a rough start. Both will improve with average defense.
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SA/G and GPG are only half the story. If we are 18th in shots per game (30.0), that usually means we allow too many chances per game as well. The way TO defenders cleared out the front of the net was a big difference between the two teams. Yes, the goaltender was responsible for making those 2nd and 3rd saves due to mishandling the puck, but scrambling in front of his is all on the defense.
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Ask Nucks fans about games where Luongo let in softies or looked stupid with the puck by his feet. Does Ramo need to play more like the Washington game every night? Yes. Is he ready for the scrap heap after 6 games? No. Like it or not, Ramo is our goalie for Y1 of the rebuild. We better learn how to reduce his workload in-game, start clearing the crease, and give him the tools to win. Teach him better positioning for play behind the net. Get him working with the D in practice on communication and D-man tendencies.
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One of the things that Calgary has lacked (no Vancouver pun intended) over the years was a go-to backup. One that you could trust to bring in when your #1 needed a break or had a history of playing a team badly. Joey does give us a bit of confidence, in that he is used to the role and doesn't need constant tuning to keep sharp. He was signed as insurance, in case we didn't get Ramo signed. Given his age, the potential for one of our goalie prospects to make the jump, and the availability of adequate backup goalies, so this is probably his only NHL contract with the Flames. I feel it serves the Flames better to have Ortio, Berra or Brossoit take over his role and develop along the way. If Gillies develops the way he has been so far, in 2 years time we will have him and Ramo/Ortio/Berra/Brossoit being the tandem. Anybody else is trade or release.
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I will only comment on Ramo, as we tend to go round and round on the others. Ramo is getting better with each game played. I don't feel many of the goals he let in were that bad. What he is showing is a bit of rust, and adjusting to the move to NA ice. His first two starts were separated by two weeks. In both he was hung out to dry. Two strong teams with elite scoring. He then played in LA, where he earned the win with a decent defensive game being played in front of him. Then, even though he is hot, sits until the Dallas game. The Flames were tired and showed it in how they played in front of him. He followed that up with another solid effort against Washington. The Flames defense needs to stop the breakaways from happening (though he has played those excellent), clear out the players in the crease, and eliminate the scrambling D-zone play in the slot area.
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Yes, I saw that. There are a number of games coming up (B2B) and you will see the games being split between goaltenders. Ortio gives the Heat a better chance for the win and has gotten some playing time in Alaska. Brossoit has been just OK, and needs to get some work in.
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The weird thing is that the Flames current sit 17th in the League, tied with Montreal. In the West, we sit 2 points back of 8th. Hartley is winning in spite of some of his decisions. The things he is to be applauded for are the following: - Giving Ramo a shot - Going back with the Sven-Mony-Huds line - Recognizing the skill of Colborne and rewarding him with decent line mates (Cammi and Gali) - Using McGrats and Jackman sparingly of late - Sensing the skill and compete level that Russell has I hope that Hartley does understand that we need to see what the prospects have at the NHL level. Butler and SOB are adequate (at times), but we have more in the pipe. I can accept a trade for a top 2 potential defenseman, but only if that also is a long term solution. Even if we are still in the playoff hunt by TDL, I really hope we don't trade for any short-term rental types.
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Team has already said they won't go with 3 on the roster at the same time. Otherwise Berra would have stayed up initially.
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Say what? If I'm not mistaken, the Heat played OKC Oct.18 and 19th. That was this week. Berra did get a 2-1 SO win, right? The game before Berra let in 4 goals and was replaced by Brossoit.
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Did you miss the score from the next game, where Berra took OKC to a shootout, and won 2-1? Ramo held his own against the best team in the NHL at the moment. Getting lit up with 3 PP goals is not the end of the world, and even Hartley said Ramo played extremely well. He is getting the start against LA. As far as I can tell. Hartley is making roster decisions. I don't always like them, but he makes them, not Jay.
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"face palm" I am saying nothing other than you relegate all Flames goalies to being sub-par. If I'm not mistaken, the only goalie you have given the benefit of the doubt was Taylor. If it wasn't you, then sorry. Point is that you can't make blanket statements without proof. Well you can, but it is just your opinion, not fact. Wait till Ramo plays 10 games before you say he sucks.
