kehatch
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Everything posted by kehatch
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To start next season Ramo is the starting goalie for Calgary, Ortio is the starting goalie for the affiliate, and Gilles is staying in school. All confirmed by the Flames. The Flames need an NHL back up. I agree with that because I think Ramo earned it last season and I don't see any reason to rush Ortio. You don't, which is fair, but arguments to the contrary are moot.
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I believe in Ramo. Mostly. That's a lot of eggs in a small basket. Either way, I don't see an upside in getting an older vet. Hartley made some very questionable goalie decisions early last season. I would hate to see an older vet come in and get the majority of starts. I think that will happen if we bring on a Miller, Hiller, etc. We don't need the controversy. I would rather have a younger player to keep it an even playing field. Also, even if that player gets the starts at least it is an investment in the future. Just not in Ramo.
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Agreed. Him, Griess, and Montoya are the guys I want. I don't want an older vet like Hiller, Miller, Brodeur, etc. Someone that has played enough games to know what is what but who is young enough to be part of the long term picture.
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One of the biggest challenges Calgary (or any rebuilding club) faces is balancing opportunity with expectation. On one hand, you don't want to make it so difficult that a deserving rookie can't make the club. On the other hand, you don't want to create a situation where the performance of that rookie is "do or die" to the success of the club. One of the areas that Edmonton is failing is that they put their rookies into a situation where the weight of the team is on their shoulders. We have to be careful not to do that. You don't want to go out and get Hiller because that makes it too difficult for Ramo to get starts. On the other hand, you don't want a goalie that the team (and Ramo) doesn't trust because if you do Ramo is in a situation that he has to carry the team or they fail. I don't want MacDonald. I don't think he is good enough to play 30 games and I would rather spend that ice time on a player with potential in case Ramo fails. I don't want Ortio, because best case is he doesn't get any games because Ramo is great. And worst case there is too much pressure on Ramo (and Ortio) because Ortio isn't ready. There are a lot of UFA goalies out there that fit the bill. Elliot. Emery. Gustavsson. Montoya. Etc. I want one of them to be a confident back-up for Ramo and a plan B if he doesn't work out.
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Macdonald isn't a horrible back up. But most teams have a better option at number 2. The Flames should. Plus Ramo is far from a sure thing. Let's give ourselves a chance to find our Ben Bishop. A young goalie with potential to play with Ramo gives us that.
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I think I would rather have Ramo than Fleury.
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Hartley really liked Berra from over seas. He started him in the AHL to get acclimated to NA. But once he got called up he was handed the starter position. That November stretch was inexplicable. I could have seen giving Berra 2 starts to Ramos 1 to get him caught up. But Ramo, a guy trying to find his own legs in NA, sat the bench for a month. But it is moot now. It all turned out.
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Ortio didn't look ready when he was in the NHL. I agree with keeping him in the AHL where he will do well, develop, and get lots of starts. If there is an injury than you can call him up. I think if you call him up you risk him not getting starts for long stretches. The Heat should be a great team next season. Let him play there IMO.
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I doubt it. The coach is coaching. Not the GM. Even if that is the reason, leaving your potential future starter on the bench for close to a month while the other guy isn't playing well is ridiculous. But its in the past and things turned out. So like I said, all is good.
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I never did understand Hartely's love affair with Berra. It was my biggest frustration early. He really appears to have his favorites and treated players differently. That said, whatever he did worked so no harm no foul IMO.
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Actually, I think it has been a pretty loud argument at times! I hope they don't sign MacDonald. He was a sub par goalie in his prime, and he is past his prime. There are a couple of UFAs I would look at. Elliot would be a great pick up if he becomes available. Same with Halak if you can actually get him. Montoya is another example. These are young goalies that may or may not be available July 1. I prefer a young veteran goalie because Having some insurance if Ramo falters is a good thing Ramo is probably looking at 45 or 50 starts next season. We still have another 35 or so starts that are going to need to be covered. I don't want a guy like MacDonald in net for that.
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Usually Burke speaks with an agenda. My perception of Feaster is he was just trying to tell us how awesome everything was. Like I said above, showing your commitment to a goalie and preventing a goaltending controversy was the right thing to do IMO and it was the reason for Burke to say those things. For example, before yesterday there was speculation in the media that Burke was in the running for Reimer. Now the same people are reporting that the Flames are comfortable with Ramo.
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I think every GM does it to some extent. But Burke is better than most in trying to manage expectations. That extends to the fans, players, management, owners, coaches, etc. Feaster was on the other side of the spectrum. He was a salesman.
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I hear you. I didn't like the constant overselling Feaster provided. Cervenka was the best player not in the NHL. Ramo was the best goalie. Some how so was Berra. It will be the upset special if Sven doesn't make it. Guarantees to make the playoffs. Etc. But I don't see Burke doing that. He intentionally tried to talk fans down with the Gaudreau debut for example. But Ramo just put forward 40 starts with respectable numbers. He is 27. He is a seasoned pro and a KHL all star. I think Burke showing support of Ramo is fine. I also think he is trying to avoid a goaltending controversy like there was in Toronto. Every season people were talking about if this was the season that Burke was going to replace Reimer. It was a bad environment. And it would have existed here. I fully expected Burke to go out and get some insurance on Ramo. I am sure many other fans (and players) thought the same thing. Now I (and they) don't think that.
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Small sample size. But Berra has been dreadful in Colorado so far.
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Wow. That is all.
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I try to be really careful in trumpetting goalies. Karlsson was the next big thing. So was Berra. Some are over the moon over Ortio from a small sample size. But Ramo seems to be sustaining things. He has elite numbers since returning from injury. In fact, his stats for the entire season are very respectable. He is definitely making a case to be the number one next season.
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Ramo has NHL starter numbers and a win percentage over 50 percent on a bottom five NHL team. That includes his first half where he was getting used to the game and where he couldn't buy starts due to Hartleys love of Berra. I don't know what we have in Ramo. But to suggest his ceiling is as a back up because he is 26 doesn't add up.
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Agreed. If he plays well AND he is getting starts you keep him up. Otherwise you send him down.
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That and Colorado doesn't see a stud goalie. They see a young potential NHL back-up on a minimum wage contract that can back-up Varlamov.
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He didn't want to play for Montreal with Price there. But he is on record as looking forward to back up Kipper.
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I said it already, but people really need to cool down on Ortio. He may end up being a decent NHL goalie. It might even be soon. But we have a small sample size. Further, the shot counts in his 6 games were relatively low, he hasn't let any PP goals in (some luck and something that pads the stats), and the team has scored 4 or more goals in all of his wins taking some of the pressure off of him. That isn't criticism. Just a reality check. People were really high on Berra early as well. Probably more deservingly since he started with a 42 save performance against Chicago. So far Ortio is looking good but it shouldn't surprise anyone if he falters and needs to go back to the AHL. Maybe even for a couple of seasons. As for Ramo, not sure what anyone expects of him. I still need to be sold before I label him as a legitimate NHL starter. But he has NHL numbers on a poor team over a sustained level of time. He generally looks good and rarely gives up weak goals. He has given us no reason to write him off so I don't know why some here have.
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People should keep in mind that Berra looked good early. It's a good start, but the mob will turn quickly if it goes south. Which is why I think you move Ortio down of he falters.
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I am really impressed with Ortio. If he keeps it up, and they keep him playing, then he should stay in the NHL. That said there should be a low threshold to put him back down. The NHL isn't the place to develop goalies.
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I have heard the same thing from many Pittsburgh fans!