Goaltending

[phoenix66]

1 minute ago, Flyerfan52 said:

I feel much better about Smith as our goalie since we acquired Hamonic. I wouldn't doubt Smith was doing cartwheels.

Absolutely .. 

and I know people are going to be suggesting Niemi now that you can likely get him cheap , but my gut says stay away 

Im actually now really curious how the backup plays out .. BT on the weekend was less matter of fact about getting one, saying the job could be internal .

I think we get a cheap $1M guy or less, making the chances of Rittich grabbing that spot in camp much higher.. easy to hide a $1M guy in Stockton if he loses the job.

The expectation is Smith is carrying the load ... from both sides, I think this rules out Johnson , tho hes my number one choice in a perfect world

 

Its also been said more than once dont rule out Tom Mcollum 

 

Some really good $1m or less guys are out there ..

McIlhenney

Enroth

Berra

*sigh*  If we had to , Niemi

Personally I'd like to snag Anders Nilsson 

[Squilliam89]

[Squilliam89]

Someone's happy to be on the Flames 

[Flyerfan52]

9 minutes ago, phoenix66 said:

Absolutely .. 

and I know people are going to be suggesting Niemi now that you can likely get him cheap , but my gut says stay away 

Im actually now really curious how the backup plays out .. BT on the weekend was less matter of fact about getting one, saying the job could be internal .

I think we get a cheap $1M guy or less, making the chances of Rittich grabbing that spot in camp much higher.. easy to hide a $1M guy in Stockton if he loses the job.

The expectation is Smith is carrying the load ... from both sides, I think this rules out Johnson , tho hes my number one choice in a perfect world

 

Its also been said more than once dont rule out Tom Mcollum 

 

Some really good $1m or less guys are out there ..

McIlhenney

Enroth

Berra

*sigh*  If we had to , Niemi

Personally I'd like to snag Anders Nilsson 

Since it's only the b/u we need it's not a priority. 

On this I hope BT waits to see what happens in Washington as Grubauer is RFA with arbitration rights. He & his agent have justification for a raise from his 0.75 cap (true $s 0.85 making QO 0.935) but they know he'll never be a starter stuck behind Holtby. So the ask could be high (to try for a trade) or they could quietly (so other teams aren't aware & come in low)  ask for a trade.The Caps have cap space  but also need to either re-sign their pending RFA & UFA players or replace them as they only have 12 under contract (1/2 a roster).

Wpg. & Philly are looking for starters until their prospects are ready but taking their time. I can't help wondering if they are waiting on that same outcome.

If Washington gave him a contract @ 2.5-3.0 x 2 with a promise to move him he'd be dang easy to move for a very good return.

[phoenix66]

11 minutes ago, Flyerfan52 said:

Since it's only the b/u we need it's not a priority. 

On this I hope BT waits to see what happens in Washington as Grubauer is RFA with arbitration rights. He & his agent have justification for a raise from his 0.75 cap (true $s 0.85 making QO 0.935) but they know he'll never be a starter stuck behind Holtby. So the ask could be high (to try for a trade) or they could quietly (so other teams aren't aware & come in low)  ask for a trade.The Caps have cap space  but also need to either re-sign their pending RFA & UFA players or replace them as they only have 12 under contract (1/2 a roster).

Wpg. & Philly are looking for starters until their prospects are ready but taking their time. I can't help wondering if they are waiting on that same outcome.

If Washington gave him a contract @ 2.5-3.0 x 2 with a promise to move him he'd be dang easy to move for a very good return.

I dont see us trading for anybody now.. tho, never say never ...

and so far what I've read , including that Tweet earlier saying hes already checking out places to live.. Elliot is looking more and more like a slam dunk for Wpg.. and personally? Good for him.. I think thats a great fit.. hope he drives them to the playoffs 

[MAC331]

39 minutes ago, phoenix66 said:

I dont see us trading for anybody now.. tho, never say never ...

and so far what I've read , including that Tweet earlier saying hes already checking out places to live.. Elliot is looking more and more like a slam dunk for Wpg.. and personally? Good for him.. I think thats a great fit.. hope he drives them to the playoffs 

I have this funny feeling we are going to see Johnson back with us.

[phoenix66]

6 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

I have this funny feeling we are going to see Johnson back with us.

I'm totally good with that .. i think it just boils down to what other opportunity he is offered, and the truthful knowledge that he will likely get even less starts this season .. and an opening only if Smith gets injured 

All things being equal , I'm sure he prefers to stay here 

[cross16]

I like Johnson as the backup too but my only worry is he willing to do another 1 year deal? I suspect not and i'm not sure I love the idea of giving him 2 years at over 1 million and not having an opportunity to work Gillies/Rittich in next year if they have another successful year.

[travel_dude]

7 minutes ago, cross16 said:

I like Johnson as the backup too but my only worry is he willing to do another 1 year deal? I suspect not and i'm not sure I love the idea of giving him 2 years at over 1 million and not having an opportunity to work Gillies/Rittich in next year if they have another successful year.

 

How was he coming in the odd game from December onward?  5 wins 7 losses?  

I don't know that Gillies or Rittich would be any better than that in their 1st year, but you would hope for at least 500 hockey from a backup.  Most here were all over Elliott for coming up short, but CJ should get a pass for his November?

 

 

[MAC331]

Just now, travel_dude said:

 

How was he coming in the odd game from December onward?  5 wins 7 losses?  

I don't know that Gillies or Rittich would be any better than that in their 1st year, but you would hope for at least 500 hockey from a backup.  Most here were all over Elliott for coming up short, but CJ should get a pass for his November?

 

 

Do you think it is out of the realm for CJ to be better for us this next season ? As a back up I think you need to take into consideration his body of work and experience.

[JTech780]

Whoever comes in as the back up it has to be on a 1 year deal. Hopefully Gillies is ready to takeover as backup next season and then as starter the season after.

 

I am still on the fence as to just give Rittich the backup job and see what he can do.

 

Then run Gillies and Parsons in the AHL, MacDonald in the ECHL and Schneider in the WHL.

[cross16]

9 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

How was he coming in the odd game from December onward?  5 wins 7 losses?  

I don't know that Gillies or Rittich would be any better than that in their 1st year, but you would hope for at least 500 hockey from a backup.  Most here were all over Elliott for coming up short, but CJ should get a pass for his November?

 

 

 

for the most part, I thought pretty good.

 

I know you don't like Johnson and that's fine but just like you think people overrate him based on November I think you underrate him based on a similarly small sample size. Fact is he was very good in November, and good for most of the year so you can't ignore November. 

[travel_dude]

2 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

Do you think it is out of the realm for CJ to be better for us this next season ? As a back up I think you need to take into consideration his body of work and experience.

 

Well, he was signed last year to be a 1b goalie, not a backup.  It's a tougher job to be a BU.  For one thing, he may not want to be in that role.  He wants to be a starter.  Offers may be slim, though.

 

Not saying he can't be a backup, just saying that he played his best when he was the starter for a period of time.

 

[MAC331]

Just now, JTech780 said:

Whoever comes in as the back up it has to be on a 1 year deal. Hopefully Gillies is ready to takeover as backup next season and then as starter the season after.

 

I am still on the fence as to just give Rittich the backup job and see what he can do.

 

Then run Gillies and Parsons in the AHL, MacDonald in the ECHL and Schneider in the WHL.

In listening to BT both Rittich and Gilles need more work and will be in Stockton. I thought Parson could do another year of Junior ?

[travel_dude]

1 minute ago, cross16 said:

 

for the most part, I thought pretty good.

 

I know you don't like Johnson and that's fine but just like you think people overrate him based on November I think you underrate him based on a similarly small sample size. Fact is he was very good in November, and good for most of the year so you can't ignore November. 

 

It's not that I like or dislike him.  It's the body of work that ended his time here.  Had he been consistent past December, he would be a lot stronger candidate.  

[cross16]

1 minute ago, MAC331 said:

In listening to BT both Rittich and Gilles need more work and will be in Stockton. I thought Parson could do another year of Junior ?

 

he can, but it sounds like the Flames want to turn him pro. 

[MAC331]

Just now, travel_dude said:

 

Well, he was signed last year to be a 1b goalie, not a backup.  It's a tougher job to be a BU.  For one thing, he may not want to be in that role.  He wants to be a starter.  Offers may be slim, though.

 

Not saying he can't be a backup, just saying that he played his best when he was the starter for a period of time.

 

He did for us what he did in BUF and as far as my thinking he is a back up goalie and a good one. Maybe he needs to come to that realization.

[travel_dude]

1 minute ago, MAC331 said:

In listening to BT both Rittich and Gilles need more work and will be in Stockton. I thought Parson could do another year of Junior ?

 

The talk before the Smith signing was Gillies and Rittich in the AHL and Parsons in the ECHL.  At least that's how I remember it.  At this point I don't know what the plan is.  They likely want to look at good BU options in the summer.  

[MAC331]

Just now, cross16 said:

 

he can, but it sounds like the Flames want to turn him pro. 

That likely means ECHL then for him as starters.

[travel_dude]

1 minute ago, MAC331 said:

He did for us what he did in BUF and as far as my thinking he is a back up goalie and a good one. Maybe he needs to come to that realization.

 

Buffalo was due to Lehner being injured on day 1.  We signed him for a lot for a backup.  

[MAC331]

Just now, travel_dude said:

 

Buffalo was due to Lehner being injured on day 1.  We signed him for a lot for a backup.  

Doesn't matter how he got his games in what matters is that he has seen plenty of action and has done well with it. We had a whole team that stumbled for times why all of a sudden is Johnson not good enough to be back up for us ? Is 1.8M a lot of money for an experienced back up ? I didn't think so.

[phoenix66]

9 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

The talk before the Smith signing was Gillies and Rittich in the AHL and Parsons in the ECHL.  At least that's how I remember it.  At this point I don't know what the plan is.  They likely want to look at good BU options in the summer.  

he was definitely black and white before the draft .. then during one of his draft interviews , i forget the exact words but it was along the lines of " we are still exploring what the backup position will look like, whether that answer is internal or external we haven't decided yet .. need to have more meetings with our coaching and scouting staff to evaluate that "

 

sounded more like he was open to the possibility of one of the kids winning the job , but in the end i think it will be external

[cross16]

13 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

That likely means ECHL then for him as starters.

Its does yes.

 

I could be wrong, but the sense i've always gotten from Treliving is that he is not a big fan of Rittich or gilles as the backup. He specifically mentioned both in a session I went to the he feels the AHL would be best for both as they want to see Rittich do it again and want to see Gillies grow.

 

I'll be very surprised if a veteran backup is not brought in. Doesn't mean it will for sure be Johnson, probably won't be to be honest, but I think it will be someone.

[travel_dude]

3 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

Doesn't matter how he got his games in what matters is that he has seen plenty of action and has done well with it. We had a whole team that stumbled for times why all of a sudden is Johnson not good enough to be back up for us ? Is 1.8M a lot of money for an experienced back up ? I didn't think so.

 

Compared to most of the guys that signed as backup, that's quite a bit.  

[JTech780]

24 minutes ago, MAC331 said:

In listening to BT both Rittich and Gilles need more work and will be in Stockton. I thought Parson could do another year of Junior ?

 

Parsons Can do another year of junior, but is he too good for that league now, what does he really have to prove at that level. Though if it is between the ECHL and the OHL, I think I would rather see him in the OHL. He won't have to share the net in the OHL, in the ECHL he will have to share the net as MacDonald needs time in the net as well. I would be fine splitting duties for Gillies and Parsons in the AHL, as I think Parsons needs to see more an increased level of talent and I'm not convinced he would get that at the ECHL.

 

I think if you start with Rittich at the NHL you can get a better look at him and if it doesn't work you can find veteran backups mid season fairly easily.