Goaltending

[JTech780]

1 minute ago, cross16 said:

 

I'll give him this, Peters has guts. I get what he is doing but this is a risk I wouldn't take personally. 

 

There is a bit of risk either way, as good as Ritter has been to start the season he is still pretty unproven. I think as a coach you would feel much better if the proven goalie would find his form.

[travel_dude]

15 minutes ago, cross16 said:

 

I'll give him this, Peters has guts. I get what he is doing but this is a risk I wouldn't take personally. 

 

What else is he going to do?  You give Rittich WAS, then you have to give him TO.

At least this way, the TO game is one or the other, due to the B2B the next day.

 

I seriously think we need to make an upgrade sooner than later.

There are some risky options out there right now, but no more than what we have in Smith.

At least with a new goalie, you can reset the starter workload to whomever is hot starts, no some magical number of Smith starts.

At present rate, Smith would start about 57 and Rittich about 25.  

[JTech780]

17 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

What else is he going to do?  You give Rittich WAS, then you have to give him TO.

At least this way, the TO game is one or the other, due to the B2B the next day.

 

I seriously think we need to make an upgrade sooner than later.

There are some risky options out there right now, but no more than what we have in Smith.

At least with a new goalie, you can reset the starter workload to whomever is hot starts, no some magical number of Smith starts.

At present rate, Smith would start about 57 and Rittich about 25.  

 

Where do we get an upgrade from though?

 

Maybe we would get lucky and Columbus would trade us Bobrovsky, and Bobrovsky would approve a trade to Calgary. I really think both of those are unlikely.

 

Colorado has Varlamov and Grubauer playing well with Francouz off to a great start in the AHL, but I have a hard time seeing them moving a goalie to us, unless we were willing to move a top 4 defensemen +.

[travel_dude]

7 minutes ago, JTech780 said:

 

Where do we get an upgrade from though?

 

Maybe we would get lucky and Columbus would trade us Bobrovsky, and Bobrovsky would approve a trade to Calgary. I really think both of those are unlikely.

 

Colorado has Varlamov and Grubauer playing well with Francouz off to a great start in the AHL, but I have a hard time seeing them moving a goalie to us, unless we were willing to move a top 4 defensemen +.

 

Maybe I was being a little obtuse.

An upgrade this season is anyone not named Smith.

I'm sure dozens of names have been throiwn out there as possibles, but every one of them has risks.

Mason, Pickard, Satari, Anton Forsberg, Dansk, Lehner, Darling...

Bear in mind, we would need to give up value for some of these guys. 

We could trade Smith with half retained as part of the deal, just so they have a vet to fall back on.

[travel_dude]

Here's some quotes from the goalie at practice on Friday, about the video review of the last game:

 

“Honestly, that was one game where … I usually watch every goal and that was one game where I’m just not even going to look at anything,” Smith said. “I don’t think anyone can be very proud of what happened last night. It’s an embarrassment, as far as I’m concerned, and I think everyone realizes that. But it’s over. There’s no sense on pouting about it.”

 

“As a goalie, you’ve gotta battle,” said Smith, who has a 3-4-0 record, a 4.10 goals-against average, a .866 save percentage and has allowed 25 of Calgary’s total 36 total goals against through 10 games. “There’s a lot of things you can’t control. If you’d just looked at my numbers — which I think a lot of people do — you’d think I’d had an awful year. It hasn’t felt like that. There’s been a lot of goals scored. But you can’t control some things that happen in front of you. To blame guys would be an easy out.   “But the harder thing is just to go and work hard and climb out of this thing.”

 

“What day are we today?” rhetorically asked Smith, whose leash is getting increasingly shorter but still has a shot at redemption in the starter’s net on Saturday. “It’s pretty early still. If you get your panties in a knot and start pouting and feeling sorry for yourself, it’s going to be a long year.”

 

“There’s a lot of teams that would give an arm and a leg to be in our position at 5-5-0,” he said. “It’s a long year and there are a lot of games left. In times like these, you can pout and feel sorry for yourself or you can learn from it. That’s the only way out. Do something about it.”

 

 

It's too bad that the goalie talks this way.  Suggesting that he wasn;t even going to watch his own play.  In the next breath, he's saying that he doesn;t feel he's had a bad year so far.  Sure, a lot of goals were scored, but the goalie can;t control that.  He wasn;t pointing blame, but he wasn;t admiting much ether.  Not exactly a heathly state of mind.

The entire team needs to be better, but until the goalie recognizes his part in playing better, not much will change.  

[MAC331]

2 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

Here's some quotes from the goalie at practice on Friday, about the video review of the last game:

 

“Honestly, that was one game where … I usually watch every goal and that was one game where I’m just not even going to look at anything,” Smith said. “I don’t think anyone can be very proud of what happened last night. It’s an embarrassment, as far as I’m concerned, and I think everyone realizes that. But it’s over. There’s no sense on pouting about it.”

 

“As a goalie, you’ve gotta battle,” said Smith, who has a 3-4-0 record, a 4.10 goals-against average, a .866 save percentage and has allowed 25 of Calgary’s total 36 total goals against through 10 games. “There’s a lot of things you can’t control. If you’d just looked at my numbers — which I think a lot of people do — you’d think I’d had an awful year. It hasn’t felt like that. There’s been a lot of goals scored. But you can’t control some things that happen in front of you. To blame guys would be an easy out.   “But the harder thing is just to go and work hard and climb out of this thing.”

 

“What day are we today?” rhetorically asked Smith, whose leash is getting increasingly shorter but still has a shot at redemption in the starter’s net on Saturday. “It’s pretty early still. If you get your panties in a knot and start pouting and feeling sorry for yourself, it’s going to be a long year.”

 

“There’s a lot of teams that would give an arm and a leg to be in our position at 5-5-0,” he said. “It’s a long year and there are a lot of games left. In times like these, you can pout and feel sorry for yourself or you can learn from it. That’s the only way out. Do something about it.”

 

 

It's too bad that the goalie talks this way.  Suggesting that he wasn;t even going to watch his own play.  In the next breath, he's saying that he doesn;t feel he's had a bad year so far.  Sure, a lot of goals were scored, but the goalie can;t control that.  He wasn;t pointing blame, but he wasn;t admiting much ether.  Not exactly a heathly state of mind.

The entire team needs to be better, but until the goalie recognizes his part in playing better, not much will change.  

Maybe it is a healthy state of mind for the way Smith choses to handle himself. I don't see any problem with no revisiting that game disaster on film, what will it reinforce for a guy that has played as long as he has ? Nothing

Smith knows what he has to do.

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

19 hours ago, travel_dude said:

 

Maybe I was being a little obtuse.

An upgrade this season is anyone not named Smith.

I'm sure dozens of names have been throiwn out there as possibles, but every one of them has risks.

Mason, Pickard, Satari, Anton Forsberg, Dansk, Lehner, Darling...

Bear in mind, we would need to give up value for some of these guys. 

We could trade Smith with half retained as part of the deal, just so they have a vet to fall back on.

Whoa.....lets not wear our desperation out on our sleeve just yet.

 

Whats the risk vs reward for our options?

1. Smith keeps the starter role and hope for stable (not superstar) goaltending. Risking injury and/or sub standard play.

2. Give Rittich the position. Promising start but risking a re-occurrence of last year.

3. Trade for/sign anothor goalie hoping its an upgrade. I'd throw Lethonens name in the mix.

[kehatch]

I didn't like Smith's interview. Even ignoring the stats, Smith has been short on big saves and long on bad goals. That said, I don't care what someone says in an interview, I care what they do on the ice. If a little denial is his way of staying positive then fine. 

[travel_dude]

47 minutes ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

Whoa.....lets not wear our desperation out on our sleeve just yet.

 

Whats the risk vs reward for our options?

1. Smith keeps the starter role and hope for stable (not superstar) goaltending. Risking injury and/or sub standard play.

2. Give Rittich the position. Promising start but risking a re-occurrence of last year.

3. Trade for/sign anothor goalie hoping its an upgrade. I'd throw Lethonens name in the mix.

 

What do we know about Darling.  Not much.  Played well before CAR.

Dubie turned into something.

Just saying.

[travel_dude]

1 minute ago, kehatch said:

I didn't like Smith's interview. Even ignoring the stats, Smith has been short on big saves and long on bad goals. That said, I don't care what someone says in an interview, I care what they do on the ice. If a little denial is his way of staying positive then fine. 

 

I don;t knwo what type of person a goalie is, but it struck me as odd that he did not want to see the goals scored.

Maybe you don;t make changes when you are on fire, but lets hope that Sigalet was watching and told him.  If he listens. 

[kehatch]

49 minutes ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

Whoa.....lets not wear our desperation out on our sleeve just yet.

 

Whats the risk vs reward for our options?

1. Smith keeps the starter role and hope for stable (not superstar) goaltending. Risking injury and/or sub standard play.

2. Give Rittich the position. Promising start but risking a re-occurrence of last year.

3. Trade for/sign anothor goalie hoping its an upgrade. I'd throw Lethonens name in the mix.

 

It's not that easy. Smith is a vet and is popular in the room. Moving on from him is going to take time the Flames don't have. 

 

Take where we are right now. Smith just got yanked in one of the worst games in franchise history. He has a losing record and dreadful stats. Meanwhile Rittich has a winning record and strong stats and has generally been very good. Yet the coach continues to defend Smith and Smith is getting the next start. If Rittich hasn't been handed the starting reigns, even temporarily, then they are clearly reluctant to do it. 

[kehatch]

1 minute ago, travel_dude said:

 

I don;t knwo what type of person a goalie is, but it struck me as odd that he did not want to see the goals scored.

Maybe you don;t make changes when you are on fire, but lets hope that Sigalet was watching and told him.  If he listens. 

 

What is he going to learn watching those goals? His job is to forget about that game and get his mind right for the next. He has enough time in the NHL to know how to handle that. This is one comment I have zero issues with. 

[travel_dude]

4 minutes ago, kehatch said:

 

What is he going to learn watching those goals? His job is to forget about that game and get his mind right for the next. He has enough time in the NHL to know how to handle that. This is one comment I have zero issues with. 

 

Taken by itself, the comment is harmless if it means what you think.

The rest suggest that he believes he has little blame in the losses.  

I can see how whatching Rittich in NY gives him that feeling.

 

As afr as records go, what is Smith's record the game following a blowout?

We know what it is after a shutout (around 5 GA).

 

Let's see him earn the starter net.  He's done that once IMHO.  If the defense doesn't help much, steal the bloody game yourself.  Be a gamebreaker.

[The_People1]

36 minutes ago, kehatch said:

I didn't like Smith's interview. Even ignoring the stats, Smith has been short on big saves and long on bad goals. That said, I don't care what someone says in an interview, I care what they do on the ice. If a little denial is his way of staying positive then fine. 

 

Ya I've always felt Smith has an ego bigger than his talents.  But ironically, now is not the time for him to come to terms to the fact he's average.  We need him to keep going with confidence if we want to win games.

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

40 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

What do we know about Darling.  Not much.  Played well before CAR.

Dubie turned into something.

Just saying.

Currently injured, $4.15 mil, much worse GAA and SV% than both Smith and Rittich last year. Plus if you dont like incredibly soft goals dont search you tube for him. Yes every goalie lets them in occasionally but to that extent.

[travel_dude]

8 minutes ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

Currently injured, $4.15 mil, much worse GAA and SV% than both Smith and Rittich last year. Plus if you dont like incredibly soft goals dont search you tube for him. Yes every goalie lets them in occasionally but to that extent.

 

Was on a conditioning stint, and has been activated.

Look prior to last year.

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

9 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

 

Was on a conditioning stint, and has been activated.

Look prior to last year.

Smith had some great numbers prior to last year also. I'm not trying to pick a fight but Whats considered a viable upgrade right now? I know stats dont tell the whole story but now youre messing with luck.

 

[travel_dude]

So, Smith's end to last season and start to this season doesn't give you pause?

Just pointing out that Smith has not been great in years.  Last year we saw some of it, but mostly average.

Obviously, if these starts are an aberation to what he will be like, then nothing needs to happen...right now.

 

But we are talking about goaltending, so some thought does need to be given soon or next summer by the latest.

Darling was just an example of a goalie that may be pushed out.

Cheaper than Schneider.

Cheaper than what WE are paying for Smith.

Next year we either go back to a 35+ contract for Smth, assuming he can continue and we want to go there.

The future needs to be considered, and there are not many Raanta's out there.  

 

 

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

 

11 minutes ago, travel_dude said:

So, Smith's end to last season and start to this season doesn't give you pause?

Just pointing out that Smith has not been great in years.  Last year we saw some of it, but mostly average.

Obviously, if these starts are an aberation to what he will be like, then nothing needs to happen...right now.

 

But we are talking about goaltending, so some thought does need to be given soon or next summer by the latest.

Darling was just an example of a goalie that may be pushed out.

Cheaper than Schneider.

Cheaper than what WE are paying for Smith.

Next year we either go back to a 35+ contract for Smth, assuming he can continue and we want to go there.

The future needs to be considered, and there are not many Raanta's out there.  

 

 

Smiths recent play concerns me alot. My biggest concern is if we trade Smith some salary will have to be retained, and with recent play what do you expect in return? If we bring in someone then who goes to Stockton? The goalie thats been playing really good or the one with the $5 mil salary?

[conundrumed]

Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't panic just yet. We're 5-5 after 10. There's been good, bad and downright ugly.

We'll turn it around. No point in being reactive. There's a lot of hockey to go.

They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, allegedly.

Keep the faith, all isn't lost.

 

[flames-fan-in-jets-land]

With some of the comments you would think all 10 games were 9-1 blowouts.

[MAC331]

13 minutes ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

With some of the comments you would think all 10 games were 9-1 blowouts.

Where and who the panic comments come from were predictable after the 9-1 loss. I would suggest to keep cheering for the team and hope they get it figured out soon.

[travel_dude]

1 hour ago, flames-fan-in-jets-land said:

 

Smiths recent play concerns me alot. My biggest concern is if we trade Smith some salary will have to be retained, and with recent play what do you expect in return? If we bring in someone then who goes to Stockton? The goalie thats been playing really good or the one with the $5 mil salary?

 

I don't just look at the immediate.  If there is no plan for next season, then I worry.  

My biggest complain about Smith used to be overhandling the puck and putting the breakout in disarray.

The shutout gave me some temporary relief.  Not so much confidence after that.

 

There may no be an answer this season for succession.  We may have to ride it out.  I can live with that, since nothing was done in the summer.

I expect that BT will monitor the situation from the box and make plans accordingly.

Nothing I say is more than observation.  5-10-0 record in last 15 starts since returning from injury.  8 of those were > 4 GA.

Let's hope that he can put the team on his back, if they have miscues, and be the good Smith that we saw early last season. 

[ABC923]

I don’t have a problem with smith not watching the footage.  When a game is that ugly, chances are you just weren’t yourself.  It’s not about tweeting this or that, so it’s best to forget and move on.

 

i don’t however appreciate how he throws his team under the bus.  ‘You can’t control some of the things in front of you’.  He follows that up by saying it ‘to blame guys would be the easy way out,’ but is he talking about himself or his team mates?  I get the sense he feels hung out to dry and that it’s not his fault he has terrible numbers.  Even though that is true to some extent, it’s not like he’s been making a bunch of game breaking saves either.  It’s a team sport; the defense does need to be better at preventing grade A scoring chances, but the goalie needs to stop them every once and a while too.

[DirtyDeeds]

On 10/25/2018 at 9:27 PM, robrob74 said:

This team has been good 50% of the time and bad 50% of the time. 

 

Rittich stole one.

Smith hasn’t been good enough to steal anything. He’s been bad, no doubt, but I am not willing to give him nor the team a pass.

 

what I was saying was we expect our goalie to play lights out. He does and we Satoshi Nakamoto the bed and lose 3-2. But the goalie is stellar. Sure if smith was in it could be like tonight, but we still haven’t scored tonight so that is a mute point. We didn’t score enough when the goalie could’ve stole two in a row for us. 

yes he has.. He stole us the game with his shutout against the Preds....