| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| baimerr |
Posted - 08/19/2008 : 13:43:00
ANA - Solid starting goaltender. J.S. has proven himself many times ever since he had his run in the 2003 playoffs, winning himself the Conn Smythe but no Stanley Cup. And then in 06-07, winning the cup. Expect another solid season from Giggy.
ATL - Hmmm what do I expect from Kari Lehtonen. I won't lie, he's one of the few NHL goalies I haven't watched much. So with that being said how could I even judge him? From what I HAVE seen, he has great hand-eye coordination. He can play the puck. I won't say he'll finish as one of the top goalies, but he won't be even close to the bottom of the list of starting goalies in the NHL.
BOS - I like Tim Thomas. He has some flaws in his style, but he can carry the load when his team needs it. However in the MTL - BOS series, the game to put 'em away showed his inconsistency in BIG GAMES. Montreal has many great offensive weapons but throw me in net and I think I coulda stopped 1 or 2 of those goals. But besides that, he'll have a good season next year.
BUF - Ryan Miller. The MSU standout who has proved himself in the last few seasons. He'll have a solid year but needs a little better D. This year I think the D will play better around him and cause him to have a better season than last year, especially with the likes of Craig Rivet (who still doesn't make up for the loss of Campbell). More great things to come from this guy.
CAL - Kipper is a great goalie. I think everyone would agree. But last year in the reg. season he showed more holes in his game than any of his past seasons with the Flames. He still had an outstanding year though.
CAR - Cam Ward with a cup on his resume and looks good in red, black, and silver. Last year he fell short of the playoffs, but that was mainly the fault of the team surrounding him. Watch him have another break out year this season (maybe..).
CHI - Question, who will play the majority of the games? Will it be Cristobal Huet or the Bulin Wall? I say Huet beats out Nikolai for the majority of the games and helps CHI to the playoffs. But in the goalie world, you can never be too certain.
COL - Budaj vs. Raycroft. Budaj has legs of rubber. He goes down and makes the save, is back up before you know it, and is back down for the rebound. Great agility. But I'll go with Raycroft for starter. A.R. is a good goalie. He was beat out by Toskala and had a tough season before last year, but he just may rebound back into the Boston years and dominate the goal.
CBJ - Pascal Leclaire is going to help the Blue Jackets prosper. He is an outstanding goalie and very underrated. His gameplay is amazing. You want to watch good goaltending? Watch Columbus hockey and you'll get your fill. Case closed!
DAL - Marty Turco from the college I love. All I have to say is remember the 07-08 playoffs and there you have it. Even if he did let in a few goals more than he's used to in the Detroit series, he made so many key saves to make up for them. He'll have a great season.
DET - The Wizard of Oz has three stanley cups now thanks to last year. Two of those three, he was the backbone. Me being a Wings fan makes this hard to say though. He's a good goalie on a great defensive team, however, his consitency is poor. In the playoffs last season, he proved me wrong, but its his regular season play that can scare me. He'll have 4 good games in a row, then 1 or 2 poor games. But picking up Conklin, who took over the crease when M.A. Fleury was injured and put up some great numbers, and having the young and talented Jimmy Howard shows Ozzy isn't Detroits only goaltending weapon. But I believe Osgood will remain the main man in Detroit, however, he may see just as many games as last year when he shared the goal with Dom. Conklin and Howard would like their chance and they'll do anything to claim that starting position.
EDM - Dwayne Roloson, what a season! What's that? He got beat out by Garon last year? Oh... In that case.......... Kidding of course. But last year Rolly didn't look good and Mathieu Garon showed he can be the answer. This year I think the tide could change. Roloson could bounce back into his previous form and give the Oilers hopes for a run back into the playoffs. And if Rolly can't, than Garon proved he can carry the load just as well.
FLO - Vokoun is a goalie capable of making those saves to either make his home town cheer for joy or when they're on the road, make the crowd speechless after an ALMOST SURE GOAL. He needs a better defense though to be considered one of the best in the NHL. With all-star honors from last season, he has more to prove in his career.
LA - LaBarbera is solid but has a few too many holes in his game to be a SOLID starter in the NHL. But he has only shown himself in a black and purple jersey where the defense isn't solid enough to support any goaltender. I can't say he'll have a solid or poor season next year. I, myself, will have to watch him more next year to know how he'll finish his season.
THE SECOND HALF COMING SOON..
Please tell me what YOU think! |
| 16 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| 99pickles |
Posted - 09/09/2008 : 04:18:43
The Second Half...
Min - This team plays it's system and as long as you are a capable goalie, you'll do fine in Minny. Backstrom and Harding should put up nearly identical numbers this year, except that I don't expect Harding to get as many starts - unless Backstrom has more injury time again.
Mtl - For the Habs, Price is being backed up by Halak who is a great young goalie in his own right. Marc Denis is in town too, but will Halak spend most of his time in Hamilton again? I can't imagine that he would, I think he's ready to play now. Denis must have signed for cheap. Maybe Montreal wants him to push the youngsters. That's one too many goalies in my book. My guess is that this will be Denis' last NHL camp and will finish his career in the minors/overseas.
Nsh - Boy do these guys have a lot of goalie prospects! Will this be the third straight season that the Pred's will have a breakout goalie? Two years ago it was Mason, last year it was Ellis, and this year it could be Rinne, right? Due to the varying success of all the "can't miss" goaltenders that have come out of Finland in the last few years (Noronen, Toivenen, Lehtonen etc..) he could be hit or miss in the end. Hopefully they ease him in, and hopefully Ellis is the real deal or it could be a tough year Trotz's team.
NJ - Brodeur is supposedly going to start fewer games this year...again. Until it happens, I don't believe it. Obviously Marty will be pretty high in many statistical categories and he will also be the All-Time Wins leader by Christmas. Strangely, Scott Clemmensen is back in town too. So now they have 2 bench-warmers for some reason.
NYI - There are only 6 significant NHL goalies that catch with the right hand and the Isles have 2 of them: DiPietro and Danis. I don't know if that means anything but DiPietro will start most games and have a little bit of injury time as usual. Joey MacDonald is a solid prospect too and he could see a few starts if Danis doesn't exude confidence during his replacement starts while DiPietro is off.
NYR - Lundqvist is all-world and 11-year pro Valiquette is a bench warmer. 13 of Valiquette's career 25 appearances were last season, and he is 31 years old. These 2 know their roles and so do we. Also, this team vastly improved their blueline and they are playoff bound so King Henrik's numbers should be quite amazing.
Ott - The starter's role is Gerber's to lose, and he just may do that. I have learned from his career that he does well when he has no-one pushing him, but he isn't as strong in the clutch. Unfortunately for him, most coaches and GM's like a competition in the nets, and they also prefer clutch goaltending. Is Auld ready to share or usurp a starter's role? Are either Elliott or Glass ready to be an NHL back-up? Is Ottawa REALLY still interested in Khabibulin as rumoured?? Most of these questions should be answered by about November 30th.
Philly - Another distinct goaltending situation here. Biron is the clear starter while Nittymaki is a solid back-up. The Flyers may also improve slightly on their 6th place finish in the East, so we can expect slightly improved numbers from these two.
Pho - I don't like tipping my hand about fantasy predictions before any of my leagues have drafted, but I am not in any leagues with anyone reading this, so here goes: Phoenix will make the playoffs this year... they will have MANY fantasy valued players...and Bryzgalov will be a great fantasy goalie - even better than last year. Keep in mind that he didn't become a Coyote until Nov.17 last season and he still led the team with 64 appearances. He had .920 and 2.44 on a non-playoff team that just improved it's punch with the acquisition of Olli Jokinen. Turris should see more than his 6 games from last year too. I really see a breakout year from this squad, and Ilya could be a top 5 goalie in the conference. And since Tellqvist is an iffy back-up at best, expect 70-75 starts from Bryzgalov!
Pitt - Fleury is the man in Steeltown and hopefully he doesn't miss too much time this season. Sabourin is really all they have after him and his numbers are only okay. Fleury moved into the upper echelon of goalies last year and he can thank his new pads for that. Barring injury he should start 70-ish games next year. If he does sustain a major injury, this team will see some rocky times: Imagine Sabourin being backed up by John Curry (NHL appearances:zero). And due to a lack of cap space they wouldn't be able to go after Khabibulin or Fernandez or LeGace or etc.. That would be rough.
SJ - No-brainer here... Nabby gets 75 starts, Boucher and Greiss can pick over the crumbs. Although I believe San Jose will slide a bit, causing Nabokov's numbers to dip slightly.
StL - This should be a good battle between LeGace and Mason. Toivenen signed in Finland so his NHL career is pretty much over. I can't explain why Mason bottomed out so badly last year, but I think LeGace should retain his starter position. However, he should also miss a few games with that recurring knee injury of his. Unfortunately for both of these guys, the team doesn't look very good and probably will not be making the playoffs.
TBay - This team will make the playoffs this year, and they will also be making a strong run at their division title. They have a pretty good up-and-comer in Mike Smith, they have a great veteran in Kolzig, and they have a couple of aforementioned Finnish prospects (Helenius, Ramo). Kolzig and Smith should be pretty close in starts for the season. Although I see this as a shared net, Smith could stumble and ride the bench for stretches.
T.O. - Toskala should get about 65 starts, Joseph will get most of the other 17, Pogge might get his first taste of NHL action here and there. But all of their numbers should be pretty bad, because this team is AHL quality.
Van - Luongo is one of the All-World goalies and will be very high in all statistical categories. If the D gets ravaged by injuries again, Roberto might not get as many wins as he should though. He made 73 appearances last season and should see the same again. Sanford is the back-up but I expect that they will want Schneider to at least visit the team a couple times. I don't think this team is as bad as everyone seams to think either, but they will be on the playoff bubble all year and they will likely finish on the outside looking in.
Wash - The Caps better hope that Theodore's comeback is for real or else they could be in serious trouble. Brent Johnson is all they have in reserve, and he just ain't the greatest. Put this together with their lack of cap room and they could be doomed. Even if Theodore plays fine, the Caps will find themselves in quite a battle with both Tampa Bay and Carolina (vastly improved D situation) for playoff spots.
Sorry 'bout the length. |
| baimerr |
Posted - 09/03/2008 : 10:53:37
MIN - I personally like the duo of Backstrom and Harding. Backstrom proved he belongs in the net as a starter. He is a solid goalie capable of backing a team. Harding provides a very capable back-up as well.
MON - When Huet left, it brought a bit of a panic, but for a very short time. Rookie goaltender Carey Price silenced the panicing. He played well over what was expected of him. Not only that, but expectations for goalies in Montreal are probably highest in the NHL. He played through the pressure of the press and fans. I can't promise a better year from him (although I'd say the odds are in his favor), but I don't think he'll fall short of what he did last season.
NSH - Vokoun leaving was hard on the Preds. They weren't left with many options. They picked up Dan Ellis in the offseason last year and had Tomas' back-ups, Rinne and Mason. Ellis shined in the playoffs against the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. Although his team didn't play quite as well as they might have wanted to (still winning 2 games against an inconsistent Hasek), they had solid goaltending throughout that series. Ellis was peppered with shots during every game, and only allowing a couple in each game. He still hasn't shown me he is a reliable starter, but we do know there is some fight in him to get to that level.
NJ - Martin Brodeur and you have your answer here. Marty is one of the greatest goalies to play the game. Need I say more? Actually I probably should. The ONE thing that could slow him down is his age. He is coming to his last couple years, and we've seen what age can do to goalies. Hasek in the 07-08 playoffs didn't play well and was replaced. Hasek was much older than Marty, but it might take a toll on him this season, and if not, then possibly the next couple seasons.
NYI - Rick DiPietro is fantastic. He didn't have a good team playing in front of him. If goalies were named captains or assistant captains in the NHL, he'd get a letter on his jersey. He is one of the few things Islander fans have left to watch.
NYR - Hank Lundqvist is in the top goalies of the NHL. He's shown he is not only a good season goaltender, but a solid post-season goalie as well. He'll get a couple of stanley cups in his career. Next year will be the same as last, a solid one.
OTT - With Emery gone, Gerber needs to show Ottawa he can be consistent. He can play so well you'd think he is one of your top goalies, then he'll go off and have an average game. He is good, has great hand-eye coordination, flexible, etc.. He just needs to be more consistent and Ottawa will be worry free.
PHI - Biron showed everyone last season he wasn't going to go down without a fight. He is a very capable and talented starting goalie. Philly has another good goalie in Niittymaki.
PHO - Picking up Bryzgalov was their best move in a while. He put up some great numbers on a team that is in a rebuilding state. They got the goaltending they need, now they need to improve the rest of the team.
SJ - Nabokov, with his own style, is definitely one your elite veteran goaltenders out there. He gets the job done on a nightly basis. You can rely on Evgeni at all times and won't be disappointed.
STL - Manny Legace is a good starting goalie, but in my mind, I don't know if he can be consistent enough to take the Blues to playoffs. Don't get me wrong, he was an all-star last year. He is a GOOD goalie. But I see some flaws in his game here and there and that is something that can be worked on. If he works that out, he'll be a solid keepsake for St. Louis.
TBL - Olaf Kolzig was a better move than playing Ramo or Smith. But Kolzig is also getting old. He was replaced by Huet in mid-season last season. This was the first time Zilla has been replaced. He's found a new home in Tampa, but can he play as good as he did three - four years ago?
TOR - The Leafs are pretty much set in goal with Vesa Toskala, and picked up Joseph to back him up. Cujo finally returns with the team he played some of his best games with. Cujo is getting old now, but is a very good choice at back-up. Also, expect to see a little more of Justin Pogge. He will soon develop into a solid NHL goalie. Probably not this season, but he will show us what he's got.
VAN - Luongo is one of your very best. Too bad he's playing on a team that not only did poor last year, but didn't have a good free agency offseason for this season. But whatever, he hasn't played on a GREAT team throughout his entire career and can still own the net. The one time he had a good enough team was when he FIRST came over to the Canucks.
WAS - Picking up Theodore was a good move, but he hasn't played like he had in his years in Montreal. He is still a capable starter and has a chance now to get back to the best of his ability with this fresh start. |
| baimerr |
Posted - 09/03/2008 : 10:18:07
quote:
Originally posted by Pasty7
quote:
Originally posted by baimerr
well folks thanks for your inputs, everyone had something good to add. pickles, your fine, i like hearing what others have to say. as for my second half, very sorry, my uncle (who has been one of the healthiest men i've known) has just been diagnosed with brain cancer so i went up north for about 5 days to visit with my family and have been very busy along with having no internet up there. second half will be done by today or tomorrow, sorry for the wait!
my sympathies
Pasty
thank you pasty. im just prayin for a miracle right now, all we can do.. |
| Pasty7 |
Posted - 09/02/2008 : 15:43:16
quote:
Originally posted by baimerr
well folks thanks for your inputs, everyone had something good to add. pickles, your fine, i like hearing what others have to say. as for my second half, very sorry, my uncle (who has been one of the healthiest men i've known) has just been diagnosed with brain cancer so i went up north for about 5 days to visit with my family and have been very busy along with having no internet up there. second half will be done by today or tomorrow, sorry for the wait!
my sympathies
Pasty |
| baimerr |
Posted - 09/02/2008 : 07:36:57
well folks thanks for your inputs, everyone had something good to add. pickles, your fine, i like hearing what others have to say. as for my second half, very sorry, my uncle (who has been one of the healthiest men i've known) has just been diagnosed with brain cancer so i went up north for about 5 days to visit with my family and have been very busy along with having no internet up there. second half will be done by today or tomorrow, sorry for the wait! |
| 99pickles |
Posted - 08/31/2008 : 02:25:00
quote:
Originally posted by hockster
bernier is just the best out of a weaker class of goalies
Pickles kipper will due just fine, they had over half their d fense new too the system last near, so that can cause problems, but they will get used to it, it was his first year in calgary out of four he hasnt been nominated for the vezina, he will rebound just fine
WHERES THE SECOND HALF OF BOTH????
I don't bring the controversey it comes to me.
Iginla for 2010 team captain!!!
hockster, believe me, I would love more than anyone to see Kipper clearly re-establish his place among the top couple of goalies in the league. I am just worried that it will not happen. It just seams like something is missing...something that shows no signs of coming back...I am worried...
As for the second half... I apologize to baimerr for semi-hijacking his thread. I was just growing impatient waiting for his second half, so I just posted my own thoughts. I would like to post my own second half, but in respect to baimerr I will only do so as a response to his own original second half.
I respectfully allow him to do as he wishes with his own thread, in his own time; I will only respond. |
| hockster |
Posted - 08/30/2008 : 16:15:57
bernier is just the best out of a weaker class of goalies
Pickles kipper will due just fine, they had over half their d fense new too the system last near, so that can cause problems, but they will get used to it, it was his first year in calgary out of four he hasnt been nominated for the vezina, he will rebound just fine
WHERES THE SECOND HALF OF BOTH????
I don't bring the controversey it comes to me.
Iginla for 2010 team captain!!! |
| pensfan17 |
Posted - 08/27/2008 : 12:06:06
I agree that Bernier is not ready to start for a bad NHL team, especially considering he wasn't even the starter for the World Juniors (got beat out by Steve Mason) |
| 99pickles |
Posted - 08/27/2008 : 02:28:32
Here's what I think:
I should have just done this to begin with...
Ana - Giguere is an all-world goalie and he will surely continue his great play, especially on a sound defensive team. Can he sustain the workload without injury though?
Atl - Lehtonen will see more rubber than a times square whore this year. The arrival of Hainsey is not going to be enough to help.
Bos - The showdown that should have happened last year: Thomas vs. Fernandez. Good thing Boston still had Thomas around last year...that could've been ugly!! It seems that the 'everyman's hero' , Thomas, plays best when he's playing for his life. And, is Fernandez done? He will be if he doesn't show it this year. Boston might be best off trading Manny after a hot streak just to get as much for him as possible.
Buff - Thank god Lalime is here to help a little! Miller's back was getting sore from carrying this team through the entire second half last season! It could happen again though if Lalime shows weakness.
Cal - What can you say, they need Kipper to bring it back up a notch...I don't know what happened to this guy, but I've got a baaad feeling...
Carolina - Statistically, Ward had a pretty good year last season on a defensively haphazard team that missed the playoffs. Just goes to show you how good press makes a difference in a goalie's career. He played well and should continue to do so, but this team needs to work on their defensive game. With the overhaul of their D, and a PP QB in place this should be the case. Expect a very good year from Ward.
Chicago - The starting job is Huet's to lose. If he hasn't by the trade deadline, expect Khabibulin to go somewhere for really cheap - like a 4th round pick or something because no-one will be in the market for a goalie like him. If Chicago can't move him then, they will surely let him go this summer as his contract comes up.
Col - What an interesting situation in Colorado: 4 goalies with NHL experience. 2 battling it out for the #1 job (Budaj and Raycroft) and 2 that are more than capable of being an NHL back-up (Bacashihua and Wall). I'm wondering if one of the starters could get moved for something down the road.
Clb - Although Leclaire finally showed us the real deal last season, he is still injury prone. Columbus might be a team interested in having a capable veteran as their back-up as opposed to Norrena.
Dal - The Marty Turco show, clearly one of the best in the game. I don't understand why he isn't regarded quite as highly as I think he should be.
Det - Perfect set-up here: Osgood will start a little more than half the games, while Conklin will start most of the rest. Both will play very well since both will serve the same role as they did last season.
Edm - A much improved team will result in an even better performance from Garon. Roly's numbers were not very good last year, so it's do or die time for him. What's saving his bacon for now is the fact that Edmonton doesn't have an NHL-ready guy to shoulder as many starts that Roly did last season. But if they feel safe with Garon, that won't matter any more.
Fla - Vokoun will be pummeled by pucks this year, and he will obviously start the vast majority of the games. He is a great goalie on a bad team. I betcha he wishes he were back in Nashville!
LA - Looks like they have no choice but to go with Labarbera again since Bernier is simply NOT ready yet - he just turned 20 for crying out loud! The Dan Cloutier experiment is finally over too. But, Ersberg put up great numbers last year on a lousy defensive team, maybe they ought to start him instead since Labarbera plays inconsistently at times. You may even see one of the young guys as a back-up this year.
I guess I was just waiting for your other half !  |
| 99pickles |
Posted - 08/27/2008 : 01:30:13
I think this is the best thing for Raycroft's career...
First: Get the heck out of Toronto (where he set the team record for wins if I'm not mistaken!!! so don't say he didn't play well there - did you even watch them that year? He played very solid)
Second: Go to a pretty decent team that is also on the rise. That's always a nice change.
Third: Go to a team where you actually have a shot at usurping the #1 job from the incumbent. Hello Budaj!
What a silver lining that Toskala trade has turned out to be for Raycroft. |
| Axey |
Posted - 08/24/2008 : 14:56:48
bernier has a huge shot at starting on that team.. rraycroft will do fine on colorado, step up from T.O
Chicago Blackhawks GM |
| hockster |
Posted - 08/22/2008 : 21:19:18
for LA what about the starter being jonathon bernier |
| baimerr |
Posted - 08/21/2008 : 08:53:52
I wanna get more thoughts, opinions, etc. before I do the rest, so please, tell me whatcha think! |
| baimerr |
Posted - 08/20/2008 : 07:35:23
plus ersberg did have a strong debut with the kings. he does look like the answer for them as of right now, but i think they should be digging in the goalie market for a new solution if you ask me |
| baimerr |
Posted - 08/20/2008 : 07:34:06
yeah you're right on labarbs
i don't know.. i think raycroft will do well but i guess you're right, i think i may have my hopes too high. that rookie season was phenominal and he hasnt shown a bit of that since. but it did show he has that jim craig ability in 'em. he showed the NHL what he can do, but we're yet to see it again, if we ever do again that is. can't hurt to believe though, right? =P |
| pensfan17 |
Posted - 08/20/2008 : 06:41:53
I agree that Raycroft will do better in Colorado without the pressure Toronto fans put on him, but i still do not consider him a great goalie. He had a good rookie year for Boston, but then had an okay year and then a miserable year for the Leafs. Also I believe Labarbara will no longer be the stater when the season comes along, Erik Ersberg was great last year: 14gp, 6-5-3, 2.48gaa, 927sv%. I think Ersberg will begin the year in net for LA (it won't make too much difference though, they'll still end near the bottom). |
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