chaps80

Holy play stoppages!

It's something though. lol

When it's good hockey it's a good thread.

They are giving out Bert bobbleheads? Need to score me one of those gems.

Hell yeah Bertttt!

What makes you think they want to let both go? Have you read that somewhere? They need a backup. And McElhinney, as great as he's been for them, has been a journeyman backup for most of his career. Can he handle a full season starter's workload? Letting both go wouldn't be the best decision. What would they do, roll with Mac and a prospect? Mrazek makes $1.5 million on a one year deal, hardly breaking the bank.

I wasn't saying Carolina was planning to re-sign Mrazek after this season. But if he was to play well enough in a backup role he may have gotten another year. That was probably the plan heading into the season, but Darling and Mrazek both going down with injuries forced them into picking up McElhinney, who is turning out to be a steal. Now there's a problem. Darling being unmoveable and McEllinney having taken the starters job may force Mrazek out, even though it seems like that's not the one they want to let go. They don't seem to be planning on keeping three goalies on the NHL roster. Like i said, we'll see. Hard to up your game when you've barely played. He might get taken on waivers, or he clears and goes to Charlotte. That could be a good thing for him as well, he'll get a lot more playing time, and can work on his game.

LOL E is a soup sandwich. Soft and soggy. Always. One of the best skaters in the league easily. That was always clear though. Now he's got the hands to go with it.

My boy Bert is lookin good as well this season. Again, matter of giving him the ice time to get it together.

We definitely agree on that. Both are horrible, with horrible contracts.

AA!! f*** yeah!! Was waiting for him to get it together, figured he would. There better not be any more trade talks involving him.

It is irrelevant. If he brings on his own demise, so be it. I can still hope he succeeds, but it's not a huge deal if he doesn't. He could very well find a home with the teams i listed if he is exposed to waivers. He hasn't played enough this season in Carolina to judge him yet. Started 8 games, sitting at 3-3-2. Was injured for a month, hasn't played since November 2nd. Of course what happens with Darling will effect his situation. McElhinney is the only one that's safe right now. Mrazek has backed him up the past two games and is due to start soon. Darling is in trouble. He was supposed to be the No 1 they needed after parting ways with Ward. He hasn't lived up to it, to put it mildly. He's now the 3rd string goalie, and the only reason he will stay in Carolina is because of his contract. A decision will have to made soon, so let's see what happens then.

One of my fave Wings playoff moments. Happy i was able to witness it live, sent JLA into a frenzy. That series was a lot closer than it should have been, such a relief when that shot went in. I remember Osgood had a puck hit his stick and bounce behind him in the first OT, but pulled some Hasek-like flip and snagged it just in time.

Least you don't despise him. I don't care what he does anymore now that he's not a Wing. It's irrelevant rather he sinks or swims, but if he can stay in the league, good for him. I still hope he succeeds. You keep bringing him up when talking about Howard, or just cause you feel like it, which gets the convo going again. Darling's contract is a problem, and if they don't want three goalies on the roster, Mrazek might be waived. Not sure if he would clear at $1.5 million cap hit and being a UFA at season's end though. Arizona has Kuemper on IR and Raanta day to day. They could have interest in him. Luongo is a constant question mark in Florida too. Philly has constant goalie problems as usual with Elliott and Neuvirth on IR and Pickard playing horribly, but he won't be going back there. We'll see how it plays out...

Worse save percentage but much better GAA. The team is happy with Curt Mac as starter, so i've read, which makes absolute sense since he's their top guy numbers wise right now: 7-2-0, 2.12 GAA, .930 sv%, and he just bolstered that with stopping 48 of 49 shots last night. He also makes only $850k a season. Might be the best waiver wire steal in quite awhile. Darling could have backed up last night, but he was indeed a healthy scratch according to NHL.com. Darling is 2-4-1 with a 3.14 GAA, .892 sv%. Mrazek is 3-3-2 with a 2.76 GAA and .880 sv%. So ya, they could go in any direction, but Darling was horrible for them last year, and he's horrible again this year. Probably getting fed up with him. Mrazek has a much cheaper cap hit at $1.5 million, and has played somewhat better. Curt Mac and Mrazek would be a solid cheap tandem. Just over $2 million for two goalies. We'll see what happens. If they can't move or waive Darling, they might just keep carrying three goalies. If Mrazek gets waived, so be it. You absolutely despise Mrazek eh?

Howard's salary is fine. He's earning it for the most part. Bernier's, not so much. I hoped he would do well, but so far he hasn't. Not sure what the exact plan with him was when he was signed for three years for about a million too much. Was he supposed to take over for Howard? Doesn't seem like that's the plan anymore with extension talks. Split time? Nope, he's played half the amount of games Howard has. Expensive backup.

hahaha can always count on you for that one. Man, you missed out!

He's not the third string. He was backup on Saturday after he was cleared to return from injury, and he's backing up tonight. McIlhenney has taken the starters job. Darling looks like the odd man out, or would be if they could waive him, especially after Saturday's start: "Sadly, even the most positive of Carolina Hurricanes fans are now struggling to defend Scott Darling. After a decent return to the team, in which his save percentage was above the league average after his first five games of the season, recent performances have been – at best – turgid, and have seen his stats take a tumble commensurate with his play. He now sits with a save percentage of just .892% and with a GAA of 3.14, which is significantly worse than the GAAs of McElhinney (an excellent 2.25) and Petr Mrazek (2.75). Darling’s only saving grace is that Mrazek’s save percentage is even worse than his own (.880%), and that his contract pretty much precludes him being waived and sent to Charlotte. One thing is for certain though: Scott Darling needs to improve, and quickly, else this situation is going to turn sour very soon."

Dang. lol G J. Bernier J.Howard SA GA SV SV% ESSV PPSV SHSV SOSA SOS TOI PIM 15 3 12 .800 10 1 1 0 0 39:16 0 16 3 13 .813 11 1 1 0 0 20:00 0

Howard has been solid overall this year, but I agree Bernier has been awful. May as well have qualified Mrazek at $4 million for one season then if he played decent, give him $2 million per for another. Now they wanna resign Howard while still having Bernier for another two seasons. I see Howard getting close to the same salary, so nothings changing.

We all know Bob Essensa was the most underrated goalie the Wings had since The Streak began.

AA got his hands in sync with his speed. Weapon.

Point.

Chris Osgood was one of those.

Yep. Pretty solid. Bernier's not so much, but good to see Blash not keeping his ass stuck to the bench.