Goalie Battle

[Ekmanc 586]

Mrazek is the real deal and we are soooooo lucky we drafted him.

We really are or we'd be stuck with Howard for years.

[Bill Berzeench 310]

I was trying to quantify the difference in 910 save % vs. 930. At 33 shots per game, it's 30 games to 1000 shots. 20 more goals against for Howard than Mrazek in a 30 game span. That tells the tale of the 10 points in the standings between us finishing 4th or 8th in the conference. This team can just not afford to play Howard anymore.

[Krayzie_Bone 58]

Goalie battle over. I admit it I was wrong. I thought Howard would win it back this year.

[sjr2012 439]

jimmy is our expensive backup but thats it

[chaps80 1,591]

Nope. That's right on point.

For reference, fans thought Chris Osgood sucked. Then he helped drag the Islanders and the Blues into the playoffs. Anyone that thinks Howard couldn't do something similar is crazy.

Buffalo sounds like a great place for Jimmy.

Huge difference between Howard and Osgood though. Osgood was clutch in the playoffs time and again, and won three cups, nearly four. Howard has'nt even come close. He had a couple good series 5 years ago. I do agree that a change could help him, but I would'nt compare him to Osgood. The guy was great wherever he played, and anyone who thinks he sucked probably never let go of the fact he blew the SJ series in 1994. lol

[chaps80 1,591]

So, we should play Howard in the Playoffs? CuJo had better playoff numbers in Detroit than Hasek did. Hasek had the benefit of a team who could score in front of him.

I agree Cujo was awesome in the playoffs with Detroit. Hasek was fortunate to have an all star team in front of him in 2002, but he was just as big a part of that cup win as the others. The Colorado series in particular. He s*** the bed in 2008 though. Lucky they had Osgood as well.

[Bill Berzeench 310]

I agree Cujo was awesome in the playoffs with Detroit. Hasek was fortunate to have an all star team in front of him in 2002, but he was just as big a part of that cup win as the others. The Colorado series in particular. He s*** the bed in 2008 though. Lucky they had Osgood as well.

Osgood has 400 wins. That is a great feat.

[chaps80 1,591]

Osgood has 400 wins. That is a great feat.

Damn right. All his career stats are great.

[poel 28]

Long way for him to be a part of this controversy, but I wanted to let you know that Joren van Pottelberghe will play for current Swiss Champion Davos next season. He's expected to be the starter and if it goes well, he'll most likely join Grand Rapids after a season or two.

[Bill Berzeench 310]

Long way for him to be a part of this controversy, but I wanted to let you know that Joren van Pottelberghe will play for current Swiss Champion Davos next season. He's expected to be the starter and if it goes well, he'll most likely join Grand Rapids after a season or two.

Fill me in. I know nothing about this guy.

[poel 28]

Fill me in. I know nothing about this guy.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/player.htm?id=8478847&docid=TeamPlayerBio:48605#&navid=nhl-search

2015 4th Round Pick, now returning to Switzerland to play pro hockey for one of europe's best teams that just lost in the semis of european champions league. Not too bad for his age. Talented and big guy. Has been inconsistent though...at least during junior tournaments.

Edited January 16, 2016 by poel

[jimmyemeryhunter 2,747]

I hope van pottelberghe pans out, but I expect mrazek-coreau to be our #1-2 in 5 years, even if JVP becomes a legitimate nhl-er.

That, or one of coreau/JVP will be traded and the other will be backup.

Does anyone know what happened with chase perry?

Didn't we just draft him in the 3rd or 4th two drafts ago?

Why was he drafted so relatively high, and why does hf have him ranked so low?

[poel 28]

I hope van pottelberghe pans out, but I expect mrazek-coreau to be our #1-2 in 5 years, even if JVP becomes a legitimate nhl-er.

That, or one of coreau/JVP will be traded and the other will be backup.

Does anyone know what happened with chase perry?

Didn't we just draft him in the 3rd or 4th two drafts ago?

Why was he drafted so relatively high, and why does hf have him ranked so low?

His skills are crazy, so he could be able to back up Mrazek at some point. But to me, his inconsistency is a real problem. Surely he's young, but it's been pretty obvious he sometimes just wasn't feeling it. Reminds me a bit of Kari Lehtonen so far. Unique skillset and unbeatable at times but you never know what will come next.

To be honest, I was very surprised to read that Davos is planning to give him a shot. They have a history of very good goalies there like Hiller, Berra or Genoni. Just like Andersson they must be optimistic that his issues aren't as serious as I think they are...especially as their projected backup for next season will be Gilles Senn, a 19yo who played just 7 league games over two seasons with the club

Can't always take hf for real. They also write that goaltending depth would be a weakness of the organization. I'd strongly disagree. Apart from McCollum and Coreau they're all far away now, but that should surely change within the next 2-4 years. Paterson, Perry and Van Pottelberghe are good assets.

Edited January 17, 2016 by poel

[wings4thecup06 504]

What the Wings really need now is for Jimmy to be lights out the rest of the way (like he was pre ASG last season) so it drives up his trade value.

Mrazek has clearly assumed the starting job and doesn't look like he'll relinquish it. The kid has too much talent and frankly all star potential.

What remains to be seen is when or if the Wings will trade Howard (they'd be stupid not to, as Mrazek is going to get a hefty raise soon, most likely after this season).

Problem right now is who wants Howard? The Oilers just re-signed Cam Talbot for nearly $4m AAV for the next 3 seasons, so they're effectively out. So who's left? Buffalo? San Jose?

Essentially if he continues to play this well, Mrazek will start in the playoffs, and is Jimmy really going to be happy playing 25/30 games next season as backup to Petr?

[jimmyemeryhunter 2,747]

His skills are crazy, so he could be able to back up Mrazek at some point. But to me, his inconsistency is a real problem. Surely he's young, but it's been pretty obvious he sometimes just wasn't feeling it. Reminds me a bit of Kari Lehtonen so far. Unique skillset and unbeatable at times but you never know what will come next.

To be honest, I was very surprised to read that Davos is planning to give him a shot. They have a history of very good goalies there like Hiller, Berra or Genoni. Just like Andersson they must be optimistic that his issues aren't as serious as I think they are...especially as their projected backup for next season will be Gilles Senn, a 19yo who played just 7 league games over two seasons with the club

Can't always take hf for real. They also write that goaltending depth would be a weakness of the organization. I'd strongly disagree. Apart from McCollum and Coreau they're all far away now, but that should surely change within the next 2-4 years. Paterson, Perry and Van Pottelberghe are good assets.

Ha. I don't put too much stock into hf rankings, I was just kind of shocked to see him given a 5.0c, I've never seen a prospect rated so low.ha.

Thanks for the info though!

[kliq 3,755]

What the Wings really need now is for Jimmy to be lights out the rest of the way (like he was pre ASG last season) so it drives up his trade value.

Mrazek has clearly assumed the starting job and doesn't look like he'll relinquish it. The kid has too much talent and frankly all star potential.

What remains to be seen is when or if the Wings will trade Howard (they'd be stupid not to, as Mrazek is going to get a hefty raise soon, most likely after this season).

Problem right now is who wants Howard? The Oilers just re-signed Cam Talbot for nearly $4m AAV for the next 3 seasons, so they're effectively out. So who's left? Buffalo? San Jose?

Essentially if he continues to play this well, Mrazek will start in the playoffs, and is Jimmy really going to be happy playing 25/30 games next season as backup to Petr?

Ya I was disappointed when I read Edmonton signed Talbot to a 3 year deal. Even if Edmonton wasn't going to trade for him, if they had any interest in him at all it would have increased his trade value.

To me the front runners for Howard would be:

Calgary

Buffalo (though I doubt Holland wants to trade within division unless its the only choice)

Carolina (Ward is a UFA)

Philly (Mason has 1 year left on his deal, we pick up that contract for the last year, Philly gets a better goalie for the long term)

Winnipeg (same as above but Pavlec)

[chaps80 1,591]

Ya I was disappointed when I read Edmonton signed Talbot to a 3 year deal. Even if Edmonton wasn't going to trade for him, if they had any interest in him at all it would have increased his trade value.

To me the front runners for Howard would be:

Calgary

Buffalo (though I doubt Holland wants to trade within division unless its the only choice)

Carolina (Ward is a UFA)

Philly (Mason has 1 year left on his deal, we pick up that contract for the last year, Philly gets a better goalie for the long term)

Winnipeg (same as above but Pavlec)

Winnipeg has some great goaltending prospects. Hellebuyck, Hutchinson, Comrie. I doubt they'd take Howard and his contract with three years left in exchange for Pavelec who has one year left on a cheaper deal, then he's probably gone. They won't have any use for Howard, and they'd be stuck with him. Detroit would absolutely have to sweeten the deal somehow, if Winnipeg would even agree to talks. I would'nt even say Howard is the better goalie.

As for Carolina, if they don't resign Ward, they still have Lack, who is def good enough to be the number one guy, which may have been the plan when they traded for him. Again, not much use for Howard there.

The rest are def possibilities, although Buffalo purposely traded for Lehner as one of the players to rebuild around. Doubt he's going anywhere.

Edited January 18, 2016 by chaps80

[kliq 3,755]

Winnipeg has some great goaltending prospects. Hellebuyck, Hutchinson, Comrie. I doubt they'd take Howard and his contract with three years left in exchange for Pavelec who has one year left on a cheaper deal, then he's probably gone. They won't have any use for Howard, and they'd be stuck with him. Detroit would absolutely have to sweeten the deal somehow, if Winnipeg would even agree to talks. I would'nt even say Howard is the better goalie.

As for Carolina, if they don't resign Ward, they still have Lack, who is def good enough to be the number one guy, which may have been the plan when they traded for him. Again, not much use for Howard there.

The rest are def possibilities, although Buffalo purposely traded for Lehner as one of the players to rebuild around. Doubt he's going anywhere.

Ya that was kind of my feeling about Winnipeg, that's why I put them last on my list. I saw Hellebuyck is playing great this year, and I have seen good things from Hutch, but what they lack is a proven #1 so that is why I included them.

I can't say I agree with you on Lack. The guy us 28 years old, Vancouver gave up on him as their #1 guy, and so far on Carolina he has 89.1 Save %, and a 2.97 GAA (not good at all). While I'm sure Carolina is not a great defensive team, he is being outplayed by Ward who in 2015 is not exactly considered an elite goaltender. Don't get me wrong, you never know as look at what Tim Thomas did, the guy could still get there, but I don't think its likely. I would say Carolina definitely should be in the discussion.

Lehner has played 2 NHL games since February 2015, he very well could turn into a great goalie but with his injury history I wouldn't put it past Buffalo to get some insurance. A proven NHL vet would not be a bad idea for them.

[gcom007 1,465]

The nature of this thread needs to change. The battle with Howard is over. Mrazek's now battling for something else. His numbers are climbing every game, and he is playing about as close to lights out goal as you can. If he keeps this up, he's going to be leading the league in save percentage soon, and he stands to creep up on Holtby and Bishop in GAA soon as well. If he keeps up this play and keeps getting the majority of the starts, he stands to be neck and neck with Holtby for Vezina by the end of the season.

We are the luckiest.

[sjr2012 439]

The nature of this thread needs to change. The battle with Howard is over. Mrazek's now battling for something else. His numbers are climbing every game, and he is playing about as close to lights out goal as you can. If he keeps this up, he's going to be leading the league in save percentage soon, and he stands to creep up on Holtby and Bishop in GAA soon as well. If he keeps up this play and keeps getting the majority of the starts, he stands to be neck and neck with Holtby for Vezina by the end of the season.

We are the luckiest.

not this season but i do see him competing for it down the road for sure even the Jennings

[joesuffP 1,746]

Mrazek has been stealing points for us left and right, we could easily be on quite a losing streak right now

[sjr2012 439]

Mrazek has been stealing points for us left and right, we could easily be on quite a losing streak right now

oh he is the man i just dont know who could solidly back him up if we traded jimmy

[Bill Berzeench 310]

Howard vs Coreau is the goalie battle now.

[joesuffP 1,746]

I think us being able to trade Jimmy is a pipe dream. Teams have better options with a cheaper price tag. I don't blame Holland, nobody could predict Mrazek was going to step into the NHL flawlessly. Hopefully having Jimmy under contract will bring Mrazek's contract down in price. Probably go to arbitration

[LeftWinger 4,959]

So, our goalie battle is over, so we are talking about other teams' goalie battles?

Honestly though, I had a good feeling about Coreau when they signed him. I may have mentioned him a few times in some of my "trade Jimmy" rants/scenarios. I was a bit disappointed when he seemed to be struggling at the AHL level last year and prior, but I am encouraged at his development thus far this year and with some more experience , I can really see him being Petr's backup sooner rather than later....if he does get better, that would take a lot of pressure off of Holland to try to find a backup if indeed Howard does get traded.

Unfortunately with Mrazek taking over the job, his pricetag went up to re-sign. I think he is going to get at least $4M, which with Holland looking for a big scorer or big D man, PLUS having to re-sign Sheahan, Dekeyser, Marchy and Pulk, its gonna get tight! Especially with Abby's $4M+ and if he gives Helm $4M+...

Edited January 18, 2016 by LeftWinger