Player Discussion Braden Holtby Appreciation Thread

[CapitalsCupReality]

If he’s really “tired” from playing a kid’s game a lot, to the point that he’s mentally broken, then I’m willing to wager he’s not going to lead anyone to a Stanley Cup.

Dude is just slumping. It happens to the best of them. Could be any number of off-ice issues contributing to this...

He’s always excelled with a heavy workload...why suddenly an issue? I know....let’s BLAME TROTZ!

It’s all Barry....

 

[Corby78]

Suddenly he’s tired? Not buying it Brent.

I got tired reading all those tweets

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

He's #1 by a fair margin. Since the start of '14-'15 season he has 250 games. Rask, Rinne and Dubnyk are 2-4 between 238-241 games. Schneider and Lundqvist are tied for 5th with 224 games. That's 26 less than Holtby. Hell, only 12 goalies have played 200 games during that stretch.

This just shows that very few teams have a capable workhorse star-level goalie who can stay healthy and shoulder that load. When you’ve got a guy as talented as Holtby or Hank, you play them because they are difference makers. Most of the league is some form of goalie by platoon, either forced by injury or by lack of talent at the position.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I know this, if our reporters are worth a damn, they’re chasing this down, asking Holtby and coaches if he’s mentally fatigued to the point where he’s floundering....I suspect denial...

 

[AtNightWeFly]

If he’s really “tired” from playing a kid’s game a lot, to the point that he’s mentally broken, then I’m willing to wager he’s not going to lead anyone to a Stanley Cup.

Dude is just slumping. It happens to the best of them. Could be any number of off-ice issues contributing to this...

He’s always excelled with a heavy workload...why suddenly an issue? I know....let’s BLAME TROTZ!

It’s all Barry....

Maybe its finally caught up to him? Like an alcoholic develops liver disease eventually.
Mind you most of this is his own fault for stating over and over that he plays better the more he plays. And when you combine that with a Turtle of a coach that's also too wimpy to say "kid, sit down some" well here we are.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Just feels like people are now searching, almost begging to find an “out” for Holtby.

I guess I don’t care myself. He’s struggling, the guy behind him isn’t and it’s time for 70 to step aside and try to find his game. He’s going to be needed if they’re to win anything significant IMO.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

If he’s really “tired” from playing a kid’s game a lot, to the point that he’s mentally broken, then I’m willing to wager he’s not going to lead anyone to a Stanley Cup.

Dude is just slumping. It happens to the best of them. Could be any number of off-ice issues contributing to this...

He’s always excelled with a heavy workload...why suddenly an issue? I know....let’s BLAME TROTZ!

It’s all Barry....

Just because kids do it does not mean it's not demanding task. I'll never understand the "kid's game" mentality. Kid's do a lot of the same things adults do that adults complain about, the difference is the expectation and competition as you get older increases. He's playing a sport at the highest level in the world, that kids also play the sport in their own way is really not all that relevant.


To your point though, why is he just now slumping? I think you answered your own question. He's always had a high work load, it's finally caught up. For you baseball fans out there I will invoke the name of one Chad "The Chief" Cordero. Cordero made a record 47 saves in 2005, his ERA was 1.82 that season. The previous year he actually pitched more innings and had a 2.94 ERA, but after his record year he broke. He appeared basically the same amount of innings the next two years and his ERA was garbage and after that he got hurt and was out of the league. He washed out of baseball in 6 years, during his record season people were predicting this was going to happen, his work load was unsustainable for a relief pitcher, others were point at his success and saying "look he can handle the load, he pitched more innings last year, he pitched a ton in the year he was the reliever of the year, why wouldn't he be able to handle it again?" It all caught up, his body began to break down, he had trouble focusing too because he was so over used. He really is Holtby-esque.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Or....

He’s just struggling with his game...

We see no symptoms of physical breakdown.

 

[RandyHolt]

Imagine if Vrana went to the media and said the more he plays, the better he is.

Kid, sit down.

I often say without a shred of evidence, that the game becomes largely mental. A defensemen doesn't have to think about how to stop Tomas Fleishmann bearing down on him. As a famous top gun pilot once said, if you think, you're dead. Maybe its not true for goalies heh.

No more flybys once the playoff start.

 

[RandyHolt]

Or....

He’s just struggling with his game...

We see no symptoms of physical breakdown.

I see 1. He seems a tad slower moving laterally than I remember. And seems awful slow to move out to challenge shooters. Almost like, he is not coming out at all. Let's call it 2.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

I don't think a pro athlete exists that's going to say he doesn't want to play, that's just not in their nature. It's on the staff to leash these guys. Pro athletes are like goldfish that eat themselves to death, these guys are never going to willingly pull themselves out of a game situation. I don't know why people are acting like it would have been normal for Holtby to be like "Oh yeah, I don't feel up to it tonight, let Grubi start." Athletes are taught from a young age that when it's go time you go no matter what, the coaches are the ones who will guide the ship. Trotz and co are asleep at the wheel. I mean the guy played all but 9 games one season? Who let that happen?!

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I see 1. He seems a tad slower moving laterally than I remember. And seems awful slow to move out to challenge shooters. Almost like, he is not coming out at all. Let's call it 2.

I see those both as confidence related. He’s making his reads and not reacting appropriately in the moment.

IMO, it’s all between his ears...

 

[StrikingDistance]

The fact Brent posted 12 tweets about Holts tells me all I need to know. I don't need an HF msg board translator to decipher. Braden is currently in Jose 3 or 4 territory.

Grubi better start tonight and at a minimum split the remaining games. If not, then Totz is far dumber/more stubborn than I ever thought.

Whatever happened to riding the hotter goalie?

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

The fact Brent posted 12 tweets about Holts tells me all I need to know. I don't need an HF msg board translator to decipher. Braden is currently in Jose 3 or 4 territory.

Grubi better start tonight and at a minimum split the remaining games. If not, then Totz is far dumber/more stubborn than I ever thought.

Whatever happened to riding the hotter goalie?

The fact that an NHL goalie and someone with greater access to the team than anyone here didn't want his thoughts to be constrained to a few sentences told you that our goalie is broken?

Some of you guys make this a lot harder than it needs to be. This isn't an InfoWars conspiracy, if the guy who covers the team and played goalie at the highest level in the world says he thinks it's fatigue... it's probably fatigue. I'm not saying you can't critique analysts, but I think the immediate disregarding of Johnson as if he's any schlub on this board is probably a bit unfair, especially if your rationale is "too many words".

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

A mediocre NHL goalie gave a possible explanation therefor it is the gospel. Don’t be sheep.

Brent is the resident staff goalie apologist.

I’d like to see someone ask him if maybe the repeated playoff failures, the most recent and most painful where he was clearly a weak link has something to do with his poor form.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

A mediocre NHL goalie gave a possible explanation therefor it is the gospel. Don’t be sheep.

"Mediocre NHL goalie" aka "The guy was only one of the 60 best goalies in the entire world for 15 years."

But I'm sure your resume is more stacked Alex Jones.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

"Mediocre NHL goalie" aka "The guy was only one of the 60 best goalies in the entire world for 15 years."

But I'm sure your resume is more stacked Alex Jones.

Lol...got it....if it’s on the Internet, you believe it.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

Lol...got it....if it’s on the Internet, you believe it.

More like "If an expert of a niche field with 15 years of experience and greater access to the team than anyone else here" says it I value it over a bunch of dudes who are like "I don't know, from my couch I see this...".

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

I’m saying it’s one potential issue where there are arguably others.

You’re willing to believe the first excuse that anyone with a resume spews out. Believe what you want. Fans don’t want to find fault in their hero’s....rather blame it on a coach that you’ve been railing on relentlessly suggesting overuse....I get it.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I can buy that Holtby is tired mentally and has low confidence right now, but if that's the case, Trotz should consider giving Grubauer the starting job for the remainder of the season! Let Holtby take a week off, hit the reset button for real, let him rest a bit and ask him to jump back in a week or two before the playoffs start.

Trotz will ride Holtby to death. Grubauer is dying for the opportunity to prove what he can do with a starter's workload, let's give him the chance to prove himself!

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

You can’t blame Trotz. When you get into Vezina territory with a goalie, as long as he’s healthy....the coach rides him hard. They ALL do it and it makes sense. At the Vezina level you’re a game changer every night.

I don’t think you send Holtby to the pine for a whole week....let him get the sheltered starts still.

 

[Langway]

Is Brent Johnson NOT saying that it's precisely "between the ears"? He just disagrees that he's going to plow through it via mental toughness and determination at this point and everything lately tends to suggest he's right about that. You've kind of got to hope that time off allows him to recharge and reset himself. He's earned it and so has Grubauer earned the increased role. It probably should have happened earlier but I think that probably has more to do with Korn not having been around than Trotz.

 

[Skrudland2Lomakin]

I’m saying it’s one potential issue where there are arguably others.

You’re willing to believe the first excuse that anyone with a resume spews out. Believe what you want. Fans don’t want to find fault in their hero’s....rather blame it on a coach that you’ve been railing on relentlessly suggesting overuse....I get it.

I'm not taking Johnson as the gospel, like others I'm saying it seems to be a viable reason for his play. I don't reject that notion that this could be the result of a lot of factors. I'm just saying that discarding Johnson's opinion or insinuating it actually confirms the opposite of what he's hypothesizing is silly. There literally was a poster who was implied that because Johnson was verbose in his reasoning that it confirms that Holtby is broken. That's the type of speculation I think is stupid. I also think that characterizing anyone who maybe values former players and club house reporters over random internet speculation as being a "sheep" is also pretty stupid.

 

[txpd]

If he’s really “tired” from playing a kid’s game a lot, to the point that he’s mentally broken.......

This is so far from the reality of the situation that its breathtaking. When you are being paid millions of dollars and a lead player on a professional sports team, it is a highly responsible, highly stressful job. ITS A JOB!!! Its not a kids game. Mentally tired is different than broken. Not to say that the repeated choking cant result in broken. Again. what kid is known continent wide for being a national choker season after season?

 

[StrikingDistance]

The fact that an NHL goalie and someone with greater access to the team than anyone here didn't want his thoughts to be constrained to a few sentences told you that our goalie is broken?

Some of you guys make this a lot harder than it needs to be. This isn't an InfoWars conspiracy, if the guy who covers the team and played goalie at the highest level in the world says he thinks it's fatigue... it's probably fatigue. I'm not saying you can't critique analysts, but I think the immediate disregarding of Johnson as if he's any schlub on this board is probably a bit unfair, especially if your rationale is "too many words".

I'm not postulating what the causes of his downfall may be, nor do I care. I care about results. The fact someone closer to the team came out and said Braden is sucking because of __________ is very telling. Physically hurt? Emotionally drained? Underwear too tight? Cursed by a witch doctor when he was in Jamaica? Whatever. I don't care. He's the new Jose 3 or 4 (Theodore).

I'm sure his level of play lately isn't a confidence multiplier among the rest of the team.