I think NYR fans did damper their prediction for the guy. I saw the guy play about a dozen times over the past two season.. love cheap flights to saint Pete from London(beautiful city year round) and his numbers are soft and it could take awhile to adjust to North American hockey and demands of being a starter. Also remember he was playing on a team that was one of the best KHL teams. I think he will two years and the farm to not only adjust to na hockey but playing a lot of games. Something he did not do this year
This is a fair assessment. I don't think any reasonable fans expect him to step in and be Lundqvist 2.0 or anything like that, at least not right away. But his numbers, even if they are inflated, are impossible to ignore IMO...pair that with his athletic ability and the fact that he's currently heir apparent for the Rangers net. a 2nd isn't a big enough return to hedge against losing your next #1 goalie. Just not going to happen...
And to those saying that Georgiev for a 2nd is an overpayment, maybe on the surface it is. But if you watched him play this year in the NHL, he's got a lot of great qualities. Obviously it's a small sample size and he's not proven an ability to do it over the course of a full season in the NHL...but he's got the makings of a very good backup, at the very least. I'd be just as fine holding him for that reason.