Recalled/Assigned: Hutchinson recalled from Marlies

[Notsince67]

Mcbacub didn't win anything either. He wasn't good at camp either... All 3 didn't standout at camp and frankly if you treat this like it's high school tryouts the results would not be what you think. A lot that gets said to the media about tryouts blah blah blah is just that blah blah to the media it's just unfortunately you can't see past what is said to actually see what is happening. Players that actually make the team out of camp is a rare thing across the NHL do to the fact it's the worst part of the year to player evaluate when almost nobody is in form... Camp is to get ready for the season not a tryout.

Goes contrary to what the coach says but thanks

 

[rumman]

Sparks is done. He just doesn't have it.

Dubas rushed and ruined any hope for him being a effective NHL goalie, hope he doesn't do the same with Lily and Sandin, that'd be Jim Benny Fred Boimistruk 2.0.

 

[rumman]

I feel like more than 60% of leaf fans knew sparks was not going to be any good in the nhl.

And yet dubas is the one getting paid lol

awe inspiring observation, I have little faith in boy wonder.

 

[Notsince67]

Maybe part of the reason for keeping Sparks as long as they did was to engrain how much Andersen has been saving their ass all season. and to get them to buckle down and focus on defense.

Funny but I've thought about those benefits during my moments of looking on the bright side.

 

[Nineteen67]

Weren't his last two games shutouts or 1 goal against? I thought he was our best.

Could be. I don’t remember. But anyway, that accountant from Chicago looked better than Sparks did, and that shouldve been enough.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Dubas rushed and ruined any hope for him being a effective NHL goalie, hope he doesn't do the same with Lily and Sandin, that'd be Jim Benny Fred Boimistruk 2.0.

Wha -- how?

 

[rumman]

Wha -- how?

obviously Sparks wasn't NHL ready, some don't think he'll ever be, but rushing him most likely ruined any hope of him having a NHL career, or do you think he'll be back?

 

[Notsince67]

• I understand and agree with the logic behind the decision to keep Sparks over McElhinney.
• I don't think we could have anticipated both McElhinney and Pickard being picked off waivers.
• Goalies who put up the numbers Sparks did in the AHL have a good track record of becoming NHL goaltenders.
• Sparks has not been an NHL-quality goaltender this season.
• The decision, in retrospect, was a mistake.But that's something we can say with the benefit of hindsight. Sometimes even the seemingly most sensible of decisions backfire.

Translation...you plugs who disagreed with dubas were wrong even though dubas in retrospect is also wrong because he was right to be wrong and you were wrong to be right

 

[BertCorbeau]

obviously Sparks wasn't NHL ready, some don't think he'll ever be, but rushing him most likely ruined any hope of him having a NHL career, or do you think he'll be back?

.. He's 25 year's old, has posted a save percentage of over 0.920% with the Marlies in the last 3 seasons, winning a Calder Cup last year with Goalie of the Year and all-star honours

This was his time to show if he can cut it in the NHL and he blew it ... In no way was he rushed

 

[rumman]

.. He's 25 year's old, has posted a save percentage of over 0.920% with the Marlies in the last 3 seasons, winning a Calder Cup last year with Goalie of the Year and all-star honours

This was his time to show if he can cut it in the NHL and he blew it ... In no way was he rushed

you have a point age wise, I guess he's simply not good enough for the NHL if he was ready in your opinion he certainly didn't show any hint of it.

 

[Al14]

obviously Sparks wasn't NHL ready, some don't think he'll ever be, but rushing him most likely ruined any hope of him having a NHL career, or do you think he'll be back?

I'd say the best place for Sparks is back with the Marlies. That's assuming he'd clear waivers to go down there.

He should spend a great deal more time developing in the AHL. Maybe, he'll become a decent NHL backup by the time he reaches his early 30s. Some goalies take a little more time. McElhinney didn't do much till he was into his 30s.

Sparks style needs to be cleaned up. He's too busy in the net. Needs to quiet down, and play a calm game, that keeps him in position and ready to stop the next shot. A spastic goalie leads to pretty easy empty net goals.

 

[Al14]

well, pots legal now maybe he needs to burn a fatty before the game?

Well, that might be better than the high doses of caffeine he's consuming before games now.

 

[Ciao]

Dubas rushed and ruined any hope for him being a effective NHL goalie, hope he doesn't do the same with Lily and Sandin, that'd be Jim Benny Fred Boimistruk 2.0.

Sparks was not rushed in any way.

He was drafted eight years ago this coming spring.

He completed his junior hockey career the year after he was drafted.

He had a three-game introduction to the AHL after the end of his final junior season.

He spent five full seasons in the AHL and ECHL, with 17 NHL games along the way, before he "earned" a spot on the NHL roster. (I do know that whether he "earned" that spot is the substance of the debate.)

He exhausted his non-waiver eligibility, was the starting goaltender on the first Leafs affiliate in my memory to win the Calder Cup (I've been a Leafs fan since 1967, but only really followed since I moved to Toronto in 1980), and won the AHL goalie-of-the-year award.

The Leafs could not have cooked this prospect any longer.

Fabulous goalies have won the Vezina and Conn Smythe trophies at a younger age and with less development.

The trouble with Garret Sparks is not that he was rushed -- he was not rushed.

The trouble is that he lacks the reflexes and hand-to-eye co-ordination to catch an unscreened rising shot from the point in a tie game. The trouble is that his GPS fails when he tries to defend the ice behind the face off circle and then can't find his way back to the net before the puck is in it. The trouble is that he seems to think he's a seasoned vet when he critcizes his teammates for poor play, which might make the seasoned vets and rising stars feel like they have just been dissed in the media by the water boy. The trouble is that he lacks the ability and just does not belong on this team and in this league.

The trouble for Garret Sparks is that this is the end of the road for his career with the Leafs.

That's all on Garret Sparks.

There's no way he was rushed.

 

[Notsince67]

well, pots legal now maybe he needs to burn a fatty before the game?

Lots of goalies do.

 

[rumman]

Lots of goalies do.

really? I was trying to be funny!

 

[Duke Silver]

Translation...you plugs who disagreed with dubas were wrong even though dubas in retrospect is also wrong because he was right to be wrong and you were wrong to be right

I don't think translation is your calling.

 

[The Iceman]

Dubas rushed and ruined any hope for him being a effective NHL goalie, hope he doesn't do the same with Lily and Sandin, that'd be Jim Benny Fred Boimistruk 2.0.

6 seasons in the AHL, 25 years old, Calder Cup champion, best goalie award. WHAT...should have waited another few years until he is closer to retirement??

NEVER has a player been better seasoned than GS was. No excuses to not be ready to take that next step.

Now it appears that next step will be with another organization.

 

[DarkKnight]

Translation...you plugs who disagreed with dubas were wrong even though dubas in retrospect is also wrong because he was right to be wrong and you were wrong to be right

Wrong.

 

[A1LeafNation]

The decision this year was a mistake.

It's possible Sparks improves to become a 12-5-3 goalie with a .910 SV%.

 

[deletethis]

Dubas rushed and ruined any hope for him being a effective NHL goalie, hope he doesn't do the same with Lily and Sandin, that'd be Jim Benny Fred Boimistruk 2.0.

I love the Jim Benning and Freddy Boimistruck reference. Those two (along with Bob McGill) were on a fairly awful NHL team and still built like teenagers. I doubt it would be quite the same. But rushing them because they're cheap would be a mistake.

 

[Daisy Jane]

Yeah sure. Nobody is arguing how it turned out, we are discussing whether it was the right decision at the time. And the odds were distinctly in favor of Sparks being the choice that would benefit our team. That he was a rookie and McElhinney was a veteran doesn't override that.

Put it this way. Of the 12 goaltenders in the cap era who performed as well as Sparks did in the AHL, 10 of them are decent NHLers. 5 of them are starters. If you look at aging backups at McElhinney's age, they almost all see a drastic drop in performance irregardless of how they performed the year before. Choosing Mac would be betting on the 15% chance over the 83% chance when the payoff is similar. It might work out, but it was still not the smart move.

fine. that's well and good.
Put it this way: when you know that you are in a tough division and worst case scenario your back up has to step in, and you might have to give him rest because you want to go on a long playoff run, does it make sense to put in a rookie, or someone who is more experienced. It doesn't even have to be Mac at this point. what makes the more sense here?

like i'm not saying it wasn't wrong to give him a chance. give him a chance. I am saying any reasoning here - for this team - to have an unexperienced back up vs. someone with a lot more NHL experiences/game played under his belt doesn't make sense and it hurt the team.

that's where i looked at it. it's not somewhere where you could manage minutes, or hide him with vets or something. it's a role where back up or not, considering the expectations of this team, he had to be on, in the biggest market. It wasn't the smartest move here. that's how it should have been approached.

 

[diceman934]

Dubas rushed and ruined any hope for him being a effective NHL goalie, hope he doesn't do the same with Lily and Sandin, that'd be Jim Benny Fred Boimistruk 2.0.

He is 25 years old. He was not rushed at. He had plenty of development time in fact he was favoured over better prospect in the past few years. He simply is not a NHL goalie and even as an AHL he is at best average. He played for the best AHL team in a long time last year. The best money could buy.
Babcock did not want him. Lou never called him up to get in a couple of games when we needed a back up before trading for McBack up and that is very telling. He knew like Babcock did that he simply was not capable. He stunk up camps every year and was out played by every goalie in camp. Babcock announcement of his goalies with 3 games to go in camp and Dubas over ruled him. Despite knowing his coaches preference he did not trade either Of the two who we lost on waivers.

If he had sent down Pickard early he would have likely cleared same with Sparks. No way McBackup was clearing waivers. He had great stats two years in a row and a proven back up before this.

There is a lot going on in Leaf land and this decision was not just Dubas. This summer should be fun.

 

[rumman]

I love the Jim Benning and Freddy Boimistruck reference. Those two (along with Bob McGill) were on a fairly awful NHL team and still built like teenagers. I doubt it would be quite the same. But rushing them because they're cheap would be a mistake.

your right, I should have included Bob McGill, but he survived those days better than the other two.

 

[Nithoniniel]

Put it this way: when you know that you are in a tough division and worst case scenario your back up has to step in, and you might have to give him rest because you want to go on a long playoff run, does it make sense to put in a rookie, or someone who is more experienced. It doesn't even have to be Mac at this point. what makes the more sense here?

To me, would would make sense would be to use the best goaltender available. Doesn't matter if someone is a veteran if he can't stop the puck.

that's where i looked at it. it's not somewhere where you could manage minutes, or hide him with vets or something. it's a role where back up or not, considering the expectations of this team, he had to be on, in the biggest market. It wasn't the smartest move here. that's how it should have been approached.

Yeah, that's a very fair point. Especially since we now have watched Sparks kind of implode due to that pressure.

 

[ManosArriba]

.. He's 25 year's old, has posted a save percentage of over 0.920% with the Marlies in the last 3 seasons, winning a Calder Cup last year with Goalie of the Year and all-star honours

This was his time to show if he can cut it in the NHL and he blew it ... In no way was he rushed

Andersen was 25 his first year here and could barely stop a beach ball for half of that season, maybe someone should tell him he didnt cut it as an NHL goalie.