A Calder cup and a playoff MVP trophy screams boatloads of success to me.
Lehner still oozes potential even though a big portion of the fanbase soured on him this year. But then a big portion of this fanbase though Anderson was in decline and holding back Lehner in September so what can ya do.
Takes goalies longer to develop in most cases, it wouldn't be shocking if he still found his game. Trading him for the ****** return he'd get is dangerous, especially if you're banking on a guy who has had a mediocre career except for one remarkable 20 game run that fell apart in the playoffs.
I don't know if I call it boatloads, he had one good year, that's it
His body of work in North America isn't great and he's been trending the wrong way
Still plenty of potential but for me the real issue is how the team responded to him getting hurt and the comments that were made about playing for Hammond by some players
I think Lehner has put himself into a corner and the team has had enough of his poor attitude: you don't get to the NHL by being ok with losing but Lehner calling out his team mates on a fairly regular basis (offering the caveat of "I also need to be better" doesn't do much) all while allowing horrible goals means I think he might have reached the point of no return
Trading him for peanuts would be dumb and we might not be able to trade him if his concussion symptoms don't go away so I'm not sure I expect him to be gone before the season begins
not wanting starts right away could also kill a guys career
this is professional sports you take what you can and there isnt a lot of space for 'nice guys'
if oconnor is a competitive guy and he has a couple of decent years in the AHL i suspect he will be demanding starts too
He'll demand starts when he thinks he's ready which is in stark contrast with how Lehner forced management into keeping him in the NHL despite not having truly earned the spot