Petr Mrazek

[TatarTangle]

His play doesn't concern me because he was never that good. Same crowd that thought he was destined to be a top 5 goalie is probably the same crowd that thought Nyquist was going to be potting 50 goals every season.

He was never technically sound, and never will be. Rebound control can be, and usually is, dreadful. Angles aren't great and he routinely overcommits. Unless your name is Hasek, you aren't going to be a very succesful goalie in the NHL relying on athletic ability alone. So I'm not sure what exactly people are expecting out of him.

 

[cjm502]

His play doesn't concern me because he was never that good. Same crowd that thought he was destined to be a top 5 goalie is probably the same crowd that thought Nyquist was going to be potting 50 goals every season.

He was never technically sound, and never will be. Rebound control can be, and usually is, dreadful. Angles aren't great and he routinely overcommits. Unless your name is Hasek, you aren't going to be a very succesful goalie in the NHL relying on athletic ability alone. So I'm not sure what exactly people are expecting out of him.

Nobody realistically thought Nike would score 50 goals, come on.
I do think at one point is was very reasonable to hype Mrazek and the majority of us were on the bandwagon though, but goalies are weird.

 

[odin1981]

Everyone can bag on Petr all they want because he has been inconsistant so far. But to act like Howard is some Vezina goalie is asinine. And you all know what happens the minute Jimmie hits game 40-50 played in a year cause it has happened like clockwork the past 3 his groin tears and then he sucks.

 

[Oddbob]

Well in all fairness to Howie, when healthy, he is the better and more consistent goaltender.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Everyone can bag on Petr all they want because he has been inconsistant so far. But to act like Howard is some Vezina goalie is asinine. And you all know what happens the minute Jimmie hits game 40-50 played in a year cause it has happened like clockwork the past 3 his groin tears and then he sucks.

I don't think people are acting like howard is a Vezina candidate, it's just that he's the better goaltender.

Mrazek has yet to prove he can be a consistent starter at the NHL level.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Depends on the numbers, but if your body can’t handle a starter’s workload, you shouldn’t get the salary of a starter. Durability definitely matters in contract negotiations.

Maybe something like 3 million x 2 years would be ok for Howard... anything more and I’d say kick rocks and I’ll find something in UFA.

Yeah I'd be fine with a contract like that. Maybe even a touch higher. I mean why not? If we drop Mrazek and bring in a cheap backup it doesn't matter much if Howard makes 3-4 million in the short term. Can we find someone in FA that's some combination of cheaper/more durable/better?
If Mrazek doesn't bring it this season it's probably time to cut him loose and start looking at the timeline for someone like Petruzzeli being ready.

 

[Frk It]

Yeah I'd be fine with a contract like that. Maybe even a touch higher. I mean why not? If we drop Mrazek and bring in a cheap backup it doesn't matter much if Howard makes 3-4 million in the short term. Can we find someone in FA that's some combination of cheaper/more durable/better?
If Mrazek doesn't bring it this season it's probably time to cut him loose and start looking at the timeline for someone like Petruzzeli being ready.

Why not? Well because if he gets hurt, that is yet another bloated contract on this team. And because having a good goalie that's 30+ isn't really high on my list of things for a team that is re-building and should be looking at the future.

Honestly, having a bad goalie that's cheap wouldn't be the worst thing for this team. I think it's more important to replace him with someone that is cheaper than someone who is better. But I know that's not where everyone is at.

 

[njx9]

It's really unfortunate that Mrazek fell off so hard. I hope we let him go try to find himself somewhere else, and that we don't do something stupid like extending Howard next year.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Why not? Well because if he gets hurt, that is yet another bloated contract on this team. And because having a good goalie that's 30+ isn't really high on my list of things for a team that is re-building and should be looking at the future.

Honestly, having a bad goalie that's cheap wouldn't be the worst thing for this team. I think it's more important to replace him with someone that is cheaper than someone who is better. But I know that's not where everyone is at.

Personally a goalie's age is one of the last concerns I have for a team no matter the situation. Not only are their trajectories notoriously difficult to anticipate (meaning a goalie can be better at 35 or 40 than he is at 25 or 30, while others peak in their early 20s and then disappear), it's one of those positions that aren't impossible to fill in FA or via trade if your #1 guy declines drastically or gets injured long-term.

I don't think we have any need to have two super-cheap goalies, we don't need that much cap space. Howard can at least help provide some stability to the position which isn't a bad thing even in a rebuild imo.

 

[izlez]

I've definitely reached the point with Mrazek to where I have an almost irrational dislike for the guy. At this point I don't even care if he starts to play well (which I doubt he will), his style just angers me and I can't stand him being in the net.

About half way into last year, I started becoming aware of how many goals against him are into wide open nets. It's way too many.

 

[Frk It]

Personally a goalie's age is one of the last concerns I have for a team no matter the situation.

So you think he is going to get less injury prone as he gets older? Cause that's not usually how that works.

 

[Henkka]

So you think he is going to get less injury prone as he gets older? Cause that's not usually how that works.

That's how it has been. Howard changed his technique to be more passive, be more deeper in goal, like Lundqvist does.

Less movement, less bad stretches = less injury risk.

 

[Frk It]

That's how it has been. Howard changed his technique to be more passive, be more deeper in goal, like Lundqvist does.

Less movement, less bad stretches = less injury risk.

Hasn't Howard always played like that? I'm not sure that alone can prevent injuries. Father time has a pretty good track record...

 

[Bench]

Hasn't Howard always played like that? I'm not sure that alone can prevent injuries. Father time has a pretty good track record...

Yes, Howard has always been a very positional goalie. 95% of NHL goalies are, so it's not unusual. Given he's not a Ben Bishop, though, he might have to play a little more aggressive than those big boys who just hug the net.

As for Mrazek, well, boy has he fallen off since his stellar playoff debut against the Bolts. That was such a great performance and convinced me he was going to be our goaltending solution. Luckily Holland being cautious, loyal, and slow to react as always has left us with Howard still with the team and that's helped keep the position respectable for the Wings.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Yes, Howard has always been a very positional goalie. 95% of NHL goalies are, so it's not unusual. Given he's not a Ben Bishop, though, he might have to play a little more aggressive than those big boys who just hug the net.

As for Mrazek, well, boy has he fallen off since his stellar playoff debut against the Bolts. That was such a great performance and convinced me he was going to be our goaltending solution. Luckily Holland being cautious, loyal, and slow to react as always has left us with Howard still with the team and that's helped keep the position respectable for the Wings.

Is it luckily? Having Howard doesn't help us for the future, and right now his success (assuming he isn't traded for much more than he would have been worth moving him earlier) hampers the Red Wing's ability to rebuild.

 

[Bench]

Is it luckily? Having Howard doesn't help us for the future, and right now his success (assuming he isn't traded for much more than he would have been worth moving him earlier) hampers the Red Wing's ability to rebuild.

Well look man, I'm trying to be positive about something. I mean yeah, you're right. And that's how I feel, too. But hey, this is one example where Holland being cautious actually helped retain a more stable option for the team now. Is that ultimately good? Eh.

It's lucky in the sense the Wings are better with Howard than without right now. And since that's Holland's goal, mission accomplished. Plan the parade!

 

[ShelbyZ]

I don't really see a future for Mrazek in Detroit past this season...

Unless something drastic happens to finish the year, I'd bet Mrazek doesn't get a QO and hits the UFA market.

Even if he ends the year looking close to what he did at the beginning of last season, what kind of confidence should they have in him facing having to give him more money or term? Especially when you consider the negotiations they had with him last summer and his massive drop off after he got that raise...

Unless Howard has some massive drop off and/or suffers from more than 1/2 short term groin setbacks, they can probably let his (oh so terrible and horrible) contract finish out, sign a cheap stop gap or go with Coreau at #2 (depending on how he does this season and if he re-signs or hits the UFA market after this season...) for 18/19 and then address the future in net after that season. I'll bet Howard will take less money on 1/2 year deals to finish his career in a place he seems to really like playing and give them some stability in net.

And as far as "getting something for him" and "rebuilding" goes as far as Howard, we need to remember that, like it or not, a "rebuild" isn't even on Hollands radar, so moving Howard probably won't happen until TDL 2019 if at all...

 

[Pavels Dog]

So you think he is going to get less injury prone as he gets older? Cause that's not usually how that works.

I guess I'm just all not that concerned with his injury status. Two cheap goalies splitting time 50/50 or Howard and a cheap goalie splitting time 50/50.. the latter scenario is more likely to offer us stability in net and avoid a scenario where the team is losing only becuase of goaltending.

 

[Henkka]

I don't really see a future for Mrazek in Detroit past this season...

Unless something drastic happens to finish the year, I'd bet Mrazek doesn't get a QO and hits the UFA market.

Mrazek is RFA and I hope he will get to team-elected salary arbitration to push his salary down to 1.5-2M level he deserves at maximum.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Mrazek is RFA and I hope he will get to team-elected salary arbitration to push his salary down to 1.5-2M level he deserves at maximum.

In order to get that point, you'd have to pass two crucial steps

1. Mrazek gets a qualifying offer of atleast $4.15M
2. Mrazek (and his agent) reject the $4.15M qualifying offer to become an RFA

If Mrazek and his agent know that he deserves closer to "$1.5-2M", why would they reject an offer paying 2-3 times more?

 

[Henkka]

In order to get that point, you'd have to pass two crucial steps

1. Mrazek gets a qualifying offer of atleast $4.15M
2. Mrazek (and his agent) reject the $4.15M qualifying offer to become an RFA

If Mrazek and his agent know that he deserves closer to "$1.5-2M", why would they reject an offer paying 2-3 times more?

Yeah, not gonna happen.

I'm quite sure next year we have Athanasiou on the roster and Mrazek threatening with KHL offers and sitting out as RFA (and creating a cap space).

Ken Holland says thank you helping me out of this nonsense, Jared Coreau will be called up to backup Jimmy as we move on.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Yeah, not gonna happen.

I'm quite sure next year we have Athanasiou on the roster and Mrazek threatening with KHL offers and sitting out as RFA (and creating a cap space).

Coreau called up as we move on.

But Mrazek still has to receive and reject a $4.15M QO to actually become an RFA.... If his play dictates that he's worth $1.5-2M, he won't get the QO and won't have to sit out as he'll then be a UFA.

 

[TatarTangle]

Though way too early to tell but I'm betting him (and AA) will be playing overseas next year

 

[Henkka]

Hasn't Howard always played like that? I'm not sure that alone can prevent injuries. Father time has a pretty good track record...

They did do some adjustments when Jim Bedard was let go andd Jeff Salajko came in.

It's still funny how Salajko was the Mrazek's favourable goalie coach from Griffins and the future was planned around them. And he made a bigger impact for Howard's play. I think this is the partial reason why Mrazek was destroyed mentally and never did get over it.

 

[Reddwit]

A rebuild may not be on Holland’s radar but it may be on Little Illitch’s. If Detroit is out of the playoff picture, I can’t imagine Chris is going to condone going into yet another offseason with one of the league’s highest payrolls divvied up among a group of veterans who can’t get it done.