Rumor: Yohe heard from this guy who knows the kid who saw Bryzgalov pass out at 31 flavors.

[wgknestrick]

Have you watched Miller? Like ever?

Like have you watched him, like ever, since his concussion? Does watching him change the % of shots he has saved or not? Would you pick a goaltender that is better to watch or saves more shots? Watching means absolutely nothing because it is your selective memory against mine (and we both lose). The numbers tell the correct story because they never forget and are all inclusive.

Bryz is no upgrade over MAF, who is no significant upgrade over a replacement level goaltender. I'll take my chances with a replacement goaltender (named Zatkoff) as there is a chance he could be better than MAF/Bryz (who we both know very well and have little uncertainty). It is of little risk to try Zatkoff first as he is already on the team, and is just as likely to be better than MAF as he is to be worse. Most likely, they will be pretty even. What do we do with Bryz if TV comes back?

I love how this team is so afraid to give any players a chance to prove they are NHL players. Why did we sign/draft them in the first place if they have no confidence to let them play?

 

[wgknestrick]

The quality of shots Bryz and Miller face is on a different level though. The Flyers and Sabres have far below average D.

Prove it and you have a point. Until then, I only see 0.6 SV% difference between their team SV%'s over the last 3 years. That isn't a very big difference considering that BUF has probably had slightly better talent in net (on average) over that period.

5v5 SV%
BUF 92.58
PHI 91.95

I would put PHI and BUF as both having "average D", ie middle 10 teams during the last 3 years. PHI is certainly much worse than that this upcoming year. I just don't see a big enough difference to wash out SV% data entirely for them like I would with a Lightning or BOS goal tender comparison.

 

[cheesedanish87]

I wouldn't mind bringing in Bryz if TV is going to be out for months, I watched most of the flyer games last year thought Bryz was the flyers best player the first half of the year, he wore down at the end of the year, lavy played him almost every game trying to make a run at the playoffs.

 

[BreakfastatMarios]

i bet you'll probably see the pens linked to every unemployed former nhl starting goalie over the next few weeks.

I heard Tom Barraso is in the best shape of his life.

 

[SEALBound]

People saying "I'll take my chances with Zatkoff" while knowing the full situation with Fleury...are absolutely nuts in my opinion. No different that if we lost Neal and said something like "I'll take my chances with Adams or Glass" as opposed to signing a FA.

Not saying Bryz is the answer either. Its a big **** sand which situation and were all gonna have to take a bite.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Its a big **** sand which situation and were all gonna have to take a bite.

So in this example, Zatkoff is Rafter Man... or Anne Margaret?

 

[Shady Machine]

People saying "I'll take my chances with Zatkoff" while knowing the full situation with Fleury...are absolutely nuts in my opinion. No different that if we lost Neal and said something like "I'll take my chances with Adams or Glass" as opposed to signing a FA.

Not saying Bryz is the answer either. Its a big **** sand which situation and were all gonna have to take a bite.

The two situations you mentioned aren't comparable at all. Glass and Adams are veterans with no potential upside. Zatkoff is unproven at this level, but there is potential upside. The closer comparable if Neal is injured would be to say "I'll take my chances with Kuhnhackl". It's still not a great comparable because Das Kuhn doesn't have as much AHL experience as Zatkoff, but you get the point.

That said, I agree this isn't the most ideal situation but I'm inclined to give the kid a shot. Fleury won't be awful in the regular season and the other veteran options out there aren't great. If Fleury or Zat sucks after 10 games, then you make a move.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Fleury probably won't be awful in the regular season, I don't consider that to be a guarantee. He's probably going to suck, just to be as ridiculous as possible. A 5 million/year goalie that is a joke in the post season and useless in the regular season.

I can see the worry of not doing anything right away and then either not being able to get anyone or having to give up way too much.

 

[SEALBound]

So in this example, Zatkoff is Rafter Man... or Anne Margaret ?

Zatkoff is Rafter Man and Bryz is Anne Margret.

What I meant by my statement is that is MAF goes to ****...you have Zatkoff. Is Zatkoff a goalie we can ride to a cup? My quarter says no...or else he'd be up here and TV wouldnt have been signed.

With that, why wait? What if 10 games in other goalies are crap and someone snatches the best FA goalies? What if they sign overseas? Clearly there's been an indentified issue...why wait to help address it? If Zarkoff is great, cool...hes #3. He does well, he's #2 maybe next year. But with the meltdowns MAF capable off...relieing on Zatkoff as the backup is foolish.

 

[Jacob]

Fleury probably won't be awful in the regular season, I don't consider that to be a guarantee. He's probably going to suck, just to be as ridiculous as possible. A 5 million/year goalie that is a joke in the post season and useless in the regular season.

I can see the worry of not doing anything right away and then either not being able to get anyone or having to give up way too much.

At this point I think it's just as likely that Fleury's playoff ridiculousness bleeds over into the regular season as it is that he starts playing up to his capabilities in the post-season.

 

[Shady Machine]

Zatkoff is Rafter Man and Bryz is Anne Margret.

What I meant by my statement is that is MAF goes to ****...you have Zatkoff. Is Zatkoff a goalie we can ride to a cup? My quarter says no...or else he'd be up here and TV wouldnt have been signed.

With that, why wait? What if 10 games in other goalies are crap and someone snatches the best FA goalies? What if they sign overseas? Clearly there's been an indentified issue...why wait to help address it? If Zarkoff is great, cool...hes #3. He does well, he's #2 maybe next year. But with the meltdowns MAF capable off...relieing on Zatkoff as the backup is foolish.

If we sign someone now, then Zatkoff is in the AHL and never gets the chance to show if he's a worthy NHL back up. So why not wait since we don't know what we have? Who is this for sure veteran back up that we can sign that will erase our goalie problems? Bryz? Oh yeah let's sign the other half of the historic worst goaltending performance in recent playoff history.

I do think Bryz could be a lot better in a new situation but he's still unstable mentally. What if we sign him and then Vokoun is back by midseason, then what do we do? I like the patient approach here since we know Fleury is their guy this season regardless of who we sign. Let's at least give Zatkoff a chance to see if we have an NHL back up for next season.

That said, if Vokoun is for sure done for the season and we know that now, then signing a veteran back up ASAP makes sense.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

At this point I think it's just as likely that Fleury's playoff ridiculousness bleeds over into the regular season as it is that he starts playing up to his capabilities in the post-season.

I think it's more likely that his playoff ridiculousness bleeds over to the regular season, I've seen nothing to indicate it going the other way. He'll also be under more pressure now, goodie.

This all could have been avoided by dumping the mentally fragile one.

I do realize the 'punishment' for, "Vokoun will go in when Fleury collapses," and that possibly being gone. We jinxed it.

 

[themethod7]

I do think Bryz could be a lot better in a new situation but he's still unstable mentally.

The question teams have to ask themselves... is Bryz actually that mentally fragile, or was the Philly D just *that* bad, and the Philly media just *that* brutal that he cracked, and can return to form (Anaheim/Phoenix) in a new situation. Philadelphia and goalies go together like Cleveland and QBs, it really is that bad. I mean, look at Bobrovsky - who actually thought he'd go to Columbus and have success given what he showed in Philly. Yes, Bryz has shown himself to be odd, but that is par for the course for NHL goalies - you'd have to be to willingly stand in the way of vulcanized rubber propelled to 90+ MPH.

At this point, if TV is done for the year, there's no reason not to give Bryz a shot, based on his resume in Anaheim/Phoenix alone, as long as the price/term is right, and given the fact that he remains a free agent, he may be willing to take a cheap 1 year deal.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

The question teams have to ask themselves... is Bryz actually that mentally fragile, or was the Philly D just *that* bad, and the Philly media just *that* brutal that he cracked, and can return to form (Anaheim/Phoenix) in a new situation. Philadelphia and goalies go together like Cleveland and QBs, it really is that bad. I mean, look at Bobrovsky - who actually thought he'd go to Columbus and have success given what he showed in Philly. Yes, Bryz has shown himself to be odd, but that is par for the course for NHL goalies - you'd have to be to willingly stand in the way of vulcanized rubber propelled to 90+ MPH.

At this point, if TV is done for the year, there's no reason not to give Bryz a shot, based on his resume in Anaheim/Phoenix alone, as long as the price/term is right, and given the fact that he remains a free agent, he may be willing to take a cheap 1 year deal.

I agree 100%. It's not like Bryz had 1 good season before all of this crap in Philly, he was solid in Anaheim and in Phoenix and had been for years. Better defensive team and system but he got the job done. The moment he signed that long term deal in Philly the media was already all over him. I'm sure he just had enough of it and cracked. For a decent cap hit, I really wouldn't mind giving him a shot and making Fleury earn that starting position. Challenge him a little, Zak is and will not be the answer. The guy struggled in WBS last year

 

[UnrealMachine]

I feel that at least part of the 'Bryz is crazy' meme is just Bryz intentionally messing around with the media. In real life he is one of the more intelligent players in the NHL off the ice. Probably among the most intelligent, actually.

 

[shureshot66]

Josh Yohe ‏@JoshYohe_Trib
Just spoke with a very reliable source who made it clear that the Penguins are not currently interested in Bryzgalov.

 

[billybudd]

Prove it and you have a point. Until then, I only see 0.6 SV% difference between their team SV%'s over the last 3 years. That isn't a very big difference considering that BUF has probably had slightly better talent in net (on average) over that period.

5v5 SV%
BUF 92.58
PHI 91.95

I would put PHI and BUF as both having "average D", ie middle 10 teams during the last 3 years. PHI is certainly much worse than that this upcoming year. I just don't see a big enough difference to wash out SV% data entirely for them like I would with a Lightning or BOS goal tender comparison.

Buffalo gives up the 5th most shots against per minute during the period in question. Up a man...down a man...even strength. Doesn't matter. The shot numbers look worse for them the closer you get to present (last year they were the third-most porous defense in the league, behind only Edmonton and Toronto).

During the same time period, Pittsburgh gives its goaltenders the 5th least work to do.

And lest someone make the claim that there's some difference in shot quality, that's true, but it doesn't favor Fleury at all. Miller faces nearly twice as many shots from dangerous locations than what Fleury does. The vast majority of what Fleury sees is from the wall or point.

What Fleury's been asked to do to get his numbers and what Miller has are at complete opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

[TorstenFrings]

People saying "I'll take my chances with Zatkoff" while knowing the full situation with Fleury...are absolutely nuts in my opinion. No different that if we lost Neal and said something like "I'll take my chances with Adams or Glass" as opposed to signing a FA.

Not saying Bryz is the answer either. Its a big **** sand which situation and were all gonna have to take a bite.

The best available FA winger would be of Bryzgalov quality though to make that example work and how keen are we on Chad LaRose, really?

 

[Ugene Magic]

They have time to work this out, it's not even game one yet. Zatkoff can very much handle the duties until they are forced to handle them. Like 10/15 games. That's a long time in hockey terminology.

 

[BlindWillyMcHurt]

I feel that at least part of the 'Bryz is crazy' meme is just Bryz intentionally messing around with the media. In real life he is one of the more intelligent players in the NHL off the ice. Probably among the most intelligent, actually.

Not that it matters much, now. But this is spot on.

Bryz might not be the greatest goaltender in the world... but his terrible reputation and "craziness" is completely overblown. Consider where he acquired that reputation.

Personally I would have been much more comfortable with Bryz between the pipes on this team than Threeormore, if I had a choice.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Josh Yohe ‏@JoshYohe_Trib
Just spoke with a very reliable source who made it clear that the Penguins are not currently interested in Bryzgalov.

Source = Rossi. But yah, he really doesn't seem like the type the Penguins would go after so it's an easy "prediction" to make for a writer when probably no one is actually commenting on it (from the team).


WRT to the Zatkoff argument going around I think there's some merit to both sides of the argument.

For the supporters, I think now is a good time to find out if Zatkoff can handle NHL games (forget workload, I'm just talking about winning more games than he loses over the first 30 games of the season). If he does that then you can let him continue to back up Fleury until February or so, but...

...I also agree there's no way, even if he wins a few games, that you can rely on him going into the playoffs (let alone in the playoffs). As soon as the play starts to get more intense, that's a workload you don't want to put on that guy unless he's playing out of his mind (unlikely). So ideally what happens is, you let him back up for a while, and even if he's doing well, come February if Vokoun is not ready, you go get someone else with experience and you send Zatkoff back to the AHL with a pat on the back and some NHL confidence under his belt.

Ultimately this guy is not going to be more than a 82 game and playoff back up IMO. It's a long-shot to expect he'll end up being a starter one day now that I've read a little more about him.

 

[Don'tcry4mejanhrdina]

I feel that at least part of the 'Bryz is crazy' meme is just Bryz intentionally messing around with the media. In real life he is one of the more intelligent players in the NHL off the ice. Probably among the most intelligent, actually.

Now there's an accomplishment you can hang your hat on.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Why you guyz heff to be so negateev?

 

[KIRK]

Source = Rossi. But yah, he really doesn't seem like the type the Penguins would go after so it's an easy "prediction" to make for a writer when probably no one is actually commenting on it (from the team).


WRT to the Zatkoff argument going around I think there's some merit to both sides of the argument.

For the supporters, I think now is a good time to find out if Zatkoff can handle NHL games (forget workload, I'm just talking about winning more games than he loses over the first 30 games of the season). If he does that then you can let him continue to back up Fleury until February or so, but...

...I also agree there's no way, even if he wins a few games, that you can rely on him going into the playoffs (let alone in the playoffs). As soon as the play starts to get more intense, that's a workload you don't want to put on that guy unless he's playing out of his mind (unlikely). So ideally what happens is, you let him back up for a while, and even if he's doing well, come February if Vokoun is not ready, you go get someone else with experience and you send Zatkoff back to the AHL with a pat on the back and some NHL confidence under his belt.

Ultimately this guy is not going to be more than a 82 game and playoff back up IMO. It's a long-shot to expect he'll end up being a starter one day now that I've read a little more about him.

And when they sign him this weekend, Yohe's 'source' will say 'I said currently. They had interest before. They became interested again a day after I spoke with my contacts. But, at precisely the moment I talked to my contacts, they said no interest right now. So, I was 100% accurate when I said no interest currently'.

 

[AZPenguins]

i bet you'll probably see the pens linked to every unemployed former nhl starting goalie over the next few weeks.

Well said. I would think you nailed it.