You gotta stop going in the Sauna with old menWe will miss the playoffs.
You gotta stop going in the Sauna with old menWe will miss the playoffs.
No but the goaltending is scary.
Everyone pining for Frank but his stats were pretty pedestrian in the A for someone with so.much experience
2.68 and .918 aren't that great for someone with his experience
And Grubauer who knows , if he is anything like most of last year then I hope the 3rd stringer we have yet to acquire is good.
He should have won AHL Goalie of the Year or finished 2nd in voting. He lead the league in Goals Saved Above Average. He finished second in Quality Starts % with 0.729 behind Troy Grosenick at 0.733. Not many goalies saw as many SA/60 as Francouz did (32.71). The Colorado Eagles were not very good last year and made playoffs thanks to Francouz essentially. You can make an argument that compared to past seasons what top goalies put up yes Francouz was pedestrian. However what limited work has gone into goalie stats translating from the AHL to the NHL it's not a concern if Francouz posts the "pedestrian" stats he has.
TL;DR Francouz did what he needed to do in the AHL last year to earn this shot and was robbed of AHL Goalie of the Year. Eastern bias exists even in the AHL.
Grubauer should be a short leash with Frank waiting in the wings. He looks fantastic stats-wise and eye-wise in the games he played last year.
I'm not scared about the goaltending, I know they aren't very proven but I doubt both will fail.
The defense is scary though.
- Can Sam Girard be a #1?
- Can Cale Makar come close to replacing Barrie? (I think so)
- Zadorov needs to show he is more than a mistake prone #4/5.
- EJ is slowing down as he proved last year.
- Ian Cole is a good bottom pairing defenseman but I'm afraid he might have a bigger role with the other 4 being question marks. Plus he is coming off hip surgery so he will likely be slower.
- I would love Bowen Byram to be the #6 defenseman but obviously he is unproven.
- Connauton, Rosen, Graves, and Barberio are all #7s and not ideal every day players. They will show how solid and valuable Patrik Nemeth was in his role.
It's the obvious choice, almost too obvious, but it has to be Makar on the poll. I'm pumped about Kadri and Donskoi, but Makar is the star and his performance this year is going to be key to how our defense as a whole performs. Lot riding on his shoulders with Barrie gone.
Damn I loved Nikolishin. Really under-rated center for us.I'm looking forward to seeing how Donskoi fits in too. I think he could be a real good stabilizing presence to the lineup.
Kind of like a less gritty Konowalchuk, a more skilled Antti Laaksonen, or a winger version of Nikolishin. Just unheralded guys that make your team better by preventing and helping you recover from trouble moments during games.
It's the obvious choice, almost too obvious, but it has to be Makar on the poll. I'm pumped about Kadri and Donskoi, but Makar is the star and his performance this year is going to be key to how our defense as a whole performs. Lot riding on his shoulders with Barrie gone.
Damn I loved Nikolishin. Really under-rated center for us.
I'm not scared about the goaltending, I know they aren't very proven but I doubt both will fail.
The defense is scary though.
- Can Sam Girard be a #1?
- Can Cale Makar come close to replacing Barrie? (I think so)
- Zadorov needs to show he is more than a mistake prone #4/5.
- EJ is slowing down as he proved last year.
- Ian Cole is a good bottom pairing defenseman but I'm afraid he might have a bigger role with the other 4 being question marks. Plus he is coming off hip surgery so he will likely be slower.
- I would love Bowen Byram to be the #6 defenseman but obviously he is unproven.
- Connauton, Rosen, Graves, and Barberio are all #7s and not ideal every day players. They will show how solid and valuable Patrik Nemeth was in his role.
You're looking deep, he 30 yeats old and 5'11 and I'm not buying it and neither is Joe or any other team. He's making minimum wage for a reason , in my opinion he's too smallHe should have won AHL Goalie of the Year or finished 2nd in voting. He lead the league in Goals Saved Above Average. He finished second in Quality Starts % with 0.729 behind Troy Grosenick at 0.733. Not many goalies saw as many SA/60 as Francouz did (32.71). The Colorado Eagles were not very good last year and made playoffs thanks to Francouz essentially. You can make an argument that compared to past seasons what top goalies put up yes Francouz was pedestrian. However what limited work has gone into goalie stats translating from the AHL to the NHL it's not a concern if Francouz posts the "pedestrian" stats he has.
TL;DR Francouz did what he needed to do in the AHL last year to earn this shot and was robbed of AHL Goalie of the Year. Eastern bias exists even in the AHL.
I personally wouldn't have wasted my time on a small 29 year old journeymanHe should have won AHL Goalie of the Year or finished 2nd in voting. He lead the league in Goals Saved Above Average. He finished second in Quality Starts % with 0.729 behind Troy Grosenick at 0.733. Not many goalies saw as many SA/60 as Francouz did (32.71). The Colorado Eagles were not very good last year and made playoffs thanks to Francouz essentially. You can make an argument that compared to past seasons what top goalies put up yes Francouz was pedestrian. However what limited work has gone into goalie stats translating from the AHL to the NHL it's not a concern if Francouz posts the "pedestrian" stats he has.
TL;DR Francouz did what he needed to do in the AHL last year to earn this shot and was robbed of AHL Goalie of the Year. Eastern bias exists even in the AHL.
You're looking deep, he 30 yeats old and 5'11 and I'm not buying it and neither is Joe or any other team. He's making minimum wage for a reason , in my opinion he's too small
and a #3 on a Championship team. Yeah yeah but he's small and his numbers are very average for a 10 year pro.
He's not suddenly going to amount to anything hence the minimum wage. Depth is what he is.
I personally wouldn't have wasted my time on a small 29 year old journeyman