A SERIOUS DISCUSSION - The Goalies

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I figured if I did the goalies separate, we'd be discussing them both in each thread so decided to combine them to keep the conversation in 1 place.

Anton Khudobin
Age: 28
5'11", 203lbs
Last Season: 36GP, 19W, 14L, 1OTL, 2.3GAA, .926 SV%, 1 SO
Salary: $2.0M, Cap: $2.25M

Cam Ward
Age: 30
6'1", 185lbs
Last Season: 30GP, 10W, 12L, 6 OTL, 3.06GAA, .898 SV%, 0 SO
Salary: $6.7M, Cap: $6.3M

While the Canes arguably have the best 1-2 punch in goal for a long time (on paper), there are also more questions entering camp for the first time since Ward took over as starter in 2006. Will Khudobin show that last year was not a fluke and that he is indeed an elite starter in this league? Can Ward rebound from 2 poor seasons in a row? Will either (or both) stay healthy? How will Peters use them? Will he really ride one guy 60 games? or will it be more of a 1a, 1b tandem? With the return of the season, will FeedDaPuck return to posting? How long into the season before we get a SERIOUS DEBATE rage thread on Ward?

DISCUSS!

Click to read more...

 

[Dishface]

Peters mentioned he wants a starter and a backup. I don't see a 1A, 1B situation happening unless they both light it up in net. Whoever does well in the first 10 games will be the starter from there. Therefore I see khudobin getting 55 to 60 games this year.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Honestly, the best solution for everyone involved is to settle this with a cage match.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Peters mentioned he wants a starter and a backup. I don't see a 1A, 1B situation happening unless they both light it up in net. Whoever does well in the first 10 games will be the starter from there. Therefore I see khudobin getting 55 to 60 games this year.

He did say that, but in fairness, he's going to say that no matter what before training camp, because he wants the guys desperate and competing for the job. He also went on to talk about he'd need both early on because of the long road trip and back to backs. If Ward rebounds, then I could see a 1a / 1b situation where one guy gets ~50 and the other gets 30-35 as we have to keep in mind that Khudobin has never handled a full load in his career to this point either.

IMO, this is the key to the Canes making the playoffs. If they get solid goaltending from both guys, they are more than likely in the playoffs, even if some of the skaters struggle. The difference between the #7 pick last year and a playoff spot was 5 wins, that's it. If either of these guys struggle, they can't afford any key skaters being off or the playoffs are out of the question. They just aren't deep enough.

 

[What the Faulk]

Peters mentioned he wants a starter and a backup. I don't see a 1A, 1B situation happening unless they both light it up in net. Whoever does well in the first 10 games will be the starter from there. Therefore I see khudobin getting 55 to 60 games this year.

Pretty much in agreement with this. I think we'll see a fairly even split throughout the first month, then whoever plays better will grab the starting role. Khudobin still has a limited body of work, but I believe he'll outplay Ward, even if the latter does bounce back a bit. A 51/31 split with each playing in every back-to-back is how I would do it.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Looks like WTF and I said basically the same thing. The voting categories are a little too ambiguous I guess as I see a 50/32 type split as more of a 1a/1b, but that's not really that important.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

cam ward is a #pirate stealing $6.3M from the hurricanes

#confirmed

 

[Identity404]

Ward, like J. Peters, has shown that he isn't a great backup goaltender. He has to get a lot of starts and get in a groove to be successful. Ward eluded to this himself when he made those comments or no comments about Muller. Seems like Bill Peters won't be willing to give him that time if he stinks it up early on. Ward better pray that he starts the season hot, because if he struggles early I don't think he will be capable of winning the starting gig back.

Like everyone else said, I agree that something like a 50/32 split would be ideal with the horses we have.

 

[What the Faulk]

Looks like WTF and I said basically the same thing. The voting categories are a little too ambiguous I guess as I see a 50/32 type split as more of a 1a/1b, but that's not really that important.

Seems like we were mostly in agreement throughout these threads.

 

[RodTheBawd]

It pained me to do it, but I have to go with Dobby as the 1a. Problem is, I really don't see Ward being successful in a 1b or backup role. Hopefully he proves me wrong

 

[Unsustainable]

I think one goalie will strive as the other falls into mediocrity.

 

[NotOpie]

Yeah, 1a/1b split doesn't really describe how I see this shaking out. In the end, I believe both guys play very well w/Khudobin winning the majority of the starts.

I see Doby getting in the high 40s and Cam getting in the mid 30s. Basically, I would think about 10-15 more starts for 1a.

Again, the optimist in me sees Cam hungry to prove people wrong. In the end, he knows he has to play for one more "starting gig" contract. Khudobin is in the same position - he has to prove that he can be a starter and is playing for that next 4-5 year deal.

 

[tarheelhockey]

cam ward is a #pirate stealing $6.3M from the hurricanes

#confirmed

He would play better if his mask looked better.

 

[RodTheBawd]

75 games for Ward if he splashes some red on his leg pads.

 

[A Star is Burns]

Yeah, I'm over that particular mask theme. I think Khudobin will just flat out be better and that's why he'll end up the undisputed starter. Hopefully Ward does fairly well though.

 

[Clark Gillies]

Cam gets hurt again but after Khudobin already establishes himself as the number 1.

 

[TheOllieC]

83 games for ward because hurricanes

 

[Navin R Slavin]

75 games for Ward if he splashes some red on his leg pads.

Which he will do with Khudobin's blood.

--hank

 

[Swag Surf Aho]

I agree with pretty much everything that's being said here. Khudobin's just flat out the better goaltender right now.

Plus, we need to save Cam's energy for the playoffs

 

[What the Faulk]

83 games for ward because hurricanes

I'm assuming this means Khudobin gets the other 15?

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

I'm assuming this means Khudobin gets the other 15?

*3...

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Neither goaltender will perform well enough to be declared the starter, but the team will feel more comfortable (and perform better) with Khudobin in net. It won't matter in the long run, but Anton will finish the season with slightly better stats than Ward (average, rather than below average) due to the fact that he will get more games.

Ward will get moved in the offseason, and the team will be left looking for a starter.

 

[What the Faulk]

*3...

I think I would be okay with this.

 

[cptjeff]

Neither goaltender will perform well enough to be declared the starter, but the team will feel more comfortable (and perform better) with Khudobin in net. It won't matter in the long run, but Anton will finish the season with slightly better stats than Ward (average, rather than below average) due to the fact that he will get more games.

Ward will get moved in the offseason, and the team will be left looking for a starter.

What makes you say that? Khudobin played like a decent starter last year. Not a great one, but about average for the NHL. Ward, when he's playing well, is a great starter, in the top 10 and as the type of guy who can be in Vezina conversation. Trouble is, he hasn't been at anywhere close to form in the last few seasons, except for short stretches. He'll play 3 games as the best goalie in the league and then let in 6 goals the next. Coaching has to do with it too- Greg Stefan was the goalie coach the last two years, which were Ward's worst. He was also goalie coach from 2005-2008, when Ward was often pretty average. The few years Ward had Tom Barrasso as coach, his performance was dramatically better. The conclusion you can draw from that is that Ward and Stefan were a poor match, but hey, old boy's club. Now we brought in David Marcoux, who worked with Kiprusoff when he won the Vezina and who worked with Ward in the lockout when both the Flames and Hurricanes shared Lowell. His work with Ward likely had a big influence on that 2006 season.

So I have a lot of hope that Ward might reclaim his game this season. He might not, but coming off of what was, by all accounts, an incredibly strong offseason trying to get past his injuries, with a new goalie coach we're pretty sure he'll work well with, I think the odds are good. Still, I hedged a little and said Khudobin 1a, Ward 1b. Khudobin is the safer choice at the moment- at his peak, he's not as good as Ward, but he has been much more consistent.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Khudobin played like a decent starter last year. Not a great one, but about average for the NHL.

Curious why you say that, as the numbers indicate he was well above average?

He had the 5th best SV% in the NHL last season and better than ANY season Cam Ward ever had.
His GAA was 12th in the NHL on a team that was 21st in the league for shots against and better than ANY season Cam Ward ever had.
He won 56% of the games he started on a team that won only 44% of it's games.

It may not qualify as great, but he was well above average last season. I'm not saying he'll do the same this year, and I do acknowledge that he only played 36 games, but I don't agree with the assessment that he was only an average starter last year.

EDIT: Nor do I understand how you can conclude that his PEAK isn't as good as Ward's peak, particularly given his small body of work.