bruins4777*
Guest
Levitate said:i think it'd be more accurate to say "the rangers have blackburn, lundqvist, and to a lesser extent, labarbera, why did they draft montoya?"
but, then i think you have to look closer at the situation...labarbera, though he has shown significant improvement in the last couple of years, doesn't seem to really have the top end talent to be a starting #1 goalie in the NHL. maybe a backup (i'm actually kinda pulling for him to win the backup job). but not a real blue chipper type.
lundqvist is awesome and is doing exceptionally once again in sweden, against NHL players.
blackburn is a question mark though...again he's STILL out with an injury, has been out for a year and a half now, and for like, 8 months of that he was doing absolutely NOTHING, no skating, nothing. now he's trying to work his way back into game shape and get into some AHL games this season...but because of his waiver status, he can't play in the AHL again after this season. the rangers have to protect him and would have to expose him to waivers if they wanted him to play in hartford. so he basically has to hope to get into some games this year, manage to shake off the rust, and then be ready to play in the NHL next year. (this is assuming that the lockout is over and the waiver rules don't change). it's a sticky situation, and again he's still not even all the way back yet. so he's a question mark.
now if blackburn is a question mark, the rangers don't know how they're gonna be able to handle him...they're only left with one real legit #1 goalie prospect that is a "sure" thing, lundqvist.
personally i don't feel comfortable with only 1 good goaltending prospect. so the rangers took the best player available (they felt) who was also a goalie to help solidify that spot in their farm system that might not be as solid as it appears
I had the same doubts about lababera as you, but i dunno the way he approached and played the game this season really impressed.