He was put on a pedestal because he was one of the best players in the game.
I hate MB as much as the next guy, but I believe he came in with the plan to rebuild and got absolutely f'ed when they went to the eastern finals or whatever it was in his first year. Plan busted right there, and he's been scrambling ever since.
You don't need a Richard winner either. That doesn't mean it isn't good to have one.
Everyone I think felt it would be a rebuild when he came in. But it became very apparent right away that the team was better than we thought. Any normal GM would pivot and build from there.
Two of the best goalies in the game have been on very mediocre clubs. And they still got their teams to the semis and faced off against each other with Price getting injured and Hank going onto the finals.I am making that argument.It was stupid in hindsight. There's probably a reason no other team has done it in the last 20 years.
Goalie is just not a high-impact position in hockey anymore, relative to the other positions.
Would you rather have a team with an average #1C and a top-5 goalie, or a team with a top-5 #1C and an average goalie?
It was tragic.
Price's play was unbelievable. To get that at #5 overall was a godsend.It was tragic.
That season was so funny. I still remember watching Douglas Murray against the Bruins. It was like he was playing for the other side.
...................... are you saying we should draft a goalie again in the first round
Why the hell wouldn't you? You don't think Price, Rask or Ludnqvist are worthy first round picks? Seriously? What round do you wait for? Should Ludqvist go in the third?
Im pretty sure the one that Price got injured against the Rangers was pretty much the same as 2010 but less magical.
I'd say he's above average, he's constantly put up good numbers with different teams, it's more a question about his endurance.
Price's numbers took a big drop when we destroyed the team in '17. Goalies can make up for a lot but there are limits to what they can do. But his resume is very good and he will likely be a HOFer by the time he's done. And the odds of that go way up if he's ever traded to a half decent team.
Because the last 20 years of NHL hockey have shown you don't need an above-average goalie to win? And because we need skaters more than anything else? ...
First, your assertion is wrong.
With Primeau in the wing, it's not necessarily the most needed position on the prospect roster to fill. But if they think Askarov is a game changer, I wouldn't rule it out. So much depends on this play-in. Lafreniere would be a huge addition to the roster, but if they pick #9, that's about where Askarov is expected to go. If Askarov turns into another Price, I'd be hard-pressed to say it wasn't a great pick.
For fun, here's the list of goalies picked in the first round in from 2006-2015. I didn't look at 2016-2020 because it's probably to early to judge those draft picks' careers.
Goalie have had less impact it is a undeniable fact.
Drafting a goalie early had never work out for any team in the last 40 years, all the goalie that work out were pick later or by a team that had pick earlier in the round...For fun, here's the list of goalies picked in the first round in from 2006-2015. I didn't look at 2016-2020 because it's probably to early to judge those draft picks' careers.
The best goalie in that list is... Vasilevskiy? Bernier? Varlamov? That is a 10-year span in which not a single first round goalie pick can be said to have contributed meaningfully to a Stanley Cup win. Or to any Cup run really. So I state again; we're currently weak at every position except goalie... and that's what you want us to draft this year with our first round pick?
Actually, it's pretty funny how after 2005, it looks like teams started getting really scared to draft a goalie in the first round.
Another pattern I've noticed is very average/no-name goalies that have one very hot playoffs, then regress back into nothingness the next year.
2019 - Binnington (lolz who? I legit had to look it up just now because I forgot his name)
2016, 2017 - Matt Murray
2015 - Crawford
2011 - Thomas, was out of the league 2 years later
2010 - Niemi
My point is those were all average goalies who got hot for a brief amount of time, won a cup or two, and then receded into average status.
