Claimed off Waivers: Canes claim Curtis McElhinney

[Cardiac Jerks]

McElhinney could have been much better.
Do you think it's good not to play for 2 weeks? McElhinney did that often.
Do you think a team plays better when they played the night before? 13 of his 15 starts were team b2b games.
This mess didn't use him to his strength. McElhinney was unwanted, only a slave to play at bad times.
It was a mess for Reimer and Bernier too.

I hope CAR will use McElhinney better but I have doubts, because how they used Darling.

How exactly did we use Darling incorrectly?

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

How exactly did we use Darling incorrectly?

We let him start games.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

It's certainly no guarantee. But the idea is that there is a possibility they may come back. That's all.
And I think it is likely they'd prefer to chance those guys then bring in someone new entirely.

Which is what I wrote in the post that was quoted...

Back to the future ?

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

How exactly did we use Darling incorrectly?

The team let him play ?

 

[airbus220]

He could've been much better than a .934 S%?

Carolina will use him more because their goalies are terrible.

Yes much better, it hurts not to play for 2 weeks. The sample size is not big but his stats were worse with enough rest which includes 2 weeks of rest too.
Obviously McElhinney is not a starter and it would be stupid to give him starter workloads but he should be better if he plays every third game and that would be good for Mrazek too.

 

[airbus220]

How exactly did we use Darling incorrectly?

Darling played around 30 games the seasons before. It's a good question how much more games he should have played, but starting 8 of 10 games in October was definitely too much, that's a pace for 66 games. November with 10 of 13 games wasn't better. I can run down every goalie too and Darling went down.

Better would have been to use Darling and Ward in a tandem with alternating starts, especially when Darling was never used as a starter before.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Darling played around 30 games the seasons before. It's a good question how much more games he should have played, but starting 8 of 10 games in October was definitely too much, that's a pace for 66 games. November with 10 of 13 games wasn't better. I can run down every goalie too and Darling went down.

Better would have been to use Darling and Ward in a tandem with alternating starts, especially when Darling was never used as a starter before.

Sarah Darling, is that you?

 

[ITM]

McElhinney could have been much better.
Do you think it's good not to play for 2 weeks? McElhinney did that often.
Do you think a team plays better when they played the night before? 13 of his 15 starts were team b2b games.
This mess didn't use him to his strength. McElhinney was unwanted, only a slave to play at bad times.
It was a mess for Reimer and Bernier too.

I hope CAR will use McElhinney better but I have doubts, because how they used Darling.

Your questions appear as though they're being asked on behalf of a starter, which McElhinney is not and never has been for the entirety of his NHL career. As a back-up, not playing for two weeks and then starting or, playing the second of a back to back, or first, depending upon the team is precisely what McElhinney was picked up from waivers to do and do effectively. And so the tone of your questions likewise demonstrate a complete unfamiliarity with who McElhinney is and what the definition of an NHL back-up typically requires.

Reimer and Bernier and McElhinney are not interchangeable goalies when considering their market value or positional history, with Toronto and within the NHL over the course of their careers.

Toronto last season, in comparison to Toronto every season previous to last season, can't be understood as similar situations and environments as something equivocal year over year and indistinguishable one from the other. So much so that the season you're calling a "mess" was a historically productive year, with respect to regular season points.

What I get from your post though, is that you're a big McElhinney fan and hope the best for him in Carolina. And that's great. I suspect most Leafs fans want the best for McElhinney as well given what a solid job he did as Andersen's back-up.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Darling played around 30 games the seasons before. It's a good question how much more games he should have played, but starting 8 of 10 games in October was definitely too much, that's a pace for 66 games. November with 10 of 13 games wasn't better. I can run down every goalie too and Darling went down.

Better would have been to use Darling and Ward in a tandem with alternating starts, especially when Darling was never used as a starter before.

We signed Darling to become the starter. He signed a contract with the expectation of being the starter. He then spent the off-season doing nothing to prepare himself to play an NHL season, let alone a starter's load.

Darling was "run down" early alright, but it wasn't anything Carolina did. That blame lies squarely on his shoulders.

 

[Dave Karp]

He then spent the off-season doing nothing to prepare himself to play an NHL season, let alone a starter's load.

Not saying you’re lying but how can you accurately make that assertion? Was there an interview? Photo evidence of him not being in shape? Just an odd thing to say.

I mean that pace is pretty unsustainable. Even for elite goalies, save for ‘fatso’, Irbe and other 90s tenders. And still they couldn’t last during the playoffs.

 

[LakeLivin]

Not saying you’re lying but how can you accurately make that assertion? Was there an interview? Photo evidence of him not being in shape? Just an odd thing to say.

I mean that pace is pretty unsustainable. Even for elite goalies, save for ‘fatso’, Irbe and other 90s tenders. And still they couldn’t last during the playoffs.

Coaches have stated it and even Darling has talked about it. It's something that's recognized by anyone that follows the Canes reasonably closely. Darling went on a major conditioning stint over the summer, lost 30 lbs, and looks like a different person. Now, whether that translates into performance similar to what he did in Chicago remains to be seen, but he did look good in the limited views we had of him this preseason. Here's hoping!

 

[Dave Karp]

Coaches have stated it and even Darling has talked about it.

Thanks for the cordial reply. I don’t follow the Canes all that much.

Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of Darling but if I were a Canes fan I would be incensed.

At least with McBackup you know you’re gonna get a guy who’s going to come to the rink prepared. Obviously not much upside but I’d take that over a guy like Darling. Holy hell. Sign a big contract and don’t go out to earn it?

 

[LakeLivin]

Thanks for the cordial reply. I don’t follow the Canes all that much.

Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of Darling but if I were a Canes fan I would be incensed.

At least with McBackup you know you’re gonna get a guy who’s going to come to the rink prepared. Obviously not much upside but I’d take that over a guy like Darling. Holy hell. Sign a big contract and don’t go out to earn it?

To some extent absolutely. But I don't think it was conscious disregard, rather a matter of ignorance / thoughtlessness in that he did what he'd pretty much previously got away with, not recognizing the differences in his environment when he moved to a new city, on his own, in an aging body. From all accounts he's worked his ass off (see what I did there? ) this summer. Hopefully he can make up for it somewhat over the rest of his contract.

 

[airbus220]

We signed Darling to become the starter. He signed a contract with the expectation of being the starter. He then spent the off-season doing nothing to prepare himself to play an NHL season, let alone a starter's load.

Darling was "run down" early alright, but it wasn't anything Carolina did. That blame lies squarely on his shoulders.

It happens that goalies become lazy in the offseason, CAR should have known it. I would say CAR was lazy too not to check them. But even when checking them, nobody can be really sure in which condition they are and coaches shouldn't believe what goalies say because they won't admit that they feel weak, so coaches should start as if they are in bad condition and that also means not playing them for 60 minutes in worthless preseason games. It's the job of coaches to learn about their actual condition and not assume that they are good and overwork them. Because they can't be really sure Darling shouldn't have played the first 3 regular season games, they lose nothing if they play him less, the season is so very long. Instead Ward didn't play for 3 weeks and that was bad too. It seems Darling peaked in November, they run him down in 10 weeks.

 

[LakeLivin]

It happens that goalies become lazy in the offseason, CAR should have known it. I would say CAR was lazy too not to check them. But even when checking them, nobody can be really sure in which condition they are and coaches shouldn't believe what goalies say because they won't admit that they feel weak, so coaches should start as if they are in bad condition and that also means not playing them for 60 minutes in worthless preseason games. It's the job of coaches to learn about their actual condition and not assume that they are good and overwork them. Because they can't be really sure Darling shouldn't have played the first 3 regular season games, they lose nothing if they play him less, the season is so very long. Instead Ward didn't play for 3 weeks and that was bad too. It seems Darling peaked in November, they run him down in 10 weeks.

No offense, but:

 

[Jerkob Slavin]

It happens that goalies become lazy in the offseason, CAR should have known it. I would say CAR was lazy too not to check them.

Absolutely! It is Carolina’s fault for giving Darling a 4 year/$16mil contract and expect him to come to work ready to work. They obviously should have assigned him a dietician and a personal trainer to protect their investment. They should have known he would eat himself to the point where the USPS would assign him his own postal code.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

It happens that goalies become lazy in the offseason, CAR should have known it. I would say CAR was lazy too not to check them. But even when checking them, nobody can be really sure in which condition they are and coaches shouldn't believe what goalies say because they won't admit that they feel weak, so coaches should start as if they are in bad condition and that also means not playing them for 60 minutes in worthless preseason games. It's the job of coaches to learn about their actual condition and not assume that they are good and overwork them. Because they can't be really sure Darling shouldn't have played the first 3 regular season games, they lose nothing if they play him less, the season is so very long. Instead Ward didn't play for 3 weeks and that was bad too. It seems Darling peaked in November, they run him down in 10 weeks.

Aside from his sister on Twitter you’re the only person I’ve ever seen making excuses for him. Even he’s admitted he screwed up and wasn’t prepared.

What a delusional post.

 

[Warden of the North]

Solid pickup for Carolina. Great backup

 

[airbus220]

you’re the only person I’ve ever seen making excuses for him. Even he’s admitted he screwed up and wasn’t prepared.

When did Darling admitted it, October 2017, November lol
A donkey could have chosen a better workload for Darling than 18 of 23 games.
CAR coaches are living on the dark side of the moon
and then they started old Ward 3 games in 4 nights, you can check how that worked out, who screwed that up.

 

[airbus220]

Absolutely! It is Carolina’s fault for giving Darling a 4 year/$16mil contract and expect

Read the thread when Darling was signed, I posted there too.
Sure it's CAR fault to sign a contract based on stupid expectations.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

When did Darling admitted it, October 2017, November lol
A donkey could have chosen a better workload for Darling than 18 of 23 games.
CAR coaches are living on the dark side of the moon
and then they started old Ward 3 games in 4 nights, you can check how that worked out, who screwed that up.

My apologies, Sarah.

Hopefully Carolina will be better to Scott this year and we can all see what he’s really capable of.

 

[pbgoalie]

Great second goalie
Can play well most nights, and on those nights where he’s off,
Doesn’t seem to set him back, just prepares to play when needed again

 

[RodTheBawd]

What the f*** did I just read on this page?

 

[LakeLivin]

What the **** did I just read on this page?

I believe it's called "blame the victim".

 

[Clatartar]

**** I was hoping 1 of McBackup or Pickard made it through. I guess its a testament to management that our depth is that strong.

Was?