Confirmed Signing with Link: [CAR] Canes sign Scott Darling (4 years, $4.15m AAV)

[sheriff bart]

Ok, we will see how everything plays out. I wish CAR the best.

So do all of us Carolina fans. Ward has been a bottom third of the league goalie for a long time. He will start slow, and then improve and everybody says "Maybe it's different this time".

 

[Batrous]

What interests me most about this is what Carolina does next. I think they will explore trade options for Ward and Lack, then ultimately buy one out of nothing comes about. But my gut feeling... Cam Ward to Calgary

Or they could make a deal with Vegas to see if they can get Vegas to take one of them in the expansion draft. Assuming of course that neither of them have no trade / movement clauses.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

Again, I don't watch him much, but why would anyone trade for Ward to be their starter at this point in his career? His best season in the past 5 was a .910 sv%.

 

[BB88]

The only issue is if he is your elite backup then how much money is your starter getting paid and how much money do you have tied up in your goaltending.

Having said that, it's a risk worth taking because what Carolina had in goal wasn't working and there is no cap crunch in the near term.

They'd probably target a younger goalie at that point, who's not expensive like Bishop.

Anyway it goes 4M isn't a killer.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

Or they could make a deal with Vegas to see if they can get Vegas to take one of them in the expansion draft. Assuming of course that neither of them have no trade / movement clauses.

I don't see Ward being moved. The organization wouldn't do that to him. Perhaps they move on next summer when his contract is up but I think it's safe to say Lack is the guy who will be moved.

I'm not really sure how Lack's value is perceived around the league. If at best they can get a 7th or futures for him then do it. If his value is so far in the negative a trade isn't possible then I'd sooner buy him out before giving up a piece good enough to convince LV to take him.

 

[pled]

What does that have to do with this contract? What a jerk

I mean he would have developed normally and nobody would doubt his potential by this point

 

[GordieHoweHatTrick]

They did wot mate?

 

[KPower]

Desperate times call for desperate measurements.

 

[Arturs Irbe]

I'm sure Ward will not agree. Ward will be very motivated to fight it out again.

The thing is most backups never become a starter.

Happens a hell of a lot though.

Top 15 goalies in GP this year were all backups at one point. Goodness me.

 

[GordieHoweHatTrick]

Drinkin the kool-aid

 

[tarheelhockey]

Drinkin the kool-aid

There's some hyperbole there, but the points in the article are generally valid. I don't know what people think you can get on the UFA market in the $2M-3M range, but it isn't a Darling/Talbot type potential #1. The Canes avoided paying BIG money for a current starter, avoided settling for garbage, and avoided trading serious assets for someone like Fleury. They spent money they can afford to spend, but didn't lock into excessive long term payments.

This is all without assuming that Darling develops into more than he is now. If he does, it's a steal. If not, it's not a fatal error. The only way it blows up in their face is if he gets injured or flames out like Lack, but that's a natural risk in almost any signing.

So yeah, setting aside the internet-style talk about ninjas and pimp hands, it does a pretty good job explaining why Canes fans are good with this.

 

[NickLidstrom]

Lot of money for a relative known. Hope it works out.

 

[klamla]

If any team would do such a thing--the Leafs would be the most likely.

not with the current ownership.

swing and a miss

 

[Makar Goes Fast]

not with the current ownership.

swing and a miss

serious question, do you know who owns the leafs?

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

It's a calculated risk but you have to take those these days really if you want the possibility of improving your team that much besides he would have gotten the same on the open market, methinks.

 

[klamla]

serious question, do you know who owns the leafs?

sorry, i meant current management.

yeah, i know who owns the leafs.

 

[1909]

Lots of dough for a backup goalie !

 

[i1]

Lots of dough for a backup goalie !

Guy is 2.37 and .923 in 75 career games, not to mention .936 in 5 playoff games with the cup-winning Hawks.
Very small sample size but very promising, could end up being a great deal.

 

[Makar Goes Fast]

sorry, i meant current management.

yeah, i know who owns the leafs.

fair enough because current ownership showed they have no issues with throwing out big david clarksonesque contracts.

 

[Roboturner913]

Darling played 10 consecutive games in December and in his last 4 of those 10 games he was .889 EVsave%. This is very interesting because it seems he couldn't handle the workload.

21 goal allowed and .930ish sv percentage in those 10 games. Not exactly helping your argument here.

There are many backups who might be better than Darling playing starter workloads.

OK. Please name 3, and please consider the likelihood of the Canes being able to acquire any one of them in this specific offseason.

 

[Roboturner913]

Lots of dough for a backup goalie !

He is no longer a backup goalie. Hence the pay raise.

Seriously, has no one here ever like, gotten a promotion at work? New job title, more money? That's kind of the way it works.

 

[airbus220]

OK. Please name 3, and please consider the likelihood of the Canes being able to acquire any one of them in this specific offseason.

Condon played 27 consecutive games and could be better than Darling playing starter workloads.
Pickard played lots of games on a bad team when Varlamov was injured and wasn't so bad.
1 year ago Domingue and Korpisalo played many consecutive games with good results. They already proved to be able to play starter workloads.
They all are much younger than Darling and are possible to get and would be much cheaper.
Even Budaj could be better than Darling playing starter workloads.

How much better should Darling be next season at age 29 to be worth multi millions more than what Domingue and Korpisalo did 1 year ago when they were 23 and 21 years old.

 

[MessierII]

Odd to throw so much at him without having him play a game for your team. Good numbers for a back up though could work out.

 

[Roboturner913]

Condon played 27 consecutive games and could be better than Darling playing starter workloads.

Would you consider 50 games a starter workload? Because he played 55 just a couple years ago, with Montreal? Results: 2.71 GAA, .903 sv%. Yuck. Last year he played in 40 games, just 8 more than Darling, and put up .914 as compared to Darlings .924, and 2.50 as compared to Darlings 2.38.

Pickard played lots of games on a bad team when Varlamov was injured and wasn't so bad.

Sure, if you consider a .904 "not so bad."

year ago Domingue and Korpisalo played many consecutive games with good results. They already proved to be able to play starter workloads.
They all are much younger than Darling and are possible to get and would be much cheaper.
Even Budaj could be better than Darling playing starter workloads.

Good Lord, man. Grasping at straws much? In what world is Domingue a better choice than Darling? His best year in the NHL is significantly worse than Darling's worst year.

Korpisalo is closer, but there's still nothing to suggest that he is a better choice than Darling.

If your entire argument rests on "This player must have played a ****-ton of games in a row or he's not worth your time" then we should just keep Cam Ward. He's played mountains of games and has plenty of mediocre stats just like all the other guys you listed.

 

[airbus220]

Would you consider 50 games a starter workload?

In what world is Domingue a better choice than Darling? His best year in the NHL is significantly worse than Darling's worst year.

Korpisalo is closer, but there's still nothing to suggest that he is a better choice than Darling.

If your entire argument rests on "This player must have played a ****-ton of games in a row or he's not worth your time" then we should just keep Cam Ward. He's played mountains of games and has plenty of mediocre stats just like all the other guys you listed.

I would consider a playoff round a starter workload, 7 games in 2 weeks. Unfortunately Darling played that seldom. If you want to compare Darling's backup workload you need to compare him with other backup workloads either.
For example in 2015/16 Darling played 21 games with enough rest with .917 EVsave%. Pickard was .923 in games with enough rest, Korpisalo was .928, Domingue .934.

Do you understand that young goalies are still developing. Darling played NHL only the last 3 seasons when he was 26, 27 and 28 years old. Domingue and Pickard just had their 25th birthday, at 25 Darling played ECHL. Do you get this? You want to compare a further developed goalie with Korpisalo who is over 5 years younger.

Pickard, Korpisalo and Domingue are younger, played on worse teams than Darling and still were better at same usage.

Ward is a starter, but the idiots played him 8 times b2b and too much for long periods. I can run down every goalie too. CAR lost the playoffs because they overused Ward and were too cheap to get a better backup. Too cheap to claim McElhinney off waivers for free in January. And now they paid a 3rd for Darling's rights ... idiots. And the best is these idiots will pay Darling 3M more than Pickard and Domingue will make next season.