Confirmed Signing with Link: [CHI] Cam Ward to Chicago ( 1 yr, 3 mil)

[emptyNedder]

Ward is actually an average or slightly above average goalie. For the past 4-5 seasons Carolina has been a house of horrors for goalies, so obviously something about the system. In Chicago, Ward should be good for .915 and 2.55, maybe even slightly better.

Don't believe me: look at this link for 16-17 when Ward was actually not as good as 17-18.
HV Article

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Ward is still a decent goalie (stay with me here). You just can't overwork him. If you play him like 30-35 games a year he'll be fine.

It's been basically 12 years that he's never had a capable back-up so the Canes rode him into the ground and his back got destroyed. Then even after that they tried to do platoons and with the thought that "Maybe one of these goalies will push Cam, or take the starter's spot". Without fail... Every. Single. One. Was absolutely terrible.

John Grahame
Michael Leighton
Manny Legace
Justin Peters
Dan Ellis
Anton Khudobin
Eddie Lack
Scott Darling

None of these goalies put up better stats than Ward over any length of time, and over the last 5-6 years, Ward has not been good at all so that is saying something. Jorge Alves is the only one I would give another look at to be honest.

 

[Pens x]

Signing Ward would be almost as dumb as signing Jack Johnson to a 5 or 6 year contract:

 

[tarheelhockey]

For the past 4-5 seasons Carolina has been a house of horrors for goalies, so obviously something about the system.

We’ve been through too many coaches for it to be all about the system.

 

[AmericanDream]

he has been the worst goalie in hockey for the past few years....come on Hawks do not even bother here...

 

[AmericanDream]

 

[sheriff bart]

he has been the worst goalie in hockey for the past few years....come on Hawks do not even bother here...

Yes, take the Canes other goalie instead

 

[AmericanDream]

Yes, take the Canes other goalie instead

I think we tried lol...you wouldn't give us Faulk to take him!

 

[Hawkaholic]

Why would Bernier sign with the Hawks where if Crawford is healthy he will be a backup. If I am Bernier I try and go somewhere where I can at worse be a 1B, like the Islanders.

crows health is still questionable. I understand the position the Hawks are in, but they literally chose one of the worst options out there.

 

[Blackmon]

Ward would be a great pick-up for Chicago. He’s not a starter anymore, but he can fill in as a starter where needed, and his playoff resume is about as good as a goalie’s resume can get.

 

[Bleedred]

As much as I'm laughing about this, why don't the Canes just buyout Darling? New owner/GM should just acknowledge that it was a failed experiment (one not started by them) and just start fresh. Sign Ward to be the backup and look for someone else to replace Darling.

As bad as Darling was last year, I don't expect him to be that bad again next year, but as I've said, I purposely watched him as much as I could and that .888% save percentage actually flatters him and makes him look better than he really played. I swear about 50%-60% of the goals he allowed were at the very least stoppable.

 

[ColbyChaos]

Signing Ward would be almost as dumb as signing Jack Johnson to a 5 or 6 year contract:

Ward is better than having Berube, Forsberg, Glass be your starter for 50+ games

 

[Blackhawk93]

Signing Ward would be almost as dumb as signing Jack Johnson to a 5 or 6 year contract:

Keep trying to make yourself feel better about that loser contract.

 

[HawkeyTalkMan]

Ward is better than having Berube, Forsberg, Glass be your starter for 50+ games

I mean it's pick your poison but ward has been so poor the last handful of years in the underlying, let alone on the surface, stats. For a guy turning 35 this year losing his game more every year, Id rather turn to a younger goalie finding his with comparable stats last year.

Not to mention ward played behind a d corps on the rise vs Chicago's house of cards d corps last year

 

[ColbyChaos]

I mean it's pick your poison but ward has been so poor the last handful of years in the underlying, let alone on the surface, stats. For a guy turning 35 this year losing his game more every year, Id rather turn to a younger goalie finding his with comparable stats last year.

Not to mention ward played behind a d corps on the rise vs Chicago's house of cards d corps last year

Different systems though should be worth considering. Granted I would love Hutton over Ward (think he wants to try as a starter from whats been reported) but I also think given Carolina's "great" track record with every goalie out there despite of their defense perhaps moving away from Peters could do Ward some good.

 

[HawkeyTalkMan]

Different systems though should be worth considering. Granted I would love Hutton over Ward (think he wants to try as a starter from whats been reported) but I also think given Carolina's "great" track record with every goalie out there despite of their defense perhaps moving away from Peters could do Ward some good.

Fair enough. Carolina had been an above average to very good possession team the last couple years, especially last year. That being said, that does not equal or correlate to being good at defending in your own zone once you get hemmed in

 

[Bleedred]

Fair enough. Carolina had been an above average to very good possession team the last couple years, especially last year. That being said, that does not equal or correlate to being good at defending in your own zone once you get hemmed in

Ward has been failing the eye test (not like Darling last year though) for me for years now. This doesn't mean every goal he allows is a bad one or should have or even could have been stopped, but there's a lot of stinkers. Even if 30% of the goals he allows are poor ones, that's still too much and the eye test has corroborated the poor numbers for me. That's exactly why I went out of my way to watch Darling last year, after several people argued with me that Ward wasn't really as bad as those numbers indicated over the past several years. Ward has looked to me like the Cory Schneider that I've seen over the last two years, with very similar save percentage numbers to boot.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Ward is better than having Berube, Forsberg, Glass be your starter for 50+ games

You can always use Foster.

 

[Bjornar Moxnes]

Fair enough. Carolina had been an above average to very good possession team the last couple years, especially last year. That being said, that does not equal or correlate to being good at defending in your own zone once you get hemmed in

Carolina is a good team at defending their zone at least when it comes to scoring chances allowed. Their high danger chances suppression is mep, but part of that has to do with the goalies inability to play the puck nor control their rebounds.

 

[Scott Stevens]

Man

I know he’s fallen off over the years, but the man who kept the scummy oilers ringless wearing one of the best uniforms in all pro sports?

That may be a jersey buy

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Ward is better than having Berube, Forsberg, Glass be your starter for 50+ games

Hey now! Berube is on the Blue Jackets

 

[YP44]

crows health is still questionable. I understand the position the Hawks are in, but they literally chose one of the worst options out there.

But why would Bernier go with the Hawks where he could be a bench warmer over somewhere where he is definitely at worse a 1b

 

[Esq]

I'd much rather prefer we got a younger goalie who might be our starter in 2 years if Crawford leaves via FA.

This seems like a bandaid move. A crusty, used bandaid.

 

[Hawkaholic]

But why would Bernier go with the Hawks where he could be a bench warmer over somewhere where he is definitely at worse a 1b

I literally said in the post you quoted that I understand the position the Hawks are in. There are far more options than just Bernier, Hutton, and Ward.

 

[Teemu]

Blackhawks offseason tracker: Free agency arrives

As expected, goalie Cam Ward will sign with the Blackhawks today, according to a source. Ward’s cap hit will be higher than $2.5 million as previously reported, though.