Confirmed with Link: Dan Ellis traded to FLA for Tim Thomas

[marquee]

Gotta be delusional if thomas is the starter come playoffs.

Cup is irrelevant because he isnt the same goalie. Also doesnt play behind that boston defence.

 

[glovesave_35]

Whoever gets the lion's share of the starts down the stretch should start game 1 if we make it into the playoffs. Whoever is playing better should get the lion's share of starts down the stretch.

I don't think it has to be Kari but it probably will be.

 

[oconnor9sean]

Whoever gets the lion's share of the starts down the stretch should start game 1 if we make it into the playoffs. Whoever is playing better should get the lion's share of starts down the stretch.

I don't think it has to be Kari but it probably will be.

If Kari isn't the no-brainer desicion to start in the playoffs, then trade him now. It should t even be up for debate. Kari is the guy.

 

[Klockis]

Whoever gets the lion's share of the starts down the stretch should start game 1 if we make it into the playoffs. Whoever is playing better should get the lion's share of starts down the stretch.

I don't think it has to be Kari but it probably will be.

Thomas will probably not be here next season, Kari will. Run with the goalie that you build around not the one who is only here for insurance.

 

[aloonda*]

i think it's the opposite. it's his athleticism that allows him to play his unconventional style.

just because he flails around and makes "great" saves at times, doesn't make him athletic---it means he moves with massive sense of urgency/compete level---very drastic movements---when he falls on his butt and can't get up---- #notathletic

 

[aloonda*]

btw, I love that we have timmah, love that kari is getting to learn from like he said in the various stars provided videos

 

[RastaRockett]

If Kari isn't the no-brainer desicion to start in the playoffs, then trade him now. It should t even be up for debate. Kari is the guy.

I agree, no point in taking away Kari's job and potential confidence for a stop gap player.

 

[MetalGodAOD*]

If we make the playoffs, Kari needs experience. Playing Thomas at some silly hope for a Cup run would be a step back on much of the progress that would potentially have been made. This team needs playoff experience, Kari maybe more than anyone.

 

[Stars99Lobo37]

If we make the playoffs, Kari needs experience. Playing Thomas at some silly hope for a Cup run would be a step back on much of the progress that would potentially have been made. This team needs playoff experience, Kari maybe more than anyone.

Especially after his first playoff experience ended in nothing but embarrassment.

 

[ginblossoms]

just because he flails around and makes "great" saves at times, doesn't make him athletic---it means he moves with massive sense of urgency/compete level---very drastic movements---when he falls on his butt and can't get up---- #notathletic

sure, but i don't think you become an nhl goalie playing his kind of style without being "athletic"... maybe we just have different definitions of the word. to me, the ability to recover from being out of position, the flailing around, and the dramatic saves serve to demonstrate his athleticism. regardless, he's fun to watch. have missed that a bit since the marty days.

 

[glovesave_35]

If we make the playoffs, Kari needs experience. Playing Thomas at some silly hope for a Cup run would be a step back on much of the progress that would potentially have been made. This team needs playoff experience, Kari maybe more than anyone.

I agree and disagree.

Kari is our goalie, he's the guy, and he's signed for a while. He needs the experience. On the other hand, if Thomas gets really hot with a couple shutouts in big games, etc. I can't blame Ruff for playing him more down the stretch and Kari riding pine. This isn't about feel good moral victories anymore. I don't care if winning the Cup seems out of the question, I will never have a problem playing a Cup winning goalie over a 30 year old with 2 playoff games to his name. I'm tired of always putting the big picture before everything else. If Kari's mentality is totally blown because he got outplayed by a geriatric mid-season acquisition that is a bigger issue.

I don't think you do things like that to send a message, you do it because you think it gives you the best chance to win. However, riding the hot hand and rewarding a successful player over another very good player is a fine message to send the rest of the team from where I sit.

 

[BigG44]

I agree and disagree.

Kari is our goalie, he's the guy, and he's signed for a while. He needs the experience. On the other hand, if Thomas gets really hot with a couple shutouts in big games, etc. I can't blame Ruff for playing him more down the stretch and Kari riding pine. This isn't about feel good moral victories anymore. I don't care if winning the Cup seems out of the question, I will never have a problem playing a Cup winning goalie over a 30 year old with 2 playoff games to his name. I'm tired of always putting the big picture before everything else. If Kari's mentality is totally blown because he got outplayed by a geriatric mid-season acquisition that is a bigger issue.

I don't think you do things like that to send a message, you do it because you think it gives you the best chance to win. However, riding the hot hand and rewarding a successful player over another very good player is a fine message to send the rest of the team from where I sit.

I want Kari to get the experience more than anything, but I agree with you. It would set a bad precedent to not play the best player.

Here's my issue though .... how was never benching Gonchar or Whitney once this season not also a bad precedent? This is by no means an attempt to undermine your point. I'm genuinely curious.

I was sitting here reading your post thinking, "yeah, that's a great point, but ...." Doesn't it seem just as wrong to play a guy just because he's the geriatric player with skin's on the wall?

It seems like a double edged sword here, and I don't think there's a right answer. I understand why they don't bench a guy like Gonchar, and I understand why people want Kari Lehtonen regardless of how Thomas plays. Would seem this is the type of situation where the coach has to make the tough call and you're going to piss someone off. Based on that, specifically with the goalie situation, I don't think there's anyway Ruff takes the long term approach (get Kari experience). Coaches and players believe, because it's true, that anything can happen in the playoffs. Dallas never should have made it to the WCF in 2008. He's easily going to pick the hot hand in net regardless of fans believing it's right or wrong.

 

[glovesave_35]

I want Kari to get the experience more than anything, but I agree with you. It would set a bad precedent to not play the best player.

Here's my issue though .... how was never benching Gonchar or Whitney once this season not also a bad precedent? This is by no means an attempt to undermine your point. I'm genuinely curious.

I was sitting here reading your post thinking, "yeah, that's a great point, but ...." Doesn't it seem just as wrong to play a guy just because he's the geriatric player with skin's on the wall?

It seems like a double edged sword here, and I don't think there's a right answer. I understand why they don't bench a guy like Gonchar, and I understand why people want Kari Lehtonen regardless of how Thomas plays. Would seem this is the type of situation where the coach has to make the tough call and you're going to piss someone off. Based on that, specifically with the goalie situation, I don't think there's anyway Ruff takes the long term approach (get Kari experience). Coaches and players believe, because it's true, that anything can happen in the playoffs. Dallas never should have made it to the WCF in 2008. He's easily going to pick the hot hand in net regardless of fans believing it's right or wrong.

That wasn't what I was saying. I was using his credentials as good reason to support the decision to play him IF he is playing better than Kari. In that hypothetical, it's a little difficult for me as a playoff hockey starved fan to give one single **** about the long term future when we have games to win right in front of us.

I understand those fans who are thinking long term though.

 

[Elysian]

Kari is paid to be our starter... Gotta play him as such in the playoffs, IMO.

 

[BigG44]

That wasn't what I was saying. I was using his credentials as good reason to support the decision to play him IF he is playing better than Kari. In that hypothetical, it's a little difficult for me as a playoff hockey starved fan to give one single **** about the long term future when we have games to win right in front of us.

I understand those fans who are thinking long term though.

What I said was a bit muddy, sorry.

What I mean was I agree the best player should play which I believe was your point. If Thomas is on fire, it's reasonable that he deserves to continue to play.

If we accept that as fact, where that sorta falls apart, is the way Whitney and Gonchar were handled. If we're only going to make decisions on play, those players would not have played every game this year.

So .. I do agree with you approach to goal based on fairness, but I wonder how that works when you consider not all decisions for this team have been based on a player's performance.

 

[MBTendy]

I'm on the same boat with glovesave. IMO if Thomas is playing lights out while Kari is doinf just enough to win games, then why wouldn't you play Thomas? Yeah Kari is our starter, and if you're looking at the bigger picture it makes sense to play Kari. But the organization wants to win now, and fans want to win now. And I don't think they the staff will have a hard time playing Thomas over Kari if Thomas is playing lightout. He's even has the experience.

 

[glovesave_35]

What I said was a bit muddy, sorry.

What I mean was I agree the best player should play which I believe was your point. If Thomas is on fire, it's reasonable that he deserves to continue to play.

If we accept that as fact, where that sorta falls apart, is the way Whitney and Gonchar were handled. If we're only going to make decisions on play, those players would not have played every game this year.

So .. I do agree with you approach to goal based on fairness, but I wonder how that works when you consider not all decisions for this team have been based on a player's performance.

You could throw Goligoski, Horcoff and Cole into that group as well. The thing with those guys is that none of those positions are as important as goaltender and all of them have some in-game leeway in how they are used based on their play that night.

On a player-by-player basis, Whitney was demoted to the 3rd-4th line after about 15-20 games of suckage. Gonchar's game really picked up after the first 15-20 games. Goligoski's game picked up after 30-40 games. Horcoff and Cole also blew at the beginning of the season but have been valuable contributors since about game 25. It's also fair to realize that Ruff was getting to know his crew early on and gave a lot of leeway to his veterans. He has since placed players in roles most of us would agree are more appropriate given the personnel at his disposal.

I'm not worried about what will happen. I view the goal situation as an enviable one with two #1 starters and I trust Ruff to ice the team that gives him the best chance to win on any given day. I just really don't like the idea of going with one guy because you're married to him contractually. What happens if Kari gets lit up in the first two games of the playoffs. Do you not play Thomas because you're worried about Kari's ego and confidence? I go with the guy who has won a Cup in recent memory without hesitation.

 

[piqued]

I see no reason to believe that Thomas will be playing at a higher level than Kari unless Kari's injury lingers and has a large impact on his performance.

Furthermore, I don't believe Thomas' style is a particularly good fit playing behind this defense, which does not clear the crease well. Our players are more apt to screen their own goalie, look the wrong way, fall down, take themselves out of position, or flail wildly than they are to clear the area in front of the net so that Thomas' aggressive positioning doesn't come back to bite him.

 

[glovesave_35]

The whole conversation is predicated upon a circumstance where Thomas has been playing markedly better than Kari. Style, positioning, everything else is moot.

 

[MBTendy]

FINALLY

 

[Loui21Eriksson]

FINALLY

Thomas' new pads? Just in time for Kari's return!

 

[Bluesoma]

Now we just see what his new mask is like.

 

[Johno]

Now we just see what his new mask is like.

all black?

 

[HatchtrickBateman]

Those pads will look really nice with our away sweaters

 

[Elysian]

Weird, he's not wearing one of those masks that show his whole face...