Do the Avs need an elite goalie to win the cup?

[Lonewolfe2015]

Keep Gru for 2-3 years, try your damndest to develop a goalie. That's how most cup contenders stay contending, they cycle the roster everywhere with solid youth.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

[QUOTE="Northern Avs Fan, post: 178805237, member: 317805"]The Avs are a well structured team.

You don’t need an elite goalie, but you sure as hell need really good goaltending to win a cup.

The goaltending position is a little bit weird. You don’t really see a 3C dominate the playoffs, but a mediocre goaltender can catch fire.

It helps a lot if you have an elite guy no doubt, but it’s not essential.

They’re really not come postseason. Add Bednar’s Puritan approach to hockey & I’ll be back here next May saying I told you so.[/QUOTE]

Bednar’s biggest issue is his lineup decisions.

I think his system is good enough.

 

[Balthazar]

I'd be all for making a big move for Gibson this offseason but if true that Anaheim wants to take the next step and trade for Eichel then no chance they trade him.

I don’t think Grubauer’s the reason Colorado’s golfing right now.

He's not the reason why they lost but he also didn't make the difference (outside of game 2).

You need a goalie that can steal games...and he didn't come close to that in games 5 and 6.

 

[EXTRAS]

The avs have 2 top notch goalies.

Grub is very good.
Francouz as an NHL rookie had a 923 sv percentage. (Hopefully healthy for next year)

Like, not every team can have a vasi.

 

[TheGrimReaper]

shame that Varlamov slipped through the cracks

 

[henchman21]

You don't need an elite goalie to win the Cup. You just need a good starter level. Now an elite goalie allows you a lot more flexibility in systems and approaches because you can rely on them more to make the key saves when needed.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

They need to grow a pair and leave everything on the ice. Until that happens there will be no cup runs.

Since Roy said it, we never actually did it.. In tough spots. That's the funny part.

 

[S E P H]

Grubauer really needs to work on his consistency and endurance because he absolutely has the tools to be on the boarder of elite talent and that's all the Avs need. He needs to fix issues in his game, but his glove hand is just way too far behind the rest of the pack to be able to be relied on long-term. I love him, but Avs should really fix the issue via trade whether that be Gibson or Elvis.

shame that Varlamov slipped through the cracks

The Varlamov you see now is the one version that would have never been here, he's a product of Mitch Korn and nothing more than that.

 

[Tommy Shelby]

Goalie isn't at the top of the list, this team needs way less passengers who go cold often like Bura, Donsk and JTC. These guys are making way too much for what they actually bring, and don't step up in the playoffs.

Also the system we play isn't plug friendly at all, so guys with limited puck skills like Graves and Nemeth will inevitably struggle.

We need more playoff warriors, Saad was a huge step in the right direction but they probably let him walk and he ends up in Chicago for the 20th time.

 

[Pokecheque]

Elite? No. Better than what we’ve seen the last four years? Absolutely.

 

[henchman21]

The Varlamov you see now is the one version that would have never been here, he's a product of Mitch Korn and nothing more than that.

I wish Trotz would sleep with Korn's wife so we could get those two to breakup and then the Avs provide Korn with a masseuse to ease his suffering.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I wish Trotz would sleep with Korn's wife so we could get those two to breakup and then the Avs provide Korn with a masseuse to ease his suffering.

*Andrei Mironov enters the chat

 

[jimmysheva]

I wanted us to get Pageau instead of Nametsnikov last year. Now the Isles are 1 win away from the Stanley Cup finals.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

I wanted us to get Pageau instead of Nametsnikov last year. Now the Isles are 1 win away from the Stanley Cup finals.

The price was high. It only looks good now. Check the comments when it happened. They paid hefty price. Very are fortunate how it played out.

 

[lakai17]

Based on the Avs history and the style they play, yes they do, but what elite goalie is available that's gonna be an upgrade over Grubauer? Grubi is a vezina finalist

a month and a half later:

"we're glad you asked"

 

[Pokecheque]

I wanted us to get Pageau instead of Nametsnikov last year. Now the Isles are 1 win away from the Stanley Cup finals.

UPDATE: They didn't make it to the Final.

 

[henchman21]

UPDATE: They didn't make it to the Final.

But Avs would have if they had JGP.

 

[Pokecheque]

But Avs would have if they had JGP.

Yes. They might have.

 

[ItsFineImFine]

I'd say yes, Bednar can't run a tight playoff defense. We're gonna give up a lot of shots and be leaky no matter what.

 

[Forceberg]

I‘d say yes. And for this year we are very close to have one in Kuemper.

 

[missionAvs]

I'd argue that the Avs don't necessarily need an elite goalie, they need a very good consistent goalie. I think a goalie that puts up consistent solid numbers with a minimal number of stinkers would make a bigger difference for this team.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Doubt an elite goalie having the best 7 games of his life will be enough if we still only have one good line again.

I honestly believe the biggest problem last season and what caused us to lose against Vegas is that Bednar refused to break up 9296. Just can't afford to spend games letting them battle through it in the playoffs, he needed to make a change and for the most part refused too. And trust me, getting one of our big line players on one of our other lines...it's gonna help that line tremendously.

I would love to try this to start the season:

Newhook-MacKinnon-Burakovsky/Rantanen
Landeskog-Kadri(makesmesad)-Rantanen/Burakovsky

 

[TanguaySauce]

Tbh, I just want players that know how to clear the zone when the puck gets trapped.

 

[AvsCOL]

Tbh, I just want players that know how to clear the zone when the puck gets trapped.

Underrated skill. Vegas is fantastic at this, they just chip it out of the zone to centre ice, and chase.

 

[Pokecheque]

Underrated skill. Vegas is fantastic at this, they just chip it out of the zone to centre ice, and chase.

They're vulnerable to getting caught in their own zone too, I noticed Shea Theodore is a little more vulnerable to defensive zone turnovers than some others (I think Martinez struggled a bit as well). However, when Stone is on the ice that task becomes exponentially more difficult. You just have to be consistent with the forecheck.

The Avs are actually extraordinary at getting it out of the zone efficiently. They didn't end up being the 3rd best defensive team IIRC in the league without being able to do that. They did run into some obvious issues with this come postseason, one thing I wish they'd do is chip it out more instead of trying to dump it out along the boards. A lot of times the opposing d-man would aggressively cut off the puck by pinning it along the boards and the Avs really struggled to get it out. If they'd just send it over some heads into the NZ, a lot of their speedier forwards could get some breakaway opportunities.