Right. The goalie should never be at fault for abysmal play. Am I ingnorant, or is your memory too short to remember Dubnyk's below minor league play across 3 organizations last season?
I don't think anyone here is arguing that Dubnyk played well last year. I think people are saying that a season of abysmal play, after several seasons of solid play on a last-place team is not a reason to flush the toilet.
I was not a huge Dubnyk fan, even when he was playing well, but even I could see that there were some solid tools there and getting him to the next level was going to be done in his head.
It's incredibly terrible for goalies to play on teams that are horrendous defensively. Anyone who has played the position knows that. Just as you forwards/D come to expect a goalie to make certain saves, we goalies expect you to protect us from catastrophic breakdowns. When you see your D/forwards making the same fundamental mistakes, game in, game out, it gets a lot harder to bail them out in the milliseconds after the disappointing mistake is made.
When a goalie let's in a stinker you guys all go "what the ****" and skate to the bench where you talk it over with your linemates/coach and get back on the ice for your next shift with fresh mindset.
When you D or forwards make a terrible, stupid or lazy defensive play the goalie might also say "what the faa.....", but the puck is in the back of the net before you can even finish the thought.
There is no room for mental error with yourself OR with your reaction to your teammates play as a goalie. That's why it is a harder mental position to play.
Translate that to a bottom place team and how do you think the soul gets beaten down. Good on Dubnyk it took 3 seasons for him to break down. And good on him for recovering so quickly.
