What do you think about market and our situation overall.
Usually I have answers, tactics, assumptions and solutions that I like on the paper. But I haven`t them now. I really don`t understand how Fitzy must act. I don`t like Kuemper, because Kuemper is injury prone, and Kuemper, Francouz and Grubauer have pretty the same numbers in Colorado. He is old and will ask multy year extantion. I don`t like Campbell because he is 30 yo, have 150 games or so of expirience and as I remember he svck in the second half of the season. Husso? I don`t think we should believe Blackwood and Bernier as our 1A\1B. I would even find new 1A\1B and trade Blackwood.
I want to read your expanded opinion.
I'm kind of with you on Kuemper. I've been a fan of Campbell for a few years now. I've been wanting to acquire Campbell while we were still smoking the Cory dust. I'd like to see what kind of deal he gets. Certainly 5-6 years is something I'd really not like to go near for someone like Campbell. I personally wouldn't even wanna give him a 4 year deal.
I'm interested in Hellebuyck, I'm also interested in Lehner, depending on what his injuries are. I don't think whatever Lehner has is as bad as what say Bernier has going on? But again, I don't know. I firmly believe he could be on the outs in Vegas and he only has just two years left on his deal, but i'm a bit scared by some of the injuries and now he's 31, but he only has TWO years left.
I have no belief in Blackwood anymore. I don't think he'll ever be a good STARTING goalie in the NHL, at least not long term. I think his run while Nas was the interim head coach might be the top of the mountain for him. I think he COULD be a good goalie as a backup in this league and have a decent career as one of those. I don't think he has a Vezina ceiling, not anymore. I don't think he has any kind of elite ceiling, I'm skeptical it's all injuries and that he's not just a mediocre goalie. His AHL career was mediocre, he had a horrific season in the AHL in 17-18. All of this was close to irrelevant for him until his last two seasons and now those questions start to come back up again.
And the worst thing that could happen to us long term with him is say he has a good year next season and we all know his contract is up. What do we do then? How much do we give him then? How many years do we give him? One good season after two horrendous seasons is really not grounds for another 3 year deal and with how BAD he was the first two years of that deal, I would think that would be enough to cancel out any type of raise on his next deal. If Blackwood is on this team next year and bombs out early on, I could see him being sent to Utica (which unfortunately means Daws is coming back or maybe it'll be Schmid) like Schneider was early in the 19-20 season. Maybe that's when Bernier comes out from the press box and starts dressing for and playing some games and it's not Daws/Schmid getting called up again? I don't know?
I'm also skeptical that Ruff knows how bad Blackwood really is. We know that he's well aware that Gillies is VERY bad. We know that he's well aware that Hammond was pretty bad, but this is the same guy who came out and post game and said Blackwood wasn't feeling well, he's sick and he just really wanted to play tonight, even though he was really feeling up to it so he let him go play. Blackwood rarely missed a game that he was actually dressed for like during like that last month before he got shut down after Bernier was done for.
Note: I'm still of the belief that Ruff is not the head coach here next year, unless Fitz comes out and specifically says that Ruff WILL be back next year, but I'm still throwing the hypothetical that he might be and this is what I fear if he does come back.
I wouldn't mind someone like Husso, but if Blackwood is gonna be here next year, we need somebody GOOD and more proven than Husso.
I don't wanna go down this rabbit hole, but I feel like there are some people that are biased against Blackwood for the vaccine hesitancy. Because of Blackwood having long covid, I can totally understand why he might have had some hesitance to take the vaccine. This might have been a worry of his. So I've never once judged him based on that. I've only judged him based on the fact that he's been a HORRIBLE goalie for 55 games now. Like worse than the ghosts of Schneider, Kinkaid and Brodeur. And that's all I've judged him on. And injured or not, he doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt to get a ton of games next year because he can either become injured again, causing his stay on the ice to be unlikely and if he does stay healthy, there's no proof he won't play POORLY yet again.
