It hasn't. He's 44th in Save % for goalies who played at least 5 games this year.
Last year he was bottom of the pack again.
For a guy getting that much money, being a leader and a star it's completely unacceptable.
We're not talking about a superstar having a slow start or a down year. This is a bad year. This is Sidney Crosby making 40 points in a season bad and then people say "Don't look at his star status or his contract and then it looks fine!"
It's bad, period. He's had some good games but he needs to be much better and we can say it aligns with the team or whatever but it isn't, he's worse.
How much of that is a reflection of the level of defending he's had in front of him for EXACTLY the past year?
I'd be curious to know the quality scoring chances against he's had to face in that time.
Let's not kid ourselves, although I agree with you he needs to be much better if not consistent, he's been playing in front of a defense that only an AHL team would be proud of.
I know people argue that with his salary he's paid to cover up those mistakes...but I don't agree.
His salary is for what he's done for this organization for years, he earned that deal and cashed out at the right time and that's just something the GM is going to have to work around, he made his own job more difficult by deciding to pay a goalie 10.5M per year.
But his salary doesn't = miracle maker for me, it never has.