Our Goalie Situation

[xbestboybandever]

"Could be had for free"


Right, just at the expense of basically all of the cap space we currently have to upgrade the team in more pressing areas. Not to mention, there's not a chance in hell Markstrom comes here to be the backup or even 1B option to Grubauer. Why would he do that when somebody will easily sign him to be the starter elsewhere.


Francouz last year was pretty much the best backup in the league(Khudobin maybe the only one better), we wont get a better guy to play behind Gruby. The only real option is to move Gruby for an upgrade, and as I have already pointed out in another thread, there's not much available in that regard either and if we want it we're gonna have to pay a tonne to get it.

If Markstrom came in at a reasonable hit, Grubauer would be moved out and it would be a Markstrom/Francouz tandem.

I would also argue that the Dallas, Columbus, Boston and Arizona tandems are better.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

If Markstrom came in at a reasonable hit, Grubauer would be moved out and it would be a Markstrom/Francouz tandem.

I would also argue that the Dallas, Columbus, Boston and Arizona tandems are better.

I dunno what this has to do with anything? And better then what, our current tandem?

 

[xbestboybandever]

I dunno what this has to do with anything? And better then what, our current tandem?

You said you thought Francouz was the best back up in the league.

I think that those tandems are all better than the Avs current one.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

You said you thought Francouz was the best back up in the league.

I think that those tandems are all better than the Avs current one.

Arizona certainly isn't. Dallas probably is and I already mentioned that Khudobin put up phenomenal numbers.

The statistics would suggest Francouz to be better right now then both CBJ and Boston back ups as well. Though that CBJ combo are young and constantly getting better so there's a good chance Elvi is better then Frank by next year.

 

[Richard88]

"Could be had for free"


Right, just at the expense of basically all of the cap space we currently have to upgrade the team in more pressing areas. Not to mention, there's not a chance in hell Markstrom comes here to be the backup or even 1B option to Grubauer. Why would he do that when somebody will easily sign him to be the starter elsewhere.


Francouz last year was pretty much the best backup in the league(Khudobin maybe the only one better), we wont get a better guy to play behind Gruby. The only real option is to move Gruby for an upgrade, and as I have already pointed out in another thread, there's not much available in that regard either and if we want it we're gonna have to pay a tonne to get it.

We may not be able to sign a good UFA like Markstrom to be 1A/1B with Grubauer, but another option would be to trade for Kuemper and ride Kuemper/Grubauer for 1 year, and then decide which direction to go in the 2021 offseason (i.e. Either go with Kuemper + new backup in 2021/22, or resign Grubauer and trade Kuemper before the ExD).

 

[xbestboybandever]

Arizona certainly isn't. Dallas probably is and I already mentioned that Khudobin put up phenomenal numbers.

The statistics would suggest Francouz to be better right now then both CBJ and Boston back ups as well. Though that CBJ combo are young and constantly getting better so there's a good chance Elvi is better then Frank by next year.

I disagree

 

[McMetal]

This is from this article Q&A: Joe Sakic on Avalanche injuries, goaltending and free agency



I hope this shuts up everyone who is going around acting like Francouz sucks now because he played poorly in the Dallas series.

I saw that, good news. Like I said, it would have been really weird for him to get rattled by pressure given that this was hardly his first time in high stakes games. I was a little skeptical of the timing of the injury diagnosis, but it seems like all the info that's coming out says I should have put my tinfoil hat back in the closet.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Looks to me like they need to stop playing him the 2nd game of B2B's. Hopefully whoever takes the Bibeau/Miska role can stay healthy this time around.

That would certainly be one solution but coaches and GMs like their #1 goalie (in any league) to at least be able to handle some B2Bs once in a while when required. Werner only had one out of eight B2Bs (.933 and .944) where he had a SV% higher than .885%. That's pretty bad.

I don't have access to Werner's game log from Elite Prospects. If somebody else do it would be interesting to see if he had the same problem with B2B games in Europe or last season was just an outlier.

 

[MarkT]

Getting a good 3rd string goalie is tough, due to waivers.

Either we sign a good veteran and hope that nobody takes them in waivers - which might be possible if we overpay slightly to make it financially less attractive for a team to acquire that goalie.

Or, we bring in a young goalie who is waivers exempt. The list below includes all goalies who are waiver exempt (they have a tick in the column next to their age if they are exempt)... Are there any on this list who would be realistic to target that would be upgrades on Hutchinson?

View attachment 367101
View attachment 367102
View attachment 367103
View attachment 367104

I think the best option is one of the veteran AHL starters likely to be available (I don't see a universe where Chris Driedger isn't the backup in Florida). If you sign them for two+ years not only will they be less likely to be taken by waivers, but they can also be exposed in the expansion draft if needed.

I made a list earlier:

1. Anthony Stolarz (26, ANA, 750k x 1 year – 19/20 AHL SV% .922) - probably not available. It may depend on Ryan Miller's status

NHL experience: 26 games, .910 SV%
AHL experience: 152 games, .913 SV%

2. Christopher Gibson (27, NYI, UFA – 19/20 AHL SV% .914)

NHL experience: 14 games, .904 SV%
AHL experience: 208 games, .911 SV%

3. Troy Grosenick (31, NSH, UFA – 19/20 AHL SV% .920)

NHL experience: 2 games, .948 SV%
AHL experience: 254 games, .912 SV%

4. Maxime Legace (27, BOS, UFA – 19/20 AHL SV% .919)

NHL experience: 17 games, .868 SV%
AHL experience: 158 games, .908 SV%

5. Alex Lyon (27, PHI, UFA – 19/20 AHL SV% .913)

NHL experience: 16 games, .893 SV%
AHL experience: 145 games, .913 SV%

6. Michael Hutchinson (30, COL – Average AHL SV% since 2019 .913)

NHL experience: 127 games, .905 SV% (including an .886 in 15 games with Toronto)
AHL experience: 172 games, .919 SV%

Our goalies:

Adam Werner

NHL experience: 2 games, .914 SV%
AHL experience: 35 games, .906 SV%
SHL experience: 26 games, .926 SV%

Hunter Miska

NHL experience: 1 game, .889 SV%
AHL experience: 87 games, .907 SV% (.899 before this season)

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

Francouz scares me. Not sure we can ever trust him again truly. This was just horror show from him.

They will probably give him second chance but pray to God Gruuu is healthy physically.

 

[duckbear]

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but if you look at Francouz's AHL numbers last year, they are eerily similar to his NHL numbers.

Colorado Eagles

AHL

49

2.68

0.918

|

PLAYOFFS

4

3.31

0.895

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Colorado Avalanche

NHL

34

2.41

0.923

|

PLAYOFFS

6

3.23

0.892

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Obviously this is a very small sample size, and your GAA/Sv% tend to be lower in games where you... well, lose. But they are so similar it's worth mentioning since the question seems to be, was his playoff performance primarily due to injury.

 

[El_Loco_Avs]

Francouz scares me. Not sure we can ever trust him again truly. This was just horror show from him.

They will probably give him second chance but pray to God Gruuu is healthy physically.

He was playing injured though, right? He looked great in the regular season imo. He deserves another shot (although I'd choose a healthy Gru over anything I think).

 

[Vk1ing]

If this had been a normal season, I dont think this would've even been brought up. Our goalies were both solid in the regular season. Frankie looked shaky yes, but we now know he was injured. It seems like the regular season was so long ago, that people completely forgot it. I for one trust that Joe can make the right call in this situation, considering he has all the information at his disposal unlike us,who are speculating when and what the injury is.If they are bad out of the gate next season then we can discuss trades but I think they deserve an opportunity prove this was a fluke.

 

[the_fan]

As I mentioned in the other thread, Sakic says they'll go with Grubauer and Francouz again which i fine because to get a new goalie they have to move one of them, and neither one will have much value right now coming off that playoffs being injured. Give them another year to prove themselves, and if they can't do it again, I think they'll be gone, or at least one of them will

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Francouz scares me. Not sure we can ever trust him again truly. This was just horror show from him.

They will probably give him second chance but pray to God Gruuu is healthy physically.

You know he was playing injured right?


Of course he didn't look good. Had the Avs had any more trust at all in Hutch, I doubt Frank even plays game 4 or 5.

 

[Shinjuku Calling]

I don't like Grubauer and Francouz is garbage.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I don't like Grubauer and Francouz is garbage.

Why is Francouz garbage?

 

[shadow1]

Forgive my igrorance, but Annunen just signed his ELC in April, so you have to figure he's in the AHL mix, right?

Werner has one year left on his ELC, while Miska is an RFA. Miska had a big year in the AHL and Werner at least has traces of NHL upside, so if Annunen is in the mix as well, it's hard to see the Avs bringing in another AHL option.

If anything their hand may be forced to an in-season trade should Grubauer/Francouz succumb to injuries.

EDIT: Apparently Annunen is supposed to play overseas again...

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Forgive my igrorance, but Annunen just signed his ELC in April, so you have to figure he's in the AHL mix, right?

Werner has one year left on his ELC, while Miska is an RFA. Miska had a big year in the AHL and Werner at least has traces of NHL upside, so if Annunen is in the mix as well, it's hard to see the Avs bringing in another AHL option.

If anything their hand may be forced to an in-season trade should Grubauer/Francouz succumb to injuries.

Nope. He signed his ELC but will be spending at least 1 more year in Finland as the #1G for his team.

 

[Pokecheque]

Take it for what it’s worth but AJ and Rudo agreed on the podcast that we were unlikely to see Justus served until the MacKinnon contract had already expired. And that’s, like, him being the full time starter in their estimation—he’ll make the jump to the pros sooner but it’s probably going to take about that long for him to fully ensconce his role as starter.

 

[shadow1]

Take it for what it’s worth but AJ and Rudo agreed on the podcast that we were unlikely to see Justus served until the MacKinnon contract had already expired. And that’s, like, him being the full time starter in their estimation—he’ll make the jump to the pros sooner but it’s probably going to take about that long for him to fully ensconce his role as starter.

It's definitely within the realm of possibilities, from the sounds of it he won't make his North American debut until '21-'22, at which point MacKinnon will be in the final two years of his current deal.

 

[The Kingslayer]

The save percentages are nice but at least some portion of that stat is a product of the surrounding team/defense.

I think goalie is the weakest link on the team. It’s not awful, but it’s the weakest link on a very skilled squad.

Special Teams(ties into goalie and defense)
Defense
Goaltending
Third Line

in that order is what I feel is the weakest link on this team.
Having said that do I feel Grubauer can win us a Cup? Probably not but I felt that way about Varly aswell save for 2013.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Take it for what it’s worth but AJ and Rudo agreed on the podcast that we were unlikely to see Justus served until the MacKinnon contract had already expired. And that’s, like, him being the full time starter in their estimation—he’ll make the jump to the pros sooner but it’s probably going to take about that long for him to fully ensconce his role as starter.

And that's assuming everything goes according to plan in his development.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I'm not a real big fan of spending to get another marginal goalie here. Pay up to get the best or shore up the depth (which I'd prefer getting a high end prospect). Grubs having injury issues sucks, but when he's playing, he can be as good as any patch option we are talking about. Frank was a big let down, and I wouldn't want to enter next year without somebody to challenge him... but he's the most likely player to stay out of Grubs, Hutch, and him if the Avs make a move.

To me, Gibson should be plan A, B, and C... Then Elvis D. Then Askarov E (I know he doesn't solve the issue next year, but it is a long-term solution).

Here here. Spend big now to lock down that position for years to come. Its going to cost but if you are in a win now then do it now. Sherm the worm felt the Avs needed a number 1 D and spent big to get one. He also did the same to acquire Varly. IMO there are only 3 guys on this current roster that are non starters. Mack, Makar and Mikko. Everyone else can be had at the right price this includes anyone in the prospect pool. Hell I would trade Mikko at the right price.

 

[EdAVSfan]

Special Teams(ties into goalie and defense)
Defense
Goaltending
Third Line

in that order is what I feel is the weakest link on this team.
Having said that do I feel Grubauer can win us a Cup? Probably not but I felt that way about Varly aswell save for 2013.

Eh, i feel like special teams wasn’t that big a deal. Yeah they weren’t great in the playoffs, but during the season, they were ok. Had they scored 5 more PP goals over their 70ish games, it would’ve been a top 10 PP.

the PK was in shambles because we simply were missing so many PKers.

the defense is a little bit of a sore spot only because we’re in that awkward transition period.

the 3rd line is also something that needs to be corrected. But I think with the proper investment into the 3C solves that issue rather quickly and even adds more insulation to the PK.