Confirmed with Link: PHI Claims Calvin Pickard | CAR claims Curtis McElhinney

[Cor]

Here's what I'm hoping:

Darling comes back to Carolina and they are forced to waive McBackup. As the team that lost him on waivers we get first dibs at picking him up. We snag him and put Sparkles back in the A where he belongs.

We don’t have first dibs.

The waiver order remains the same. If someone above us claims him, they get him. If we claim him and someone below us also claim him, we need to keep him on the NHL roster. If we are the only team who places a claim, we can then put the player in the AHL without waivers

 

[Ratboy]

So does this mean Dubas doesn't understand goaltending? Did his spreadsheets tell him this guy was good?
He was better in weezer.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Here's what I'm hoping:

Darling comes back to Carolina and they are forced to waive McBackup. As the team that lost him on waivers we get first dibs at picking him up. We snag him and put Sparkles back in the A where he belongs.

Not true.

Between now and November 1st, they would pick 24th.

On November 1st, they would pick according to standings (points average).

 

[SprDaVE]

Kari Lehtonen had a .912 sv% in 37 games last year.

Not great, but it’s the best option we have without giving up an asset.

Luckily we don’t need to play a backup goalie until Nov 16th, so we have some time.

Hopefully one of Pickard or McElhinney ends up on waivers again and we can correct the mistake that way.

I think Sparks will get a game or two in there at some point. I could see Andersen having some rough stretches like he did last year.

 

[egd27]

He can’t track the puck and is a mental midget. McBackup did everything asked of him. He knew his role and played well when called upon. He is a pro. Sparks has no business playing in this league.

I was on the fence about keeping Sparks but your disapproval of the decision reinforces for me that it was the right one.

 

[nick942]

Spark's has some major holes in his game. He doesn't seem very good at absorbing shots or deflecting them into the corner - rebounds seem to land 5-10 feet in front of him right in the slot. That third goal tonight was something I've watched him do multiple times in the AHL, but at the NHL you get burned for it. He also seems really leaky, pucks just seem to find their way through him. Maybe what's worst of all is that with the slightest bit of traffic he seems to completely lose sight of the puck.
I still don't understand what management saw in him. These aren't new problems. Go watch the Marlies calder cup run and you'll see the exact same problems. He was putting up a .936 save percentage and lifting the calder cup over his head and all the while anyone looking at his game (and not just his stats) would pretty clearly see his skills would never translate to the NHL, where a Carey Price type of game is the direction goaltending is going.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

Not true.

Between now and November 1st, they would pick 24th.

On November 1st, they would pick according to standings (points average).

I am fairly sure you get first dibs on guys you lose to waivers in the same season. So if a team claims your guy and then waives them a few games later, you get first dibs on claiming them back. And if nobody else puts a claim in on them at all, you can outright them to the AHL right away.

That's what happened with Griffith a few years ago.

But otherwise you are right.

EDIT: However I am not entirely sure because nobody else claimed Griffith anyways, which is why he was able to be sent down right away.

 

[SprDaVE]

Spark's has some major holes in his game. He doesn't seem very good at absorbing shots or deflecting them into the corner - rebounds seem to land 5-10 feet in front of him right in the slot. That third goal tonight was something I've watched him do multiple times in the AHL, but at the NHL you get burned for it. He also seems really leaky, pucks just seem to find their way through him. Maybe what's worst of all is that with the slightest bit of traffic he seems to completely lose sight of the puck.
I still don't understand what management saw in him. These aren't new problems. Go watch the Marlies calder cup run and you'll see the exact same problems. He was putting up a .936 save percentage and lifting the calder cup over his head and all the while anyone looking at his game (and not just his stats) would pretty clearly see his skills would never translate to the NHL, where a Carey Price type of game is the direction goaltending is going.

All good points but the decision to do this was for the long-term. Sparks was going to be picked up on waivers and he's had great success for a long time. It was time to reward that. McBackup being a waiver claim a year or so before who did very well likely won't be in the league for that much longer. I'm not sure we watched the same Calder Cup run because Sparks was dominant in a lot of games.

So I get that Sparks won't be a NHL all-star but it's really not that complicated why this was done. He's very athletic and takes up a lot of the net, so all he has to do is refine his positioning and adjust to the NHL pace.

I also think the overreaction to his first NHL game in years is met with some hot takes and generalization that his career is over is a little much. McBackup had the same career trajectory and had some awful numbers at the same age for comparison.

We'll see in a couple weeks/months how it's going and we can throw all the hate at Dubas for going with the younger goaltender with potential.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

I am fairly sure you get first dibs on guys you lose to waivers in the same season. So if a team claims your guy and then waives them a few games later, you get first dibs on claiming them back. And if nobody else puts a claim in on them at all, you can outright them to the AHL right away.

That's what happened with Griffith a few years ago.

But otherwise you are right.

I'm sure of what I wrote.

You don't get "first dib" on a guy you have waived preceedingly.

In Griffith's case, the Leafs were the only team who put in a claim when he was waived by the Panthers in January 2017, less than two years ago.

 

[Menzinger]

We don’t have first dibs.

The waiver order remains the same. If someone above us claims him, they get him. If we claim him and someone below us also claim him, we need to keep him on the NHL roster. If we are the only team who places a claim, we can then put the player in the AHL without waivers

And how many other teams need goalies (not that we can say for sure the Leafs even need a change)?

 

[Antropovsky]

I don't care about McBackup... he's much too old to cry over. I'm more concerned about the decision of Sparks over Pickard. Pickard has had success as a #1 in the NHL (albeit limited) and sports a career 913% in the nhl. Pickard plays a much more controlled game, and is only 1 year older than Sparks. For that reason Pickard might have been the better choice going forward FOR a backup.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

And how many other teams need goalies (not that we can say for sure the Leafs even need a change)?

Well Chicago certainly could use some help it seems... If we are overreacting based on one game anyways.

Nobody does. McElhinney would probably pass through. And if he did not, then he'd probably go to another team that only needs him for a couple of weeks, not for the entire season.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

I don't care about McBackup... he's much too old to cry over. I'm more concerned about the decision of Sparks over Pickard. Pickard has had success as a #1 in the NHL (albeit limited) and sports a career 913% in the nhl. Pickard plays a much more controlled game, and is only 1 year older than Sparks. For that reason Pickard might have been the better choice going forward FOR a backup.

I really like Pickard, but he did not look as controlled as Sparks did last year. Considering he was smaller and not super athletic either, that limited him.

I mean if you can't beat Sparks at the AHL level, then how is he going to do it at the NHL level?

 

[Obliviate]

I am fairly sure you get first dibs on guys you lose to waivers in the same season. So if a team claims your guy and then waives them a few games later, you get first dibs on claiming them back. And if nobody else puts a claim in on them at all, you can outright them to the AHL right away.

That's what happened with Griffith a few years ago.

But otherwise you are right.

EDIT: However I am not entirely sure because nobody else claimed Griffith anyways, which is why he was able to be sent down right away.

This is what the guys on the Hockey News podcast stated on one of their recent shows.

 

[SeaOfBlue]

This is what the guys on the Hockey News podcast stated on one of their recent shows.

I remember hearing it somewhere too. I did not just make it up.

However who knows. Most likely it won't matter. Not many teams, unless they have serious injuries or terrible backups (in which case they probably would have traded for McElhinney or Pickard in the first place) will claim them.

Carolina was 11th and Philly 19th I believe. That leaves 11 teams who could have put in a claim after them: LA, SJS, PIT, ANA, MIN, WSH, VGK, BOS, TBL, WPG and NSH. All of them ahve two healthy goalies they were planning on using from the start anyways. Otherwise they would have traded for them and tried to jump the line, like Dallas did with Carrick. Or they would have signed Lehtonen or someone like that.

LA: Campbell (like Sparks, they want to give him a try for now + have Budaj in the wings).
SJS: Dell (no need).
PIT: DeSmith/Jarry (no need).
ANA: Miller (no need)
MIN: Stalock (no need)
---> Leafs can get them back here.
WSH: Copely (want to give him a shot + have Samsonov soon)
VGK: Subban (no need)
BOS: Halak (no need)
TBL: Domingue (no need)
WPG: Brossoit (seem to want to give him a chance + Comrie)
NSH: Saros (no need)

So unless a team who passed on them the first time now need them, which I can not see right now, they should pass through to the Leafs and even pass down to the Marlies. Once they can pass down to the Marlies, the Leafs could trade one of them for value like Vegas did with Pickard.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

We can just trade a 6th for McBackup at the deadline. Let Sparks get a chance to develop. I love that Dubas took a chance on him. That is the first win in the first opportunity. Anybody assuming they have Sparks figured out and there isn’t room to grow is being premature in their assessment.

 

[6ix]

I miss Mac a lot, sparks did nothing this pre season or tonight to make be feel any better if losing him on waivers.

 

[Obliviate]

I remember hearing it somewhere too. I did not just make it up.

Yeah, I could be wrong. That was my understanding.

 

[Crysis]

I don't care about McBackup... he's much too old to cry over. I'm more concerned about the decision of Sparks over Pickard. Pickard has had success as a #1 in the NHL (albeit limited) and sports a career 913% in the nhl. Pickard plays a much more controlled game, and is only 1 year older than Sparks. For that reason Pickard might have been the better choice going forward FOR a backup.

This 100%. I liked watching Pickard play he wasn't flashy but so steady.

 

[mouser]

We can just trade a 6th for McBackup at the deadline. Let Sparks get a chance to develop. I love that Dubas took a chance on him. That is the first win in the first opportunity. Anybody assuming they have Sparks figured out and there isn’t room to grow is being premature in their assessment.

Depends. If another team put in a waiver claim on McElhinney then Carolina isn’t free to trade him.

 

[diceman934]

This 100%. I liked watching Pickard play he wasn't flashy but so steady.

He is a better goalie. I liked him better then Sparkes as makes better reads, tracks the puck better has propper save selection which is the biggest difference.

Pickard played all the tough games last year. Back to back starts many on the road.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

All good points but the decision to do this was for the long-term. Sparks was going to be picked up on waivers and he's had great success for a long time. It was time to reward that. McBackup being a waiver claim a year or so before who did very well likely won't be in the league for that much longer. I'm not sure we watched the same Calder Cup run because Sparks was dominant in a lot of games.

So I get that Sparks won't be a NHL all-star but it's really not that complicated why this was done. He's very athletic and takes up a lot of the net, so all he has to do is refine his positioning and adjust to the NHL pace.

I also think the overreaction to his first NHL game in years is met with some hot takes and generalization that his career is over is a little much. McBackup had the same career trajectory and had some awful numbers at the same age for comparison.

We'll see in a couple weeks/months how it's going and we can throw all the hate at Dubas for going with the younger goaltender with potential.

Sorry but I think we watched a different Calder Cup run. I don’t think he was great in any game of any series.

 

[Cor]

Lmao