Player Discussion: Martin Jones

[Sharksrule04]

I have some restored faith in Jones, but I think we enter this series with the inferior goalie again. He just need to play like games 1, 5 and 7 and we'll be good. If he plays like game 6, we win the cup.

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

Jones is a total enigma. I'm happy with how he has played recently though. Well post game 4 at least

 

[FeedingFrenzy]

Mea culpa. I had zero faith in Jones but he proved me wrong in Games 5 and especially Game 6. Fitting Game of Jones shows up on the night of Game of Thrones.

PS when eating crow, sprinkle some salt for flavor!

I find crow,, Wrapped in a Banana leaf With spices Buried in the ground and slow cooked...
Alas my crow eating days are few and far between...

 

[Bizz]

It's pretty apparent that something happened after Game 4 with Jones.

I dunno if he went back and looked at footage from his 2016 run and had a Rocky style montage, but something definitely clicked inside of his mind.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

In the theme of @jakeytown making a generous donation to the Sharks foundation, I will donate $31.00 (Jones’ number) to the Sharks foundation if the Sharks win this series.

Anybody else?

I had forgotten about this.

 

[jMoneyBrah]

It's pretty apparent that something happened after Game 4 with Jones.

I dunno if he went back and looked at footage from his 2016 run and had a Rocky style montage, but something definitely clicked inside of his mind.

Last 6 games: .935 Sv% 2.06 GAA

IF Jones can keep things anywhere near that, I think the Sharks’ll be all right.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Last 6 games: .935 Sv% 2.06 GAA

IF Jones can keep things anywhere near that, I think the Sharks’ll be all right.

Even if you take away his best and worst game as outliers in this stretch, he's got a .924 save percentage. That's more than what they need from their goaltender for these games but it helps that their defense has limited the rush attempts against to a large degree which is exactly what was needed.

 

[CaptainShark]

What happened?

 

[STL Shark]

Last 6 games: .935 Sv% 2.06 GAA

IF Jones can keep things anywhere near that, I think the Sharks’ll be all right.

.939 SV% since Game 4 in Vegas. I recall in the Game 5 broadcast of that series the announcers saying he was out taking 50+ shots from the outside and wide where he’d been beaten early in games versus Vegas. Wonder if recalibrating his angles is all that he needed or what. If it was that simple, you have to fire Hedberg for going 86 games before you decided to figure it out.

 

[one2gamble]

I've never seen such swings

 

[Paka Ono]

He played his best game of this series tonight by far. Only goal was a unlucky deflection

 

[Levie]

Goalies are weird beasts

 

[Dicdonya]

My faith in Jones all year is certainly being rewarded now.

That being said, just as I did not blame him for having a shit year, I cannot give him all the credit now. The defense has stepped up and is helping him see shots from much better spots, also the fact we are not giving up 5-10 breakaways a game is huge.

I think everyone , but especially Jones needed that 50+ save game against Vegas. They only allowed like 7 HD shots that game, and I think it flipped a mental switch for Jones knowing he still could be a wall. Since then he’s stopping things he absolutely would not have earlier in the year. The man has his confidence back thank goodness.

 

[SjMilhouse]

This is why you never draft a goalie in the first round. They are head cases

 

[Pinkfloyd]

This is why you never draft a goalie in the first round. They are head cases

It's also why you develop them and a lot of them. You shouldn't invest term into a goalie because things can go south in a hurry and you shouldn't invest assets like we did into Jones to begin with.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

It's also why you develop them and a lot of them. You shouldn't invest term into a goalie because things can go south in a hurry and you shouldn't invest assets like we did into Jones to begin with.

I agree, but it did work out for the Pens with MAF.

 

[JackSkellington]

I agree, but it did work out for the Pens with MAF.

When you have Crosby and Malkin with Letang in the back cups can be won even when taking a chance paying a goalie

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

When you have Crosby and Malkin with Letang in the back cups can be won even when taking a chance paying a goalie

That's not what I was saying. He was drafted 1st over all.

 

[WSS11]

I agree, but it did work out for the Pens with MAF.

It also got Milbury canned lol. That DiPietro contract still makes me cringe.

 

[SjMilhouse]

It's also why you develop them and a lot of them. You shouldn't invest term into a goalie because things can go south in a hurry and you shouldn't invest assets like we did into Jones to begin with.

Agree, my point is that goalies can have a meltdown out of no where and tank your season just as easily as they can get hot and win you a cup. It's pretty random

 

[OffSydes]

I will publish my paper later but once Pierre McGuire showed up Jones started playing a lot better. My conclusion is that sitting next to him on the bench is the motivation Jones needed to turn it around keep his starting job.

 

[Sharksfan83]

Agree, my point is that goalies can have a meltdown out of no where and tank your season just as easily as they can get hot and win you a cup. It's pretty random

Lets hope that happens all in one season

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

It also got Milbury canned lol. That DiPietro contract still makes me cringe.

That was just one in a long line of stupid things Milbury did. Dude is an idiot. Guy drafting for Pitt is an actual NHL mind.

 

[Karl Prime]

I've never seen such swings

Not even from Babe Ruth?

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

I agree, but it did work out for the Pens with MAF.

MAF was a major headcase and a big part of why Pittsburgh never won a single game past the second round between 2010 and 2015 despite having Crosby and Malkin in the height of their prime. Fleury was terrible in the in the playoffs over that time frame.

In 2012, Pittsburgh signed Tomas Vokoun as a platoon option who could take over for Fleury in the playoffs, because Fleury was such a mess. Vokoun only started 17 games to Fleury’s 31 in the 2013 regular season, but come playoff time? Fleury got 4 starts, went 2-2 with a 3.51 GAA and .883 SV%, and lost the net to Tomas Vokoun. By no coincidence, Tomas Vokoun took Pittsburgh to the Eastern Conference Finals; something Fleury never did between 2010 and 2015. And this Tomas Vokoun I’m talking about? He was 37 years old and retired immediately after that season ended.

In 2016, when Pittsburgh finally got over the hump, Jeff Zatkoff actually won more playoff games than Fleury did that year. Fleury and Murray were both injured early in the playoffs and when both came back, Pittsburgh used Matt Murray - a veteran of 13 NHL games - before they used Fleury. They went to Fleury for one game in the Tampa series when Murray struggled and he wasn’t very good so they never put him in again.

Pittsburgh’s two best playoff runs between 2010 and 2016 - 7 prime years of Fleury’s career - came when Fleury was replaced by a 37 year old who was about to retire, and a rookie with 13 games of NHL experience.

In 2017, Murray was set to start game 1, and got seriously injured in warm-ups. Fleury took over the net for 15 games and played incredible. If that were some decent backup and not Fleury, Pittsburgh almost certainly loses against Columbus or Washington in the first 2 rounds and I give him full marks for out-dueling Bobrovsky and Holtby in each of those rounds. But in reality, that one run came completely out of nowhere and he wasn’t even scheduled to be the starter that year. And as soon as Murray regained his health and returned to the crease, Fleury never started another game. Pittsburgh did just fine without him as Murray won the final 2 rounds.

When push finally came to shove, Pittsburgh paid Vegas with a 2nd round pick in order to take Fleury’s contract over Bryan Rust. That would be like the Sharks paying Seattle a 2nd round pick to take Martin Jones over Marcus Sorensen.

Now, consider the asset Pittsburgh paid for Fleury: The 1st overall pick in the 2003 draft - one of the greatest drafts ever. They would have been much better off if they had just drafted Eric Staal (the first skater picked), Ryan Suter (the first defenseman picked), or one of ~15 other elite skaters from one of the best drafts in NHL history. Then consider the cap space they spent on Fleury: $5M or more when the salary cap was much lower than it is now. When you look at all of that you just prove PF’s point. They spent valuable assets and cap space on a goaltender who did a lot of good for them but also just wasn’t reliable and cost them a lot. 2/3 of their Cups with Fleury came when the actual starter was a kid they drafted and developed.