Reto Berra the real deal or just luck?

[ChrisNI]

After picking up Berra last season I wasn't overly impressed, it seemed to be a last gasp panic trade to get a Jiggy replacement and as usual I thought we overpaid.

This was confirmed when I saw him play his first game for us and he was a sieve!

Pre-season came and I hoped a summer with Allaire would have helped but again he seemed to be terrible.....from what I read, the games weren't televised so it's hard to see how he played or the team in front of him played so I'm going off stats.

Yet in the season(yes it's early) he has 80 mins of play time, our only win, 38 shots and 1 goal against!

He currently sits 3rd on the list of top goalies with 0.72GAA and 0.974 Sv% and in my opinion looks night and day from before the season!

So is he a diamond in the rough that needed some work to shine or will he fall back to earth shortly?

Are you a fan, hater or still sitting on the fence?

Click to read more...

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

"As usual I thought we overpaid"

*Looks at the two trades made before the Berra one* Which one of those was an overpayment before getting Berra?

I was excited to see Berra play this year. I was one of his biggest advocates last season and it appears due to his preseason and the Boston game that he's on the right track. I'm not going to say he's the "real deal" though as he still needs some more games to prove himself.

 

[Pathiic]

Reto berra pretty much came out of nowhere. he was average in Biel, but he did awesome for Switzerland in the World cup etc. cant exactly remember his number but they were under a goal against per game and he was a beast, remembered him well!

Berra is one of the goalies thats not had alot of goalie coaching. just the standard camp now and then.

I wouldnt judge Berra too fast neither. I've seen alot of improvement in him and hes earned a spot in NHL, even if it aint as a starter.
He is big, he has the lateral movement and he has the focus, but most of all he is eager as F to learn.(actually wrote that before elite prospects told me the same thing)
All he needs is Roy's guidance and the help of the coaches to help him improve on the parts he's missing.
And ofcourse he needs the gametime.
Give him some time and im quite sure the Coaching team in Avalanche will make Berra shine.

Really envy him for doing well after going from being an average goalie in NLA to playing in NHL.

*Edit* found the elite prospect page
http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=11986

He reminded me so much of my old goalie mate Lars Haugen. He was a nobody. Thrown around from team to team untill he got a chance to join the national team (as we really didnt have a third goalie then)

PÃ¥l grotnes, our main goalie got injured, second goalie was scratched that game as he played the game before so Lars got the chance and he was simply amazing.
Now he's the first goalie of Dinamo Minsk and is alot better thanks to the training he gets.

little love story for you.

 

[RockLobster]

Strange....

Aside from the Anaheim Pre-Season game (where we sent our AHL team practically), the reports from both training camp and the rest of the pre-season games (even the ones that were televised) were that Berra showed marked improvement.

His game in relief of Varlamov (Minnesota) and his start against Boston were both good as well.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

After picking up Berra last season I wasn't overly impressed, it seemed to be a last gasp panic trade to get a Jiggy replacement and as usual I thought we overpaid.

This was confirmed when I saw him play his first game for us and he was a sieve!

Pre-season came and I hoped a summer with Allaire would have helped but again he seemed to be terrible.....from what I read, the games weren't televised so it's hard to see how he played or the team in front of him played so I'm going off stats.

Yet in the season(yes it's early) he has 80 mins of play time, our only win, 38 shots and 1 goal against!

He currently sits 3rd on the list of top goalies with 0.72GAA and 0.974 Sv% and in my opinion looks night and day from before the season!

So is he a diamond in the rough that needed some work to shine or will he fall back to earth shortly?

Are you a fan, hater or still sitting on the fence?

Weird.... I didn't know a .932 sv% was now considered terrible. Guess were in search for a new #1 Goalie as well now, since Varly only had a .927 last season.




But seriously, Berra has beeb great for us this whole year. He played very well in the preseason, and backed it up with an impressive showing against the Bruins and a good job coming in off the bench against Minny.



If he keeps this level of play up, we could see a battle for the #1 position down the road(Or the more likely scenario of Berra getting traded for a much better return then we paid). A 2nd round pick was fine value for Berra. A friend of mine who's a huge Flames fan said when we picked up Berra that he has a lot of potential and just needed to work on the mechanics of his positioning.


Allaire has done that, and now he looks extremely comfortable in net. Looks like Ben Bishop the way he plays to me.

 

[tigervixxxen]

He will be a fine backup for us. There will be a game he gives up 4-5 goals and everyone will hate him again so I'm not so sure he's turned the corner in that regard but I think over the year he will be fine. The situation he was in last year wasn't good. No goalie would do well with 3 weeks between starts, it's no surprise Berra has gotten better with regular action. Seems like he wants to work hard and learn so that's a good sign too.

 

[The Shermanator]

Ask us again in two months.

 

[ABasin]

we could see a battle for the #1 position down the road

Stop. Just.......stop. Stefan Elliott could be one of the best defensemen in the NHL. Please.

Berra does look improved over those two games last season, but the simple truth is that without Varlamov, the Avs are not a playoff team, and we fans should probably expect no more than a win every other game at most. Without both Varlamov and Berra, any win is a treat.

The Avs are in major trouble without Varlamov.

 

[primoremix]

Reto berra pretty much came out of nowhere. he was average in Biel, but he did awesome for Switzerland in the World cup etc.

Average in Biel...please. He was one of the main reasons Biel qualified for the playoffs and push Fribourg to seven games.
And if coming from the ZSC Lions system is "out of nowhere", you're wrong. He was already working with Allaire in Verbier. Third camp this year.

 

[freeboy]

Players are not static pieces, not chess pieces with a fixed quality. RB was rough last year. He looks much better, better form and technique but much better swagger, the confidence of a winner. My thought is he has high ceiling and will be another teams number one in a few years.

 

[Freudian]

If Berra is ready to be a starter, Avs will trade him. I don't think they'll get much more than they gave up if we see the going rate for guys ready to be a starter.

Bernier cost Scrivens, Frattin, 2nd round pick
Bishop cost Conacher, 4 round pick

 

[AvsRobin]

Ask us again in two months.

Giguere was the best goalie in the world the first 8 games last season. And the worst goalie in the world the second half. At least according to people here. It's all gonna switch based on the performances of the last handfull of games.

 

[Pathiic]

Average in Biel...please. He was one of the main reasons Biel qualified for the playoffs and push Fribourg to seven games.
And if coming from the ZSC Lions system is "out of nowhere", you're wrong. He was already working with Allaire in Verbier. Third camp this year.

Berra actually didnt have much camps going.
He was also refused to go to finland for camps because the team wanted him closer aswell.
And the team was average, no?

 

[freeboy]

Giggy got old and worn out, plus was in dog house for commenting on team play...

 

[torero]

Berra actually didnt have much camps going.
He was also refused to go to finland for camps because the team wanted him closer aswell.
And the team was average, no?

The team in which Berra was playing, Bienne or Biel (german/french) is a bottom quarter team. They were average and made the PO only because of Berra.

He use to be 1a/1b with Hiller earlier in Davos ... . At the time Hiller was the better one. Berra has a shy and kind personality ... .

For people knowing the Swiss league, he didn't come out of nowhere ... he allowed Bienne to look like an average team and definitely was among the best goalies Switzerland had ... and has.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Stop. Just.......stop. Stefan Elliott could be one of the best defensemen in the NHL. Please.

Berra does look improved over those two games last season, but the simple truth is that without Varlamov, the Avs are not a playoff team, and we fans should probably expect no more than a win every other game at most. Without both Varlamov and Berra, any win is a treat.

The Avs are in major trouble without Varlamov.

....It was a joke.



[MOD]

 

[Foppa2118]

Potentially solid, but he needs more time. Had two ugly games last year, one or two shaky games in the pre-season behind rookie lineups, one where he gave up four goals and one on the first shot in the first minute.

Then had a strong game making 42 saves in a 3-2 SO loss to LA to conclude his pre-season. Followed that up with a good game against Boston making 27 saves in a 2-1 win.

Would have been a great opportunity and test for him to take the reigns while Varly is out, but now it's not clear if he'll be able to get any games while he's out because of his head/neck issue.

 

[tigervixxxen]

Potentially solid, but he needs more time. Had two ugly games last year, one or two shaky games in the pre-season behind rookie lineups, one where he gave up four goals and one on the first shot in the first minute.

Then had a strong game making 42 saves in a 3-2 SO loss to LA to conclude his pre-season. Followed that up with a good game against Boston making 27 saves in a 2-1 win.

Would have been a great opportunity and test for him to take the reigns while Varly is out, but now it's not clear if he'll be able to get any games while he's out because of his head/neck issue.

That was the same game, the split squad in Anaheim. He played well in the other 3 games (Montreal OT, Calgary and LA SO).

In reference to the title, I'd say neither. He still has to prove he can be a consistently decent goalie but playing well over the course of his last 4-6 appearances depending on how you want to count them is not luck.

 

[shadow1]

Goaltending is the most erratic position in the NHL, so instead of trying to figure out what Berra's ceiling is, I'm going to try to figure out how one good game reversed several months of bellyaching over sending a high draft pick to Calgary.

 

[Foppa2118]

That was the same game, the split squad in Anaheim. He played well in the other 3 games (Montreal OT, Calgary and LA SO).

In reference to the title, I'd say neither. He still has to prove he can be a consistently decent goalie but playing well over the course of his last 4-6 appearances depending on how you want to count them is not luck.

Yea, I worded that poorly. I meant at least one shaky game where both those things happened. Not clear how shaky he was in the others before LA since not many people saw them. I think they broadcasted one, and I recall him looking pretty shaky but not giving up any bad goals. At the time it was pretty worrisome since all we had to go one were the bad games previously. Hopefully it was just a sign of working though the kinks with Allaire.

 

[tigervixxxen]

I think that was on the stream from Montreal, when he played in Calgary there was the stream and that's when he stared to look better. The only games I didn't see were in Anaheim, Calgary at home and Colorado Springs.

Speaking of, Roy told the media yesterday that they played too many preseason games and next year will go back to 6.

 

[Foppa2118]

I think that was on the stream from Montreal, when he played in Calgary there was the stream and that's when he stared to look better. The only games I didn't see were in Anaheim, Calgary at home and Colorado Springs.

Speaking of, Roy told the media yesterday that they played too many preseason games and next year will go back to 6.

Too many? I guess that gives them more time to practice, but I think part of the problem is they didn't play their regulars enough. They were totally out of sync and unprepared to start the season.

 

[tigervixxxen]

It was the Quebec trip. Too much travel, they tried to put on a show, played the regulars and then went back to playing the prospects. Just made no sense in the practical sense.

 

[ChrisNI]

"As usual I thought we overpaid"

I'm sorry that was my mistake, I mean I personally thought we overpaid.

I 'thought' we overpaid for Varly but was pleasantly surprised and it's becoming the same situation with Berra if things continue.

I didn't mean that we actually overpaid, it just seems to be a recurring initial thought of mine about our recent trades like for Talbot, Varly, etc.

 

[torero]

I'm sorry that was my mistake, I mean I personally thought we overpaid.

I 'thought' we overpaid for Varly but was pleasantly surprised and it's becoming the same situation with Berra if things continue.

I didn't mean that we actually overpaid, it just seems to be a recurring initial thought of mine about our recent trades like for Talbot, Varly, etc.

You should trust more Allaire !! the Avalanches have the best goalie coach in the world (IMO)