Just some alternative thoughts here to some recent posts from someone who just may be clueless like I am:
- Flames will take a lesser deal in the summer because Edwards is too cheap to retain.
This has been debunked already. Conroy has the ability to retain as he sees fit. Calgary shopped around and the cheapest that they could find in terms of retention for Monahan's 6.375 million cap hit was a first to Montreal. This is 3 years of retention. Markstrom makes 6 million a season, for another 2.5 seasons. We don't know what was offered by NJ, so we can't exactly comment on if things were fair or not. Did Fitzgerald want Calgary to retain half for.. nothing? A 2nd round pick? We don't know. We do know that the price Calgary paid for 6.375 last season was a first, and that's probably the ballpark that they are looking at in their formula.
- Trading for Markstrom now is stupid since Ruff is a terrible coach anyway.
Maybe. Ruff may not be the greatest coach around, but he is not the worst either. Show me a great coach, and I will show you a great goalie. That's a common euphemism in the NHL. At any rate, lots of bad coaches have won the Jack Adams, and I bet some of them even won the Cup too. Regardless, it is a hole on the team that needs to be filled. The Devils were touted as being contenders this year, after having a fantastic season last year. There is at least one glaring hole that needs to be resolved. Maybe there won't be a better goalie available in the off-season, or whenever Ruff gets replaced. From that logic, it is probably better to just throw in the towel and turn into sellers?
- Too many injuries anyway. Just punt the season and try again next season.
Siegenthaler just returned, and I am sure that helps. Hamilton is probably back for the playoffs it seems. Next season may be worse. Who knows if the Devils will be more healthy next season or less healthy. It seems better right now, and it is expected that everyone will be back by playoffs (Hamilton being the big question mark I guess - sounds like he is, but may not be??).
I like Kevin Woodley's takes on goalies. Here is a Feb 16 spot on a Calgary Flames' radio broadcast. He makes some really interesting points, especially when he talks about the fit in New Jersey, and his rationale as to why the Devils should pick Markstrom over Saros. Starts at the 3:30 mark. One thing that is helpful is how he states how Markstrom has never been that guy to be unwilling to work with younger goalies in the system to help them become better. Some goalies are like that and feel it is a competition, but Markstrom apparently has always been a really strong team guy. Woodely seems to like both Daws and Schmid.
Kevin Woodley on Markstrom Rumours and Wolf! | Flames Talk Podcast
Here is another hit on Calgary's airwaves, as well as talking about other goalie related things. Again, starts at the 3:30 mark.
Flames Talk
He seems like what the Devils need. Sure, there may be other holes, there may be other things to consider, but it sure seems like Markstrom is a good fit for the Devils. Either way, it iwill be interesting to see what ends up shaking out of all of this. Either way, I hope that the Devils make it to the playoffs since they are an entertainig team to watch.