What has Ells accomplished?
People forget how Allen put up amazing numbers the first half of the season last year that were at times better than Elliott's "amazing" second half. Not to mention the games the Blues lost last season with Allen as the starter in the playoffs the Blues scored 2 goals, 1 goal, 1 goal and 0 goals. I don't care who your goalie is but requiring shutouts to even have a chance at possibly moving on to the next round is not good.
Allen has great numbers and has had a pretty fantastic NHL career so far. People got so jacked for Ells I think because he was expected to be nothing and had a hot streak last season. Before last season he could never beat top teams and he was super inconsistent. Always played like a backup against lesser teams and won and lost games he sould have won.
I will never understand the love Ells got. He is a great person but it was time to move on. Allen is sharp and absolutely more athletic and technical.
Look at the stats, and average them since 2011-12. "...No goalie with at least 100 games played since 2011-12 has a better goals against average than Elliott. He also has the second-fewest losses since that year, trailing only Ray Emery in that department."
http://www.todaysslapshot.com/nhl-w...ott-may-eventually-be-best-blues-goalie-ever/
Bernie Miklasz (whom I despise) wrote an excellent piece describing Elliot's tenure with the Blues. In all his time in StL, the only occasion when he was called upon as a playoff starter, he only succeeded in carrying us to the WCF, in spite of mediocre support.
http://www.101sports.com/2016/02/17/moose-loose-brian-elliott-earning-no-1-goaltender-status/
In 2011-2012, in 38 games, Elliott earned bragging rights to the best save percentage in one season by an NHL goaltender, going 38 1.56 0.940. And his numbers ever since have been comparable. When he's not done well, it has been almost exclusively attributable to the team playing in front of him.
In fairness, Elliott tended to get much better goal support than Allen. I can't find the statistic, but the difference is significant--the team scores more goals when Elliott is in net. Some might use that against Elliott, arguing that Jake's win percentage in spite of less offensive support makes him a better netminder. I would counter that if the team is scoring more goals for Elliott, it's probably because they place more trust in him, and are able to focus more aggressively on offense when he's in net. I don't know that there is a statistic that can demonstrate this, apart from team puck possession numbers, but Blues fans who have watched the games closely know this is true--when Elliot plays, the Blues are much more active on the forecheck, spend more time in the offensive end, and play less "desperately" in their own end. I think that's a reflection on their confidence in their goalie.
I should also say that Allen's improved performance last year made that difference less noticeable than in previous years, but it was still there.
So why did the Blues elect not to reward their workhorse who brought them so much success? We may never know. But barring that inside info, there will always be fans like myself who feel the Blues made a bad choice. That's nothing against Allen, who is a fine goalie in his own right. But Elliott is a top five goaltender in the NHL, and he's going to prove it this season by carrying Calgary back into relevance. I wish him all the best. I'm grateful to have enjoyed seeing him wear the Bluenote as long as he did, and I'll still be rooting for him.
