Unpopular Opinion: The Sharks Should’ve Kept Kiprusoff, Traded Nabokov

[TealTown22]

Unpopular Opinion: The Sharks Should've Kept Kiprusoff, Traded Nabokov - Teal Town USA

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[WSS11]

Unpopular Opinion: The Sharks Should've Kept Kiprusoff, Traded Nabokov - Teal Town USA

Not unpopular at all if you remove sentiment. Weirdly enough, I was just thinking about this today. We probably win the cup in 2004 by doing so. Damn Flames!

 

[OrrNumber4]

Arguments for:

1) Kiprusoff clearly had a better career.
2) Strelow told DW Kiprusoff was the best of the three (IIRC he ranked Nabokov last behind Toskala).
3) Nabokov had the higher value and just came off of a contract dispute.

Arguments against:

1) Does Kiprusoff thrive saying in San Jose? That trade might have been the kick-in-the-pants he needed.
2) Kiprusoff was given an opportunity and mangled it; if you want to be an organization that values accountability you have to put performance over supposed potential.
3) DW's goal (ridiculed at the time) was to make the POs in 2004; Nabokov was a far safer bet than Kiprusoff.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

Unpopular Opinion: The Sharks Should've Kept Kiprusoff, Traded Nabokov - Teal Town USA

I don't understand this. This has been rehashed multiple times. Sure in hind sight maybe Kipper was better. Neither were able to backstop a cup winner or carry either team. Nabby never lost a series when the team scored more than 2 goals per game. That's pretty telling. But the reality is that Kipper was horrible when given his chance while Nabby was hurt and sealed his fate as the expendable prospect. Considering how bad he was in SJ it truly could have gone either way for him depending on how Calgary played in front of him.

 

[Eklund72]

The 2nd turned out to be Vlasic so it worked out fine for us

 

[Quid Pro Clowe]

What would you rather of had? Nabokov and Vlasic, or Kipper and an unknown package for Nabby??

Either way, the Sharks did well.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Sure if you remove context at the time then yeah you keep Kipper but he played his way out of San Jose. People tend to overlook that fact. Trading either Nabby or Toskala to keep Kipper at the time would be to keep the worst player of the three at the time who didn’t deserve the spot. There’s no guarantee keeping Kipper would’ve meant he had the same career as he did. He still would’ve just been the backup most likely.

 

[Mafoofoo]

Trading Kipper got us Vlasic, that and Nabby was a good goalie for us and apparently now is the magic man we need as goalie coach

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Orrrr.....We dont trade either mid season and there is no Flames in the WCF

 

[Barrie22]

Orrrr.....We dont trade either mid season and there is no Flames in the WCF

And no chance for kipper to come back bite us and be the reason we get knocked out of the playoffs that year.

 

[Patty Ice]

I wish there was a way to go back and find my posts during that time when I advocated for that very thing.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Orrrr.....We dont trade either mid season and there is no Flames in the WCF

So carry three goalies for an entire season? That’s not going to happen and at the time you’re not worried about a team being a potential playoff opponent just after missing them.

 

[OrrNumber4]

I wish there was a way to go back and find my posts during that time when I advocated for that very thing.

Oh yes...remember that post where you compared them to cuts of meat?

I had been on the Nabokov-over-Kiprusoff train for a very long time. I'm sure that in hindsight, my vituperations against those who favored Kiprusoff or Toskala reflect poorly on me...

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

So carry three goalies for an entire season? That’s not going to happen and at the time you’re not worried about a team being a potential playoff opponent just after missing them.

So dont go to the SCF? Great idea!

 

[Patty Ice]

Oh yes...remember that post where you compared them to cuts of meat?

Definitely sounds like me

I just remember as you do Streliw's preferences. And I like listening to smart hockey people. Actually your previous post, the pros were my argument verbatim. Nabby could have hauled in a huge return but Wilson did surprise me with the return he got for Kipper. We do have to remember it was Sutter making the deal and he was privy to what Strelow's thoughts were.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

So dont go to the SCF? Great idea!

You can’t even guarantee a playoff spot if we carry three goalies the entire season. It’s nowhere near as simple as you’re making it out to be.

 

[Barrie22]

You can’t even guarantee a playoff spot if we carry three goalies the entire season. It’s nowhere near as simple as you’re making it out to be.

Sure you could because nothing would of changed for the sharks. Nabby and toskala as every one has pointed out had taken the 2 spots from kipper.

So the only thing that changes that season for the sharks is that calgary got a goalie that turned into a vezina winning goalie which happened to be the goalie that beat us in the playoffs that same season.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Sure you could because nothing would of changed for the sharks. Nabby and toskala as every one has pointed out had taken the 2 spots from kipper.

So the only thing that changes that season for the sharks is that calgary got a goalie that turned into a vezina winning goalie which happened to be the goalie that beat us in the playoffs that same season.

That's simply not true. You carry three waiver eligible goalies and you're asking for locker room friction that will cause problems on a team in leadership transition.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

That's simply not true. You carry three waiver eligible goalies and you're asking for locker room friction that will cause problems on a team in leadership transition.

Yeah, having 3 guys who dont talk to other people in the locker room is really gonna tear it apart

 

[WSS11]

Firing Darryl Sutter after a slow start due to Dean botching the Nabby, Stuart contract negotiations was the bigger mistake. Our rosters weren’t overly talented under DS but I’ve never seen a harder working, more physical SJ club than when he was coaching. I don’t think we missed the playoffs once during his tenure in SJ.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Yeah, having 3 guys who dont talk to other people in the locker room is really gonna tear it apart

You really want to run with the argument that goalies don't talk to others in the room? That's ludicrous.

 

[stator]

The 2nd turned out to be Vlasic so it worked out fine for us

2004 and 2005 draft had some great players, goaltenders too. The what-if game can be played both ways.

 

[PackShark]

Not unpopular at all if you remove sentiment. Weirdly enough, I was just thinking about this today. We probably win the cup in 2004 by doing so. Damn Flames!

To this day, I think if Marco Sturm was healthy in the playoffs that year we would have won it.

 

[LeftHeartInSF]

To this day, I think if Marco Sturm was healthy in the playoffs that year we would have won it.

That's the only thing I feel about that season.

 

[sharkbyte]

To this day, I think if Marco Sturm was healthy in the playoffs that year we would have won it.

I'm not so sure we would have fared super well against that TB team with Hart-winning St Louis, Lecavalier, Richards and Khabibulin. It felt like the 2004 Sharks had the right mix of veterans and young players at the right time but we had nothing close to a star player. Marleau led the way with like 57 points lol. But who knows.