Now that March Madness is in full swing, poolies everywhere are right in the middle of the playoff push. Desperation mode consumes our minds, we consume more coffee than ever before, we stay up later to watch games in the Western Conference, and we keep a website tab locked on the NHL standings page until the regular season ends.
I felt so left out on Monday. Not a single goalie – not even an AHL prospect – was traded all day long. I was up at six o’clock in the morning, only to sit on my butt with nothing to analyze, nothing to say, nothing to do. So instead of this being the final piece of my four-part series on goalies at the trade deadline, I’ve decided to stay on the topic of Blackhawks goaltending, since their team was (and still is) in dire need of an upgrade.
Goalies at the Trade Deadline Part 3
Last week, Part I of this four-part series identified some teams that were desperate for a goaltending upgrade. It looks as if that list has stayed relatively the same over the past week; Chicago is still on a downward spiral, Toronto just barely broke a four-game losing streak last night in Edmonton, the Lightning are just 1-1-1 over the past week, and the Blue Jackets are like the lame kids at lunch trying to trade that gross bologna sandwich known as Steve Mason.
Whether it’s in our minds or with our buddies, we all dabble in trade rumors. Even I can’t deny I get weak in the knees when I pontificate potential “perfect fits” for my favorite puck-stoppers. And no matter how hard we want to ignore wild rumors that wedge their way into our daily lives, once we see one or two, we can’t stop thinking about others. But for goaltenders, I think it’s important to flip the traditional rumor logic upside down by looking at things in a specific order.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Goalie Guild founder Justin Goldman is proud to announce the release of a new free daily analysis tool specifically designed to evaluate starting NHL goaltenders. This tool, which is called the Starting Goalie Rating Index (SGRI), helps poolies and hockey fans answer the age-old question, “Who should I start in goal tonight?”
When it comes to Brian Elliott, I can safely say that he has worked extremely hard to earn a new contract extension, and that he totally deserves one. The Blues signed him to a new two-year deal yesterday, one that will see him earn $1.7 million next season, then $1.9 million in the 2013-14 season. It’s a cap hit of just $1.8 million, a number that falls well within the “bargain” category for the Blues.
With yesterday’s release of NHL Central Scouting’s midterm rankings, I wanted to drop some fantasy-related insight on who I consider to be “long-term gems” for deep keeper leagues. Even if you only play in a standard one-year fantasy league, there is plenty to learn by understanding how to project the potential value of 17-and-18-year-old goaltender. If you play in a dynasty league, keeping an eye on draft-eligible goalies is even more important, as you’re always on the hunt for the next Marc-Andre Fleury or Pekka Rinne.
Ilya Bryzgalov, Ilya Bryzgalov, everyone’s talking about Ilya Bryzgalov. The world’s favorite character on HBO’s hit show 24/7 is giving us plenty to laugh about, and for good reason. His quips on tigers and outlook on life and the universe are a perfect example of what makes goalies so dynamic. I’ve seen the, “Bryzgalov is proof that all goalies are crazy…” line more in the past three weeks than I can handle, and I was just in Costa Rica for seven days.
For Jonas Hiller owners, this season has been nothing but pain and despair. A risk from the get-go, he silenced his Vertigo critics with a solid four-game winning streak from Oct. 8-17. Since then, however, he has won just five games, and over that period of time, has hit rock bottom by being pulled four times and venting his frustrations to the media.
