Goalie Help plz

[KoHolga]

So I have Hiller, Bobrovsky, Leighton, Montoya and holtby.... I was wondering what impact they will have next year and future.... all have huge question marks above them

[RizzeeDizzee]

Maybe this is just semantics, but I'm not sure I'd call Holtby's situation a question mark. Yes, there is currently a three headed goalie monster in Washington, but I think most would agree that it is likely that either Neuvirth or Varlamov would end up somewhere else, not Holtby. Yes, Holtby will almost assuredly start the season as the backup, but I would not call that a question mark as much as an opportunity in waiting.

[bondon]

Sorry KoHolga, must have missed this post yesterday. IMO:

Hiller - bit of a boom or bust situation right here. All of it depends on whether or not his vertigo issues become a long-term problem. If he's healthy though he's easily a top 10 goaltender in my books, and with the team that is in front of him he should be pouring out W's.

Bobrovsky - going to take a bit of a hit short-term as Philly looks to try and find a legitimate #1 tender for the next couple of seasons. I would think he would get at least 25 starts though, as from what I've heard from other forum members along with what I've read he looks to be the guy that Philly wants to turn to long-term

Montoya - expected to be healthy come training camp, I would expect him to be the backup behind Dipietro and will step into the #1 role whenever Dipietro goes down with an injury. I'm really excited to see what the Islanders can do though in the next couple of years because I definitely think they are a team on the rise.

Holtby - I've been hearing from others that Holtby may be better off serving as the starter in the AHL rather than sitting on the bench, and simply getting called up to make spot starts when WSH goalies go down with injuries. I think what happens to Varlamov in the off-season will be telling with regards to what their future plans are with Holtby, but I agree with Rizzee that I expect him to remain as a Capital.

Just my two cents on the matter.

[holdUP]

I agree with Bondon, except his view on Holtby I think.

Bondon, if your comment of Holtby starting in the AHL instead of backing up in WAS is assuming one of Varlamov/Neuvirth gets moved, then I'd disagree. If he only has one of those 2 in front of him, he'll definitely be with the big club. He'll still easily see 30 starts, and he's got the talent/upside to take the starter job outright.

[dmvincent]

I would rank them like this.

1. Hiller
2. Montoya
3. Holtby
4. Bobrovksy
5. Leighton

I view Holtby as a very good goalie in the future, just needs some time and I also think Montoya will be the starter for the Islanders this season. Bobrovsky was flukey last year, showed signs of some very nice potential, but had many holes which showed in the last half of the season and in the playoffs. Leighton isn't much really, was fortunate enough to inherit a starting job two years ago.

[bondon]

Woops, didn't realize I was supposed to rank em. I just put my thoughts down in the order you listed em, and somehow skipped over Leighton. Probably my subconscious doing that just cuz he's pretty much got 0 value as of right now lol.

Anyways, I think if I did have to rank them as of RIGHT NOW, personally I would leave it in the order that I had it in.
Hiller (obviously)
Bobrovsky - If Bryzgalov signs I might bump him down for the immediate future, but until that gets done I'm leaving him second on this list.
Montoya - Inevitable Dipietro injury
Holtby - Here's the link to Justin Goldman's prospect list :
http://thehockeyguild.com/thegoalieg...00june2011.pdf
I'm not sure if he made a typo in Holtby's section because he said "another full season in the NHL".

If Holtby is backing up Neuvirth and Varlamov shoots the breeze then I would probably put Holtby second. Just as if Bryzgalov signs I might bump Bob down to third. Its kind of impossible to rank them right now with so many unknowns.

You listed 5 guys with a whole lot of question marks around them (Leighton not so much), for now all you can do is watch where the cards lie after all is said and done. If I were you I would wait for Goldman's next mailbag and ask him this question and get his advice.

Edit: Oh yeah forgot to mention my ranking above is just in terms of short-term (i.e. next year)
If I were to rank them long-term I think I would go
1. Hiller
2. Bobrovsky
3. Holtby
4. Montoya

Bob and Holtby might switch depending on how the situation with Bryz plays out.

[bondon]

I agree with Bondon, except his view on Holtby I think.

Bondon, if your comment of Holtby starting in the AHL instead of backing up in WAS is assuming one of Varlamov/Neuvirth gets moved, then I'd disagree. If he only has one of those 2 in front of him, he'll definitely be with the big club. He'll still easily see 30 starts, and he's got the talent/upside to take the starter job outright.

Fair enough man, I'm not so sure though. Things are really murky in Washington right now, last year they went with two 22 year olds in net from the get-go and called up a 21 year old when one of those starting two got hurt. I don't know if they're going to want to go the same route this year. I know they ended up first in the Eastern Conference this year but I'm just wondering if they might prefer to sign a cheap veteran backup or a veteran 1B kind of guy and let Holtby continue to mature in the AHL.

(This is all assuming Varlamov gets the heave ho)

[holdUP]

Fair enough man, I'm not so sure though. Things are really murky in Washington right now, last year they went with two 22 year olds in net from the get-go and called up a 21 year old when one of those starting two got hurt. I don't know if they're going to want to go the same route this year. I know they ended up first in the Eastern Conference this year but I'm just wondering if they might prefer to sign a cheap veteran backup or a veteran 1B kind of guy and let Holtby continue to mature in the AHL.

(This is all assuming Varlamov gets the heave ho)

Haha see when I read this, I immediately think of them signing Jose Theodore and not finding any success with that method either with Theodore/Varlamov.
Not hating on your comment, just funny that it was my immediate thought. This is what makes fantasy hockey and these forums so interesting - thoughtful debate