The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
Ever since Bishop signed his new deal with the Stars, most of the threads around here have been talking about how Bishop is the clear starter for the Stars now. I don't disagree out of the gate this season, but I've been surprised how little anyone's talked about how Hitchcock normally utilizes his goalies. When he was with St. Louis, he was always rolling with the hot hand between Allen and Elliott, which made owning either frustrating as hell.
Yes, Lethonen has played poorly over the last 2 years in Big D, but before that, he was actually a pretty strong goalie for them. If we assume Hitchcock will bring his defensive style of play to the team, thus making it a stronger defensive system, then that will benefit both goalies and possibly be what Lethonen needs to find his consistency again. That begin said, I feel like we're very likely looking at a 1a/1b scenario, since Hitch is known for playing the hot hand. I think this is especially likely if Bishop needs time to adjust to playing on a new team that lets up more SOG than Tampa, as well as adjust to seeing more teams in a different conference.
12 Team Weekly H2H, Daily Lineups. Keep 7 + 1 Prospect (<164 NHL games).
Scoring:PLAYER: G(3), A(2), D Pts(addt'l 0.7), +/-(0.5), PPP(addt'l 1), SHP(addt'l 0.5), SOG(0.4), BLK(0.8)GOALIE: W(2), GA(-1.5), Saves(0.3), SO(3)Positions - 3C, 2RW, 2LW, 4D, 2G, 5 Bench, 4 IR, 1 prospect
C - J Hughes(LW), Hintz, Malkin, Pinto
LW - M Tkachuk(RW), Robertson
RW - Rust, Necas, Zuccarello
D - Makar, Fox, Bouchard, Roy, Krug
G - Oettinger, Thompson, Wedgewood
Prospect Keeper - L Hughes(D)
IR - Hill(G)
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Re: The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
The problem with the Elliott/Allen timeshare was that neither could stay healthy long enough to run away with the job. Elliott would play well and then get hurt, and they were easing Allen into the role and then when it looked like he would take over he would get hurt.
I think it's Bishops crease, and unless he falters big time or has a major injury, Lethonen will be limited to 20 ish starts.
Re: The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
I would agree that Bishop will not be anointed the slam dunk #1. If Lehtonen outplays him, he'll get some lovin' from the Hitch.
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Re: The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
I can see Lehtonen getting his fair share of starts but he is easily behind Ben Bishop here. The only reason Lehtonen wasn't bought out by Dallas was simply because he was better than Niemi, but that's not saying much.
Yes, I think Hitch will help Lehtonen's numbers when he plays, but Lehtonen still isn't a great goalie making way too much money.
10 Team, Points Only, Cash League
25 Man Roster (no position), top 20 point getters count at end of month
Keep 20/25 at seasons end, Cut 5 to FA for redrafting
Goalie points W=2pt L=-1pt SHO=2pt
Stamkos, Tavares, Eichel, Mercer, JRobertson, RThomas, Kucherov, Nugent-Hopkins, Tuch, KConnor, Necas, Point, Konecny, SJarvis, Cozenz, Morrissey, Bouchard, Josi, Novak, Tolvanen, Peterka, Brink
G- Vasilevskiy, Sorokin, Oettinger
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Re: The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
Watched a lot of Hithcockayammy hockey... joking aside, it is a sound, responsible way to play and goalies are huge benefactors. Hitch is also like Boudreau by screwing with goalies that have more mental issues than the next goalie (yes they are all a bit nuts). I just have a bad feeling about this for Bishop. He gets the injury bug once and awhile, and that could derail his edge... Lettin-them-in will get his chances for certain, and with the team in some flux this year, I'd expect almost 30 starts from the back-up in Big D.
10 Team H2H Points (Keep 1C, 2W, 2D, 1G, & 1 non-goalie):
G,A,+/-, PIM, PPG, SHG, GWG, OTG, FOWs, Hits, Blks, Maj, Mis, (bonus scoring for D-men makes them comparable to Wing)
Wins, Saves, GA, Shutouts
18 Man Roster (3 IR slots) Daily Start: 2C, 4W, 4D, 2G
C: Zibanejad, Thomas, Tavares
W: Stutzle, Robertson, Connor, Buchnevich, McCann
D: Makar, McAvoy, Josi, Theodore, Matheson, Harley
G: Georgiev, Binnington, Kochetkov, Andersen (IR)
Re: The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
Do you guys think 35-37 wins for Bishop is pretty reasonable? I'm kinda hoping someone in my league hops on the Ben Bishop bandwagon and gives me a good offer since I already own Braden Holtby
Re: The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
I think Dallas has made some good moves in the off season and will come out swinging next season. If Bishop can start the season off reasonably well (doesn't tank) then I think he and Dallas will continue to improve and be a playoff team in 2018. I think 35-37 wins will definitely be within reach in that scenario. If Bishop falters badly however, and Lehtonen plays well in relief, Bishop may lose a considerable amount of starts and finish with around 30 wins. Just my 2 cents.Originally Posted by StuntMan12
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3-C 3-RW 3-LW 6-D 2-G
Forward 5-G 3-A 1.0 STP
D-Men 6-G 4-A 1.5 STP
.35 Shot .4 Hit .4 Block .1 FOW
Goalie 6.5 Win .25 Save -2.5 GA 2-SO
C- Larkin, Hischer, Horvat, R. Thomas
LW- Stamkos, Hyman, Kreider, Lehkonen,
RW- Laine, Marchessault, Toffoli. Buchnevich
D- Doughty, Burns, Letang, Andersson (IR), Faulk, Toews, Pionk, Petry
G- Vasilevskiy, Copley, Andersen
Re: The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
I think it's possible but I wouldn't take it to the bank. Methot will help the backend but the team as a whole has to play better defensive hockey if they are going to turn it around. I think Hitch can instill that.
10 Team, Points Only, Cash League
25 Man Roster (no position), top 20 point getters count at end of month
Keep 20/25 at seasons end, Cut 5 to FA for redrafting
Goalie points W=2pt L=-1pt SHO=2pt
Stamkos, Tavares, Eichel, Mercer, JRobertson, RThomas, Kucherov, Nugent-Hopkins, Tuch, KConnor, Necas, Point, Konecny, SJarvis, Cozenz, Morrissey, Bouchard, Josi, Novak, Tolvanen, Peterka, Brink
G- Vasilevskiy, Sorokin, Oettinger
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Re: The Hitchcock Effect: Bishop and Lethonen
I'm expecting them to disappoint early in the year. New system, lots of new pieces. I think they will have it figured out by Christmas, look out in the new year.
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