Scott Darling

[Starvin Marvin]

Hey guys,

I'm wondering your thoughts on Darling. Is he as bad as last year or does he get much better now that Carolina has brought in better defenders? I personally think he could be a surprise this season based on how the Hurricanes are looking so far.

Cheers

[RizzeeDizzee]

All we know is supposedly he put in a lot of offseason conditioning work, plus they didn't bring in a true #1 in Mrazek, so they seem prepared for him to seize the reigns. Perhaps he does so, perhaps not. I'd tread lightly.

[Eskimo Brother]

I don't think he can get worse than last year, but view it as something similar to what you got out of Jimmy Howard last season being pushed by the same Petr Mrazek.

[BranDOOM]

He might be worth a flier as a late round option. I think either he or Mrazek could take the job and run with it, hard to say, especially with new ownership seemingly having a major hand in decisions now. If its true that he has been working really hard, I think he could bounce back, but still likely average stats at best.

[HonkyTonkMan]

Low risk if drafted low enough. Worth a flyer but shouldn't be banking on a total bounce back

[Poutine]

If its true that he has been working really hard, I think he could bounce back, but still likely average stats at best.

I agree with this. Average stats this year would be exceeding most expectations so you have to be careful what him 'bouncing back' looks like.

To me, the X factor is how Brind'Amour runs his team in front of Darling/Mrazek. Bill Peters has had a negative impact on a few goalies in his career (I heard this on the Hockey PDOcast but can't remember the examples, sorry).

[pmorrow]

I don't expect him to improve much in wins or starts, but surely he will be able to improve in sv% and GAA. .888 isn't much of a bar to get over. I have a feeling he will be somewhere between .895 and .905. A new coach and reports that he's changed his offseason routine gives a glimmer of hope.

[parky777]

Hey guys,

I'm wondering your thoughts on Darling. Is he as bad as last year or does he get much better now that Carolina has brought in better defenders? I personally think he could be a surprise this season based on how the Hurricanes are looking so far.

Cheers

Well, he certainly was a surprise last year all right...just not in a good way. It’s hard to know which “version” you are going to get.

[DocMcPuffin]

I don't see it getting that much better. Small improvement over last season but I don't think it'll be significant. Even if the D improved, is it good enough to take some pressure off? I doubt it. Also, when you have an owner that meddles in hockey related affairs too much, the team as a whole seems to suffer. Ottawa and Vancouver come to mind. If this new owner can't manage to let the GM do his job, I think we see a pretty bad product on the ice. Players won't want to deal with that. I know they say they leave the business side to the Owner and GM, but really, how much of that is true?

[Dave Muir]

I think the Hurricane will be a good team fighting for a playoff spot all year long. So yes, I assume Darling will get a lot of start and many (25-30) wins. But, he will be on a very short leash, so he will have to get a good start for that. If not, he will probably share the net with Mzarek.

[Starvin Marvin]

Thanks for the responses!

Going to ride him out if Schneider misses the first week or two


Cheers

[stevegamer]

I think he'll improve, but Mrazek could easily take that job & run with it if he gets hot. He had some very good years in Detroit.