Reply With Quoteno offense, but I would eat shit if lehtonen plays 65-70 games...
You know your goalie stuff, but this is definitely not happen
or did you have a typo, and should it have read "lehtonen will watch 65-70 games from the press box"
Dirty 30 Weekend!
Since it’s Friday afternoon and I’m ahead of schedule in the actual “work” department, I figured I’d take the weekend to catch up on the fantasy goalie landscape by providing you with a quick and dirty look at all 30 NHL teams and their current situations in goal. I’ll ask a few questions and shed a little insight in sets of five through the weekend and culminate it on Monday morning at the end of School of Block!
I will update this post with each part as it's completed. No real time-frame except that the final 5 will be part of School of Block on Monday!
PART 1 of 6
ANAHEIM - I've seen a TON of Jonas Hiller vs. JS Giguere questions over the last week. This will most likely be my topic for School of Block on Monday, as everyone is curious who will play more and who will be the starter. I can tell you right now that Hiller is going to play at least 50 games next year. Giguere has a behemoth contract and needs to play as much as possible, but his game is slowly slipping away, while Hiller's is rapidly rising. What can Giguere do without Francois Allaire to refine his game before mid-September and who is his current goalie coach?
ATLANTA -The Thrashers have three goalies under contract and all of them are clinging to one-year deals. Will Ondrej Pavelec even entertain the notion of starting with the Chicago Wolves? If they are intending to keep Johan Hedberg around as a veteran backup, or is he going to be traded in order to give Pavelec what he wants? Either way, Kari Lehtonen, if healthy, will have the best statistical year of his career. I think he will be extremely close to 30 wins and stay relatively healthy by playing 65-70 games and post an above .500 win percentage.
no offense, but I would eat shit if lehtonen plays 65-70 games...
You know your goalie stuff, but this is definitely not happen
or did you have a typo, and should it have read "lehtonen will watch 65-70 games from the press box"
it's gonna happen dutchie!Originally Posted by Dutch
no offense, but I would eat shit if lehtonen plays 65-70 games...
You know your goalie stuff, but this is definitely not happen
or did you have a typo, and should it have read "lehtonen will watch 65-70 games from the press box"
Dutch, i wish i had the ability to give out rep power because that just made me laugh out loud
12 team keeper, 8 keepers, Points only(1 point G/A, 2W+3SO)
$65M salary cap 12F 6D 2G active roster
LOL. No typo. Everyone knows that when Lehtonen is 100% HEALTHY he's one of the best goalies in the game. Every year he plays, he gets less desperate and that helps him stay healthy. I'm not saying there's no way he's going to be injured, I'm just saying that you shouldn't rule out his capabilities completely just because he's injury prone. He was the best goalie in the NHL besides Ward in March. He could do that every month if he stopped getting hurt.
its called 2Dutches1Cupno offense, but I would eat shit if lehtonen plays 65-70 games...
You know your goalie stuff, but this is definitely not happen
or did you have a typo, and should it have read "lehtonen will watch 65-70 games from the press box"
I'm of the very foolish notion that we'll be seeing Lehtonen dressed at all World competitions for the next 10 years, providing he's healthy (yeah right - he tweaks his groin crawling out of bed) and available. He's a top 15 tender in the world, when he's healthy (so about 6 weeks a year). He and Rick Dipietro have this unique status. It's going to cost them millions of dollars (maybe not Dipietro) and seats in the Hall-of-Fame. No doubt in my mind that Atlanta wants Lehtonen to play 65 games this coming year. It would leave them looking for a playoff spot until late in the year.
that's right, the odds of lehtonen playing 65+ games are slim to none, so I am not worried about having a nice cup of warm shit hahaits called 2Dutches1Cup
i honestly can't see it happen. not in a million years.
I can not wait to revisit this post next year....
If somehow the hockey god's feel like teaching Dutch a lesson... Warm up the cup'o'crap or witness Dutch go Tanya Harding on Lehtonen after game 64.
PS - I agree with the sentiment Dutch, but maybe you should pick another item to eat if you are ever wrong... just a suggestion.
It's really easy to feel strongly that Lehtonen will once again get hurt and not get anywhere close to 65 games.
But I have stuck to my guns for two seasons that Lehtonen is sooner or later going to play a full season without being seriously injured. And you'd be a fool not to think that when he's healthy, he's one of the best. We have seen it in stretches.
There's a pretty good chance Lehtonen actually stays healthy without any serious injury keeping him out of the lineup more than a few games. There's a pretty good chance he'll find some way to get on the IR.
I remember last year my BOLD PREDICTION was Lehtonen winning 40 games HA HA HA. For some reason I just feel very strongly that he is going to break out ... and blow people away. I dunno...just my gut feeling that he will stay healthy and have a career year.
Either that or I'm drinking too many cups o' crap, right Dutch??HAHA.
Whoops forgot the other 3 teams lol I just noticed it sorry
BOSTON -Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask’s contracts are structured in such a way that the Bruins can entertain a smooth and steady role exchange in three more seasons. Thomas makes $6 mil the next two years and then makes $5 mil in the 2011-12 season and then $3 mil in the final year. Rask is a RFA after this season, which ends his bonus-laden entry level contract. I see Rask easily taking the backup role this year from Dany Sabourin and never looking back. Each year his value (and minutes) will steadily rise and after two seasons as a blossoming backup, he will have the chance to dethrone Thomas, who will be writing the final chapter of a very storied career. I see a 65-17 split in workload for the upcoming season and Rask’s first career shutout will comes against the Maple Leafs (ha!).
BUFFALO -Ryan Miller is expected to have a ”bounce-back” season and I feel he will respond in fine fashion. In fact, I would hardly consider Miller’s woes last season as something directly related to his game. I think there were a lot of outside forces and influences affecting his actual stats. That being said, expect Miller to be one of the season’s top workhorses, playing around 70 games. Lalime will be inconsistent as the backup because he is a streaky goalie that needs consistent minutes in order to perform at his best. Jhonas Enroth is still considered a top-flight prospect in my books but has slipped just slightly because of his smaller frame. Regardless, he is right in the middle of his entry-level contract, so Buffalo will be content to ride out Lalime’s contract while letting Enroth gain more AHL experience.
CAROLINA- This is probably one of the easiest situations to read. Cam Ward was incredible in the second half of last season and has high expectations to deliver similar results this season. Unlike previous scouting reports, you’ll notice the word consistent a lot more. Thanks to the hard work of Tom Barrasso, Ward is going to stay solid and continue to post great long-term numbers. There will be ups and downs, but nothing that should lead you to believe Michael Leighton is going to play 25 games. I see Ward starting around 62 total and Leighton getting the rest. Beware, Ward always seems to start off a little slow, but post his strongest months when it matters, in February and March.
well let's just say
I used to have lehtonen on my team for waaaaaayyy too long! I finally got rid of him last year, and I will NEVER own him again, even if he posts 200 pts a season. Maybe that's why I am so pessimisticI am very frustrated with him, and I don't like what Atlanta looks like either.
Hope youre right man, I really don't wanna have a shit slurpee, but I think I am safe on the bet
If I owned Lehtonen, I would feel the same way you do. He is a heartbreaker...so good but so fragile. Stumblebum Hamburgler.
I might take a gamble on him in one of my leagues this season, but it will depend on where I sit in the draft order. I like to take chances because there are so many unknowns in goaltending, there's a lot of 3rd-string goalies that will get a chance, as always. So I like to get an elite goalie right away, then don't pick another goalie until the later rounds.
I pose this question to you and all Lehtonen owners:
Would Atlanta be better off having Lehtonen and Pavelec just split the season right down the middle? I mean, shouldn't they preserve Lehtonen and try to cover their bases on keeping him healthy by just not playing him nearly as much as they want?
EXAMPLE:
TANDEM A PROJECTIONS:
Lehtonen ... 58 GP
Moose ... 24 GP
TANDEM B PROJECTIONS:
Lehtonen ... 41 GP
Pavelec ... 41 GP
Which one is more effective? I definitely would go with Tandem B.
Maybe instead of saying Lehtonen could start 65 games, it could be that he's PROJECTED to play that many if he stays healthy.
I would like to see Hedberg moved to the Islanders (hahaha) and then Lehtonen split time with Pavelec. You make Pavelec happy by giving him plenty of playing time (which I feel he needs and deserves) and you get to keep Lehtonen from over-working himself...thus lowering his injury proneness.
Just random thought anyways...interesting dynamic on both tandems...love this stuff!!
I lived in ATL and still travel there for business so I see alotta games, I think Pavlec is a better goalie than Kari...I think you folks who are still clinging to dreams of greatness are ignoring the Kenny Rogers adage 'know when to fold em'. He's a perrenial bust on a shitty team, face it.
True, Lehtonen could totally be another bust next year ... but I'll be damned if I let people think Pavelec is "better" than him!!! HAHA.
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