Pascal Leclaire
Does anybody think he can steal the job back from Elliot now that he's healthy or is he waiver wire garbage at this point?
I definitely think he is capable of stealing the job back. Elliott has a history of handing the job back to Leclaire. Having gained experience over the years Elliott may be more resistant to Leclaire's efforts.
It really depends on what options are available to you on waivers if were to drop Leclaire.
History? I wouldn't say that. Elliott faltered in the playoffs last year and they went with Leclaire the last few games. But it was Elliott's first playoffs experience in professional level. Other than Elliott has never handed the job back to Leclaire. Ottawa started last year and this year with Leclaire only because he's the high paid goalie and they wanted him to succeed. But I would think they've now realised it's not going to happen and Elliott is their man.Originally Posted by metaldude26
Brian Elliott is simply a winner. He's not as flashy or skilled goaltender as Leclaire but Elliott knows how to win. His mental game is a lot better and he's not injury prone like Leclaire is. He's still a young goalie and needs more consistency but he's getting better all the time. Elliott's record in NHL speaks for itself: 53-30-7.
Leclaire won't steal the job back. He had his chances and blew it by getting injured once again.
From watching Elliott play a lot his skill set isn't much better than Gerber's. Leclaire though is a mess and I do hope there is a plan to nab another goalie this offseason as Leclaire's contract is expiring and there could be some good options. Getting back on topic I'm sure he'll be given some rope to take back the number 1 job so it's not set in stone Elliott will be the starter all year long.
Okay... well last season, the first time Leclaire got hurt Elliott stepped in and played well at first, then shit the bed going 4-7 in December so that when Leclaire came back the job was handed to Leclaire. Leclaire of course shit his own bed and then proceeded to get hurt again but the point being for 2-3 weeks Leclaire had the job. Elliott did again crap out in the playoffs.
So that was twice last season. I'm interested to see what shakes out with Leclaire's return. If Elliott can fend off a healthy Leclaire then he's in the clear but that remains to be seen so Leclaire does still have value. And as I indicated in my original post the merit of dropping Leclaire depends on what's available on the wire.
It's pretty much Elliott's job to lose now. He is Clouston's guy (he prefers him over Leclaire by a wide margin), and he just wins. Leclaire was playing extremely well before he got hurt and I think he would have been the starter today if that didn't happen, but Elliott has now taken the ball and run with it. I'm not a fan of Elliott but he just wins and the team plays better in front of him than they do when Leclaire is in nets.
It's looking like it will be very hard for Leclaire to get a solid contract with any team next year. It's never his fault that he gets injured and can't get into a solid rythym, though.
Oh I do think it is his fault but I do still think he's a threat and he'll need to be to get that contract you mention Ev. I know the resident goalie expert Justin Goldman has mentioned that Leclaire's lack of positioning and reliance on athleticism is the reason for his injuries. I've also seen him make bone headed plays like catch a puck with his blocker hand only to injury it.
Well I wouldn't say Elliott handed the job back to Leclaire then. Elliott had won 4 of the last 9 games and had 2 shutouts during that time before they went back to Leclaire. He didn't exactly shit the bed in my books. Leclaire was their golden boy and highly paid goalie who they had just acquired the same year. It was pretty much guaranteed they'd go back to Leclaire when he returned after his injury. It was Leclaire who shit the bed then after gotten chance to prove himself once again.
I see many Sens fans saying this but I don't really get it. If anything Clouston has shown willingness to give Leclaire every chance to take over the #1 spot.
- Last year Leclaire started as the undisputed #1 goalie before he got injured.
- He got the job back pretty much as soon as he got healthy. And lost the job by getting injured again. By the time he returned there was no point in going back to him as Elliott was in the middle of his long winning streak and was playing very good hockey.
- This year they started the season with Leclaire as the undisputed #1 goalie though he didn't really outplay Elliott during the preseason (both were pretty bad during the preseason).
There's a reason why Clouston trusts Elliott - he simply gets the wins and Leclaire can't be trusted. Everytime he's gotten the chance he blows it by losing the games until he gets injured. But still they always goes back to him at some point. They want him to succeed but I would think by now they've realised it's not going to happen. So I wouldn't say Clouston prefers Elliott over Leclaire by a wide margin. To me it's been the other way around when you look at how many chances Leclaire's got.
Last edited by Carcillo; November 9, 2010 at 5:34 AM.
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