Best Article I've Seen On THW

[4T2]

I've been pretty vocal on these boards of my opinion on many THW articles and the sensationalism they use to get clicks. So I figured it is time to give them some credit after stumbling across the most well written article I've seen on their site.

The Ryan Miller Effect by Franklin Steele

It didn't use an over the top headline to get views. It didn't overplay the angle of Ryan Miller transforming the Blues into a contender (they already had that status). It simply stated it's premise, provided solid examples and solid facts without editorializing. All in all, it was a very solid read.

I'll definitely be checking out future articles by this particular writer (and others). Again, like I said, I've been a little hard on some of the articles I have seen on this site. But THW has came a long way since I last checked it out when it first started up. I hope you guys continue to produce gems like this article and replace some of the sensationalist buzzfeed-style articles that have plagued THW in the past. Keep em coming

[Pengwin7]

Not a bad article, not great either.
I think the move to go with Miller was more of a "lockerroom" decision.

There had been a little friction with the Blues & Halak.
And the Blues are a very "gritty" North-American flavored team.

There are cases where the vocal Euro-goalie works well... and cases where he does not.
Halak with the North-American flavored Blues reminds me of the experiment of Bryzgalov with the North-American flavored Flyers... perhaps it just doesn't work.

None of us are privy to "lockerroom" chemistry.
But obviously it plays a big part in overall team drive.

The Flyers had to part with Carter/M.Richards - and in the long-run, I think that was key for their lockerroom.

With goalies, there is often a "fit" between them and the team that is as important as the goalie's skill.
Steve Mason "fits" with the Flyers.
Chris Osgood "fit" with the Red Wings.
There was a point when Patrick Roy no longer "fit" with the Canadiens but did "fit" with the Avs.


But the article suggests that Miller's "compete level" is higher than Halak's... and I don't believe that is true.
Halak wants to win just as much as Miller.

And there are more flaws in the article:
Author says: It’s not difficult to look at Miller’s stats and understand that he is an upgrade over Halak when it comes to save percentage and GAA.

Miller has a career 2.58 GAA & .916 sv%. Post-season 25-22, 2.47 GAA & .917 sv%.
Halak has a career 2.36 GAA & .917 sv%. Post-season 23-21, 2.42 GAA & .923 sv%.

So Halak has better career regular season numbers & post-season numbers.
I suppose the author must then be pointing to Miller's 8-game numbers as a member of the Blues.

In those 8 games, 5 are against non-playoff teams (NASx2, EDM, WPG, DAL) & 3 are against playoff teams (TB w/o Stamkos, PHX, COL).
And yes - in those 8 games Miller has a nice 1.61GAA & .933sv%... but you could pick a stretch of STL games for Halak (say Nov 9th - Nov 27th) where Halak's stats were similar (6-1-1) in that span.

I don't know... it was a good read, but I'd argue that it was an average article, at best.

[ASquared]

Classy post, 4T2. A nice gesture to give recognition where you see it due.