Fantasy Mailbag - October 11

[GoalieGuild]

Fantasy Mailbag for October 11 - the first one of the regular season! Already tons of impressive goaltending performances ... and some not so impressive. Let 'er rip, boys and girls!

[Drgreen]

who do you like more for this year.

Wins, GAA, SV%, and SO are the cats.

Thanks in advance.

[jayz16]

What's up with Turco? Is it him or is the team mediocre as well?

And what do you see for Bernier? Should I be excited for him this year or next?

Thanks!!

[GoalieGuild]

who do you like more for this year.

Wins, GAA, SV%, and SO are the cats.

Thanks in advance.

Niemi looked fairly decent in his first game over the weekend. I think he'll post better GAA and save percentage for sure, very close in wins and shutouts compared to Hiller.

Hiller is looking like he will play more games, so the edge in wins and shutouts could go to him. But the defense in front of him is very weak to start the season. He literally needs to pull a Craig Anderson if the Ducks are going to make the playoffs...or they need to bring in someone to help out on the defensive end. Not sure how much Lilja helps out.

[GoalieGuild]

What's up with Turco? Is it him or is the team mediocre as well?

And what do you see for Bernier? Should I be excited for him this year or next?

Thanks!!

I live scouted the Avs/Hawks game. Turco literally kept the Hawks in the game in the first period. He was very scrambly as the game went on, but looked very comfortable in his first road game with the Hawks.

People will say his game against Detroit was sub-par but I don't agree with that. The game-winning goal by Filppula? Yeah, it's kind of hard to stop a puck when a defenseman is sliding to block a shot right in front of you and it goes through him. It looked like a weak goal on Turco but a goalie is taught to stand up when a defenseman slides to block a low shot. It snuck through him ... it was a tough bounce.

Last year, Turco lost his first three starts in OT. This year, he lost one in OT and the Wings game was another one-goal loss.

So to answer your question ... I don't think anything is up with him. I think he's the exact same as last year. A little too hyperactive and lacking the timely saves. He's very acrobatic and an amazing skater and puck-moving goalie, but he still needs to focus less on the secondary and tertiary elements of goaltending and focus more on controlling his rebounds and conserving his energy.

I see many good things for Bernier this year and next. He was very good against the Flames last night but made a few mistakes, most notably the poke check that led to the first goal against. He can get away with that in the AHL, but NOT in the NHL. Poke checking players that have full possession of the puck on a rush ... not a good idea. He tried it again in the third period against Iginla and almost got burned again.

Too early to tell how many starts he gets, but I'll stick to my summer predicitions that say he gets a few more than Quick.

[Raja]

Do you really think Greiss makes it through waivers? Kind of an odd question, but based on SJ's situation again, do you think he could be come Kipper 2.0?

[ross10019]

Another "platoon" question, this time on the Ottawa situation.

Leclaire looked good in the first 2 games and Clouston's comments indicate that they really want to see him take the no 1 reins and succeed. I know you fear an injury (can't blame you given his history), but let's say he goes injury-free, do you think he can return to the excellent numbers he had a couple of years back in Columbus?

Regarding Hiller, pre-season predictions bang on, he's been good it seems but has been shelled (43 and then 49 SOG). Have you seen his play and can you give us an idea of how he's doing technically?

[GoalieGuild]

Do you really think Greiss makes it through waivers? Kind of an odd question, but based on SJ's situation again, do you think he could be come Kipper 2.0?

Tough question. Unfortunately, as you are correct in the sense that he could easily be Kipper 2.0, I don't think anyone grabs him. If Rinne's injury was more serious, maybe the Predators had a perfect chance to snag him. But it seems as if every NHL team is comfortable with their goaltending. It would have been great to see him in Washington with Neuvirth, but Sabourin was signed for a reason and might even start tonight. Plus Varlamov is very close to coming back.

[Krags]

1. What is the chance that Lehner comes up this year if the Ottawa tandem struggles?

2. For the leage in my signature: I feel like I'm set in goal for a long time, but someone has offered me Hiller and E. Kane for Rask. I'm not a big fan of Hiller this year, but Kane has stud potential in a league with Hits and PIMs. Should I even consider this?

Thanks!

[GoalieGuild]

Another "platoon" question, this time on the Ottawa situation.

Leclaire looked good in the first 2 games and Clouston's comments indicate that they really want to see him take the no 1 reins and succeed. I know you fear an injury (can't blame you given his history), but let's say he goes injury-free, do you think he can return to the excellent numbers he had a couple of years back in Columbus?

Regarding Hiller, pre-season predictions bang on, he's been good it seems but has been shelled (43 and then 49 SOG). Have you seen his play and can you give us an idea of how he's doing technically?

I don't see Leclaire ever returning to those Columbus numbers. The defense was too good in front of him and Hitch's system was too sharp. Leclaire was able to get away with his spazzy hyperactive style back then because he was healthier and younger, but today's NHL is too good. He simply has to refine and enhance the way he plays. I talk about it often ... goalies have to evolve every summer. They can't just rely on the same exact mechanics. Brodeur is a perfect example. He has to do something, otherwise this year is going to be brutal and he'll retire over the summer. Osgood did an unbelievable job of refining his mechanics during the lockout and look at what that did for his career. He could have been out of the NHL in 2006 and instead he won a cup in 2008 and in his f irst game against Chicago he looked EXACTLY like he did in 2008 Playoffs ... playing way above the blue paint, making smart decisions and making early saves. Osgood refined himself, extended his career. Brodeur hasn't and he's looked brutal through two games.

Time for Leclaire to make some serious adjustments. It's annoying because I thought they brought in a new goalie coach for that exact reason. But Leclaire looks exactly the same.


Jonas Hiller has looked "solid" in his first two games. I did not get to watch either one so I am only going off highlights. It looked like on a few goals he dropped too early. I don't want to speculate, so now that I'm back in town (I've been house sitting for the last 10 days) I'll be watching all games and get caught up.

I think Hiller will slowly get more comfortable facing 40 shots a game. He's still a raw talent. This year might not be great in the GAA and Save % department, or wins for that matter, but imagine how this year might help him be a stud for next year, especially when the Ducks improve their defense in front of him.

[lektrix]

I should have followed my own gut feeling and your wonderful advice and traded Leighton last week (for Tim Thomas) but didn't...Thomas gets a SHO and Leights' IRed until December/January. Great.....I did manage to pick up Bob though after placing Leights on IR.

How should I proceed in the next 2-3 months?

Try to desperately trade Leights/Bob again or hold onto 'em hoping they reward me in 2011?

I need to desperately upgrade my F positions, but probably can't do so unless I unload a goalie.

Thanks.

[Big Ev]

For the team in my sig, how the heck can I fit Bernier in my lineup? I feel that I NEED to handcuff Quick, but I just don't see how I can fit Bernier in...any suggestions?

[GoalieGuild]

1. What is the chance that Lehner comes up this year if the Ottawa tandem struggles?

2. For the leage in my signature: I feel like I'm set in goal for a long time, but someone has offered me Hiller and E. Kane for Rask. I'm not a big fan of Hiller this year, but Kane has stud potential in a league with Hits and PIMs. Should I even consider this?

Thanks!

1. If the tandem REALLY struggles ... and I mean they both play like peg leg pirates with one finger on each hand, there's a 75% chance Lehner comes up. Some people in the front office already publicly feel he's NHL ready. That's not true, he needs AHL conditioning, but his BODY FRAME and net presence is NHL legit. I think a lot of GM's and coaches get those two things confused.

2. I would not make that trade. You have Thomas as well. So you have both Boston goalies. Considering how the first two games have gone, I would love to have that tandem. I don't mean to avoid going in-depth about this one but it's very tough for me to dissect potential trades with forwards involved because that's simply not my area of expertise. So take what I said about having the Bruins tandem and make a choice. As much as Hiller is an elite goalie, not even Ryan Miller would put the Ducks in the playoffs the way they are playing in front of him.

[zedtech]

1. What are your thoughts on Rask/Thomas? (Starting split, who gets more starts).

2. Chris Mason, officially the bonafide #1 all season now?

3. Kings' situation - is it a 70/30 split for Quick barring injuries?

Thanks!

[GoalieGuild]

I should have followed my own gut feeling and your wonderful advice and traded Leighton last week (for Tim Thomas) but didn't...Thomas gets a SHO and Leights' IRed until December/January. Great.....I did manage to pick up Bob though after placing Leights on IR.

How should I proceed in the next 2-3 months?

Try to desperately trade Leights/Bob again or hold onto 'em hoping they reward me in 2011?

I need to desperately upgrade my F positions, but probably can't do so unless I unload a goalie.

Thanks.

Proceed like you normally would. Thomas is the underdog again and he's going to play very well. I'm a little frustrated with myself for not seeing this coming, but I still think Rask gets way more games over the course of the season. A lot, like I explained in School of Block, literally comes down to each and every save and each coaching decision made on who to start. Not even Nostradamus could predict how that would work out. But personally I should have known that 1. Thomas was going to be fully healthy 2. Thomas was going to get an early start. 3. He's the underdog and therefore motivated more than ever. The dude just works extremely hard.

Unload Leighton. Keep Bobrovsky, he's going to stick with the team for probably the entire season. When Leighton comes back, if he doesn't do well, he'll be traded or waived.

What I heard is that Holmgren is NOT happy about the Leighton injury. Over the summer, during the contract negotiations, even though Leighton had been feeling some issues with his back, it never came up during negotiations and something could have been done over the summer to prevent what happened to him in the pre-season. So I think Leighton is on Holmgren's shit list. And despite going to the Cup finals, he's expendable ... just like Niemi was.

Hate to say it, but Leighton's entire season from a fantasy perspective is very much in doubt. If Bobrovsky gets better (up high) he will be an NHL goalie for the whole year and be the Antti Niemi of last year in regards to fantasy sleepers.