Penguins Season Grades: Goalies
Mike Adams | Report Cards
Jun 23, 12:28 PM | Hype this story!
Last week, we began our post-season evaluation of the Penguins with the forwards and defensemen. Today, it is the goalies’ turn under the microscope.
John Curry: C
By all rights, this could be an incomplete, as he only played in three games. He acquitted himself okay, winning two of them. He flopped around a lot, but seemed to make the saves somehow. I have my doubts about whether he’ll be an adequate backup to Marc-Andre Fleury, but he is likely to get that chance due to cap concerns. He might just be one of those guys who plays ugly but finds a way to get it done.
Marc-Andre Fleury: A-
Is he the new Grant Fuhr or Tom Barrasso? He was maddeningly inconsistent much of the year and even in the playoffs. But he found a way to win games, and that’s all you can ask of a goalie. I honestly thought he was better last year after the injury, but some of that might be due to the more wide open style of play under Coach B. No matter, his saves against Jeff Carter in Round 1, Alex Ovechkin in Round 2, and Nik Lidstrom in the Final were all series-changing saves. He has totally affirmed the organization’s faith in him.
Mathieu Garon: Incomplete
Acquired in mid-January, he started only three games the rest of the way. That was mostly because of Fleury’s solid play and the position the Pens were in. But a bit of it was also because he had a disastrous debut for the Pens against Toronto, and that gave the staff no reason to trust him in all those meaningful games. He did win his other two starts down the stretch though. But with a $1,000,000 cap hit, he’s a goner.
Dany Sabourin: D
For the second straight year, he was thrust into a starting role by a Fleury injury and could not handle it. Thankfully, Fleury was not out as long this season. But the Pens had seen enough and sent him packing to Edmonton, where he never played a game. Anybody know where he is now?
Coming next: Management
Comments
bag o' pucks
Jun 23, 01:09 PM
Sabourin finished the season in Springfield, Edmo’s AHL affiliate. He played in 13 games, went 5-6-2 with a 3.17gaa and a .904sv% (and an assist). He’s not a bad goalie, but it’s pretty clear he doesn’t have the consistency for NHL work. Maybe he’ll go looking for some Kontinental Kash this summer, or elsewhere in Europe for a bigger-than-AHL paycheck.
Missed opportunities. If he had just made a few more saves here or there he’d have his name on the Stanley Cup.
Dave
Jun 23, 01:12 PM
I’ve watched Curry quite a bit over the years and I liken hin to Tim Thomas. He’s not pretty but gets the job done somehow. He’s a battler and has a good head on his shoulders. The only thing I would worry about is he able to play well coming off the bench in a back up roll. That is very difficult to do and takes a certain type of person to stay focused and be ready.
Ben Schmidt
Jun 23, 01:41 PM
One thing I’ll be curious about is this:
Brad Thiessen was brought to Pittsburgh to practice with the team early on in the playoffs, and was there with them until the end. While I think the chances are stacked pretty well against him, I would be surprised if management didn’t give him a shot to compete for the backup spot in training camp. I think he’ll end up in the AHL, but going through that competition could be good for both him and Curry.
mike t
Jun 23, 02:09 PM
i think having Curry and Thiessen fight for the back-up position would be a good idea. I can also see them doing what they did with Conklin and sign a veteran to a two-way deal.
DS
Jun 23, 04:25 PM
Brad Thiessen is in the freaking formal team picture with all the trophies… XD (along with all the rest of the taxi squad, of course.) http://inthecreasewiththiess.wordpress.com
He seems quite happy about the whole experience! :D
I too thought MAF was better last year post-injury (and this was when we cavalierly let other teams outshoot us every game as routine gameplan…)
He was absolutely unconscious in Game 4 against Philly and if there was ever a save or two he had to make, he did it against Cleary, Zetterberg and Lidstrom…but he was just so solid last spring, with a degree of calm that I never felt this year.
And the less said about the puckhandling deteriorating…
I’m not sure whether it was Conklin and his influence specifically, or just being able to have that extended observation period to reflect and focus after he sprained his ankle, but I think (Cup notwithstanding) Fleury would definitely be helped by something that he had in 07-08 that he didn’t have this year, and Shero needs to take into account that a minor security blanket for your still-developing goalie isn’t too much to consider in light of your owners’ little $30+ million investment.
MAF clearly benefits from something more than he gets from Meloche and “Random Backup” alone.
Colin44
Jun 23, 05:46 PM
I don’t know if fleury was really that much better last year compared to the end of this year. His numbers from last March are comparable to this year’s stats from March. I think his numbers are better in the first 3 rounds of last year because of the quality of the opponents. Last year he faced shorthanded senators and flyers squads lacking some of their top guns (alfredsson and gagne) and the rangers. This year he faced an improved flyers team and the washington capitals in the first two rouands. Even Carolina was stronger offensively than any of those teams from last year.
ppirilla
Jun 23, 07:16 PM
The prolem with Dany Sabourin is that he’s a perfect backup, but a horrible insurance plan.
He is a great goalie when he starts one game in 5-10, or when he comes in midgame. But, give him a string of starts and he seems to collapse on himself.
Is it a conditioning problem; does he need rest between games? Is it nerves, faltering under the pressure of being ‘the man’? Is it something else entirely? I’m sure if I knew, I could make a ton of money selling the information to him.
Albert
Jun 23, 10:27 PM
i agree w/ many of the comments here.
fleury certainly seemed better last year (esp. in the playoffs) and so did his puckhandling. his save % WAS much better, but I do believe much of that can be attributed to the quality of the opposition.
the Flyers have one of the best sets of forwards in the league, Washington has perhaps the two best snipers in OA and Semin.
Last year, the Flyers were w/o Gagne, I think Briere was pretty banged up, and then they lost Timonen and Coburn and a lot of zip off their blueline (pity, i know). And Ottawa had a slew of injuries, was tanking, and limped into the playoffs almost knowing they were going to be put out of their misery.
thus, the comparison from last year, to this year, is extreme.
even w/ a lower save %, i think Fleury was more clutch this year (except, of course, game 5 of last year’s Final w/c was just plain sick).
DS
Jun 23, 10:37 PM
Colin, you’re right that Fleury was great this March as well (and robbed of a Star of the Month by Cam Ward) but was he a legitimate candidate for the Conn Smythe last year? Yes.
This year?? They were going to give it to Osgood if Detroit won. Osgood. Chris ——in’ Osgood. What he did to make people think he was Patrick Roy, I don’t know, but Fleury’s playoff stats this year are drastically the worst for a Cup-winning goalie since Barrasso (including Osgood’s “they won in spite of him” performance in 1998).
Granted, people say that Barrasso should have got the Smythe in ’92, but either the league has suddenly reverted to early 90s offense or Fleury was better last year, regardless of outcome. (I don’t think even he was too happy with his numbers against the Caps, offense argument or no offense argument.)
http://brodeurisafraud.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-pittsburgh-is-better-this-time.html
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