Sabresfansince1980 wrote:
With a goalie making over 6 mil and now in a stage of starting 65 games a year, there is no justification to pay a back-up over 1 mil a season. There are six teams paying two goalies over 1 mil...
NJ - just signed Hedberg to 1.5 mil because Broduer is about done his worload needs to be reduced
Tor - Gustavsson at 1.350 mil because he's actually the starter while over-paid Giggy splits time
StL - Conklin at 1.3 was getting good minutes but now they have Halak
Col - Budaj at 1.250 mil was also getting good minutes until Anderson was signed last summer
Bos - Rask at 1.250 mil is the real starter while Thomas eats cap space
Fla - Clemmensen at 1.200 mil playing behind Vokoun
Only Florida is a scenario where an established starter was playing well and the team decided to bolster it's back-up position anyway. Broduer clearly is wearing down, Gustavsson was signed before Giggy, same for Conklin and Budaj, and Thomas is being shopped. The rest of the league doesn't put more than 4-5 million into it's goalie position, but Darcy should spend more than 7 million??? Why spend more than 1 mil on a back-up that won't play more than 17 games, especially when the real problem is the play in front of him?!? I get it that people just don't like Lalime, but there's not a better option for under 1 mil, and there usually isn't no matter what off-season it is.
This is another good post.
A little off topic but my philosophy when it comes to goal tending is simple: KEEP THEM MOTIVATED. Every year, young upstart goalies that were drafted late in the first round, or more commonly in the 5th or later rounds prove to be as good or better then the vast majority of the elite stars of the position. You got your Rask, Halak, and on and on. If I were a GM I would NEVER pay a goalie more than 2 million a year no matter who he is. There's just too much riding on one mans wills and whims. I want my goalies with something to prove, focused, competing with each other to make a name for themselves.
Take Howard for example. The Red Wings are getting him for another year at 717k because he was drafted in the 5th round. Entry level contracts are 3 years long, so unless you're drafted way up in the 1st round you're only going to get around 1 million/year with bonuses included.
Then there's the Canadians. Right idea, but their timing was off. The Habs have always had a pretty good eye for goalies, and Price and Halak are about the same. Personally, I think Halak's rebound control is like a recovering cocaine addict with a live hand grenade. And Price's positioning looks like he is about 2 hours behind the play. But they have some talent, they are young, affordable, and most importantly motivated. Halek won the job and they got A LOT out of him. Now that it's time to collect they got even more via a very shrewd trade. The only problem is that Price is also up for his RFA deal. The best way to do it is to stagger it by 2 years. And keep bringing in the "next one".
It's not that they aren't out there, and it's not like they can't be found with low draft picks-hell even Miller was a 5th rounder! The hard part is finding one EVERY year (or at least every other year). if you miss finding one for too long, the whole thing gets thrown out of whack. Some teams just know how to find them, San Jose, Buffalo, Montreal, etc. But most make the mistake of KEEPING them.
Ironically Miller is perhaps the only elite goalie in hockey not even making what he's worth. Most of the big named goalies are over paid.
My thinking is that when you have that inward struggle, you bring out the best in your goalies AND-since they aren't making much you can keep making roster moves without crushing your cap numbers. Take the 2-7 million in savings each year and pay an all-star defense men.
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