In Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers' only preseason start so far this season he looked impressive. On the front page of The Edmonton Journal it read something like, Oilers goalie puts together star performance. He has yet to play a single second of a regular season NHL game but I firmly believe he's a legit backup. Roloson and his $3.66M cap hit is unattractive not only to us but to every other team in the league.
But after Deslauriers' impressive preseason performance, I started thinking, is Deslauriers better than Roloson?
He is the future of Oilers goaltending (with Devan Dubnyk) but many dub him has a career backup. He's only 24 years-old and I'm sold that he's already a backup. So if he continues to grow, he could become a legit starter once Garon doesn't have any gas left in the tank.
Roloson is the past of Oilers goaltending. He lead the Oilers to a Cup Finals appearance but hasn't done much since. He could barely hold a 0.900 save percentage last season.
Deslauriers was put behind a terrible Falcons defense last season and took tonnes of shots. He always comes out of the gate fast but he always seems to wear down. As a backup he's not gonna have to play as many games and he can play the way he does at the beginning of each season for a full season with the Oilers.
Roloson was put behind a terrible Oilers defense in 2006-07 but this season, Garon proved that he was better than Roloson.
So who is the better goalie?
I truly believe that Deslauriers will have a higher save percentage (in around the same number of games as Roloson) but Roloson could win more games.
Roloson is a game-breaker. When we really need to win, Roli can turn it on and deliver a 35 save shutout. But if we don't really need to win, he lets in 4 goals on 25 shots. Because not only did he take us, the Oilers to the Cup Finals but he also led a mediocre Minnesota Wild team to the Conference Championships a little while back. He would be a great pickup at the deadline for a lot of teams that are looking to go far in the playoffs.
But in my opinion, Roloson needs to show up every night, and he's failed to do so. Therefore, Deslauriers should rightfully take his spot in the Oilers lineup. It's about time we developed a goaltender rather than just signing a backup and hoping he works out or trading for a mediocre goaltender and hope he works out.
Since the Tommy Salo era (pre-2002 Olympics), we haven't had a legit #1 guy until Garon. We don't want to have to keep giving up assets to get goaltenders, so we might as well give Deslauriers a chance to develop.
Right now, if I'm the Oilers, Roloson is as good as gone. He should be sitting in the press box on MOST nights. But that's just my opinion.
Showing posts with label 3 goalies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 3 goalies. Show all posts
27.9.08
Is the Penner-Pisani-Moreau Line Really Working?
To me, this line isn't really working. They don't have a real center and they just don't have chemistry together. I would much rather see someone else in the middle and move Moreau down to the fourth line.
As I said earlier, we could turn this third line into an offensive line by adding Rob Schremp into the mix.
Penner-Schremp-Pisani
Their obvious weakness would be speed but it would be an okay offensive threat. If you inserted Pouliot or Potulny into the center position it could be used as a checking line with okay offense.
But Penner-Pisani-Moreau is a little bit of a mismatch. Pisani is a decent grinder that could potentially score 20 goals. Penner is a big guy and can be an offensive threat IF he's put with the right players. And Moreau is a good energy player that can be an effective checker.
In my opinion, Penner is almost useless if he doesn't have a good playmaker.
So, here is what I hope will happen. MacT will have to split up the Kid Line at some point in time. Penner and Gagner already had chemistry from the powerplay. It seems reasonable that a Penner-Gagner-Nilsson line could be a legit scoring threat. And a Cogliano-Brodziak-Pisani line could be a legit checking line which can pitch in a goal here and there.
As I have said before, I see no reason to split up Penner from Horcoff and Hemsky because of their chemistry. In my perfect world as of right now, MacT would ice this lineup on opening night:
Cole-Horcoff-Hemsky
Penner-Gagner-Nilsson
Cogliano-Brodziak-Pisani
Moreau-Pouliot/Brule-Stortini/Pouliot/Potulny
Brule/Potulny/Pouliot (only one of them)
Souray-Staios
Visnovsky-Smid
Gilbert-Grebeshkov
Strudwick
Garon
Roloson
Deslauriers
Brule should be sent down to make room for three goaltenders as he does not have to clear waivers. But we will see what MacTavish and Tambellinni decide to do.
As I said earlier, we could turn this third line into an offensive line by adding Rob Schremp into the mix.
Penner-Schremp-Pisani
Their obvious weakness would be speed but it would be an okay offensive threat. If you inserted Pouliot or Potulny into the center position it could be used as a checking line with okay offense.
But Penner-Pisani-Moreau is a little bit of a mismatch. Pisani is a decent grinder that could potentially score 20 goals. Penner is a big guy and can be an offensive threat IF he's put with the right players. And Moreau is a good energy player that can be an effective checker.
In my opinion, Penner is almost useless if he doesn't have a good playmaker.
So, here is what I hope will happen. MacT will have to split up the Kid Line at some point in time. Penner and Gagner already had chemistry from the powerplay. It seems reasonable that a Penner-Gagner-Nilsson line could be a legit scoring threat. And a Cogliano-Brodziak-Pisani line could be a legit checking line which can pitch in a goal here and there.
As I have said before, I see no reason to split up Penner from Horcoff and Hemsky because of their chemistry. In my perfect world as of right now, MacT would ice this lineup on opening night:
Cole-Horcoff-Hemsky
Penner-Gagner-Nilsson
Cogliano-Brodziak-Pisani
Moreau-Pouliot/Brule-Stortini/Pouliot/Potulny
Brule/Potulny/Pouliot (only one of them)
Souray-Staios
Visnovsky-Smid
Gilbert-Grebeshkov
Strudwick
Garon
Roloson
Deslauriers
Brule should be sent down to make room for three goaltenders as he does not have to clear waivers. But we will see what MacTavish and Tambellinni decide to do.
21.9.08
Would Deslauriers Really Clear Waivers?
I have been discussing how the three goalie system could work against players such as Rob Schremp and Gilbert Brule. It could also work against the Oilers. Marc Pouliot or Ryan Potulny could get outperformed in camp. They would respectively be 13/14 on the Oilers depth chart, but would have to get sent down to the minors through waivers, and possibly get claimed. We have invested 4 years of development in Jeff Deslauriers, we will not give him up for nothing. But do teams really want him?
He has yet to play a single second in the NHL. He wasn't THE BEST goalie in the AHL, although he was up there. JDD got a huge workload in the AHL, but just sitting him up with the big club could really hurt his development.
We really do have a goaltender controversy now. It's not like in 2005 where it was, Conklin or Markkanen. It's who's going to be the backup. The old experienced veteran, or the new kid on the block.
I'm obviously not a GM so I would have no clue if JDD would clear waivers. But I really think he would. He's on a one-way deal and hasn't proven that he is better than any other backup in the NHL.
So what do we do? We have to trade one of JDD or Roloson. For me, it would be Roloson. This year, could be a good year for rebuilding. We could have a lot more prospects develop in the NHL, and in 2-3 years prove to be contenders. But is their a market for Roloson? Doubt it. In an ideal situation we would trade one of them for a draft pick and life goes on.
The Oilers need to waive Roloson. Hopefully he gets claimed by LA in hopes they can reach the cap floor. If not, put him on re-entry waivers, then I'm sure someone will take him. $1.8M for a proven goaltender with playoff experience, a lot of teams will jump on that, like Chicago (looking for a cheaper backup). We get the monkey off our back and it's all good.
He has yet to play a single second in the NHL. He wasn't THE BEST goalie in the AHL, although he was up there. JDD got a huge workload in the AHL, but just sitting him up with the big club could really hurt his development.
We really do have a goaltender controversy now. It's not like in 2005 where it was, Conklin or Markkanen. It's who's going to be the backup. The old experienced veteran, or the new kid on the block.
I'm obviously not a GM so I would have no clue if JDD would clear waivers. But I really think he would. He's on a one-way deal and hasn't proven that he is better than any other backup in the NHL.
So what do we do? We have to trade one of JDD or Roloson. For me, it would be Roloson. This year, could be a good year for rebuilding. We could have a lot more prospects develop in the NHL, and in 2-3 years prove to be contenders. But is their a market for Roloson? Doubt it. In an ideal situation we would trade one of them for a draft pick and life goes on.
The Oilers need to waive Roloson. Hopefully he gets claimed by LA in hopes they can reach the cap floor. If not, put him on re-entry waivers, then I'm sure someone will take him. $1.8M for a proven goaltender with playoff experience, a lot of teams will jump on that, like Chicago (looking for a cheaper backup). We get the monkey off our back and it's all good.
The Annual Rob Schremp Debate
Is he good enough to make the team? This has been the question since Rob Schremp was 19-years-old. Obviously, that year he got sent back to the OHL. It gave him the inside track when he was 20-years-old but he still couldn't make it. Last season, he was recovering from a knee injury but got a good two games and around five minutes of ice time last season after an early season call-up.
This year. No injury. No attitude (apparently). All conditioning. Rob was training extremely hard this offseason so he could make the team. But what are his chances at making it?
The competition seems tough this season. With Ryan Potulny, Marc Pouliot, Zack Stortini and Gilbert Brule also looking for a spot on the roster, it doesn't look easy for Schremp. All of them have legit NHL experience, something Schremp doesn't have. So does adding Schremp make our team better?
Rob Schremp has great hands, is a great passer and has a cannon. If the Oilers did not have a few powerplay specialists, I would likely say he makes our team better. But with Visnovsky, Souray, Hemsky and Gagner, Schremp looks like a nobody. He's not really a gritty player like, Brule and isn't exactly the most responsible in his own end (Pouliot and Potulny are both great in their own ends), and he's not as physical as Brule or Stortini, everyone else in contention for a spot is faster than him, with the exception of Stortini, but Stortini is already in the Oilers' good books with his work ethic. With the addition of Erik Cole, it doesn't look as if we will need more scoring. So what does Schremp need to do to make the team?
Well, he has to prove he's not a sieve defensively. If he's okay defensively but plays a great offensive game he will make MacTavish think twice. But where does he fit? He would essentially replace Horcoff on the 2nd powerplay unit. But would he be on the 4th line? Or would he turn the 3rd line into another secondary scoring line.
If he were to make the roster, he would really have to impress, in my opinion. He doesn't have an edge on Potulny or Stortini or even Brule. But he would be a nice addition to the lineup.
The line combo I see him on is:
Penner-Schremp-Pisani
or Schremp-Penner-Pisani
Either way I think that they are a good mix of everything.
Penner would provide the strength and goal scoring ability that would complement Schremp.
Schremp would provide set-ups for both Penner and Pisani.
And Pisani will provide a solid defensive presence as a forward as well as take feeds from Schremp possibly netting him 20 goals.
It looks good, but with Potulny and Pouliot both on one-ways and both having to clear waivers, as well as the Oilers likely starting the year with three goalies. It would only leave us with 6 defensemen. But I believe we have 7 NHL-calibre defensemen. The only one that doesn't have to clear waivers is Smid. And he wasn't the most impressive last season. Strudwick provides some toughness if Stortini isn't playing.
All the pieces would seem to fall in place. But the three goalie system really limits the Oilers in terms of skaters.
I hope that Rob will make the team, to give him some experience and to upgrade our secondary scoring as well as our powerplay.
This year. No injury. No attitude (apparently). All conditioning. Rob was training extremely hard this offseason so he could make the team. But what are his chances at making it?
The competition seems tough this season. With Ryan Potulny, Marc Pouliot, Zack Stortini and Gilbert Brule also looking for a spot on the roster, it doesn't look easy for Schremp. All of them have legit NHL experience, something Schremp doesn't have. So does adding Schremp make our team better?
Rob Schremp has great hands, is a great passer and has a cannon. If the Oilers did not have a few powerplay specialists, I would likely say he makes our team better. But with Visnovsky, Souray, Hemsky and Gagner, Schremp looks like a nobody. He's not really a gritty player like, Brule and isn't exactly the most responsible in his own end (Pouliot and Potulny are both great in their own ends), and he's not as physical as Brule or Stortini, everyone else in contention for a spot is faster than him, with the exception of Stortini, but Stortini is already in the Oilers' good books with his work ethic. With the addition of Erik Cole, it doesn't look as if we will need more scoring. So what does Schremp need to do to make the team?
Well, he has to prove he's not a sieve defensively. If he's okay defensively but plays a great offensive game he will make MacTavish think twice. But where does he fit? He would essentially replace Horcoff on the 2nd powerplay unit. But would he be on the 4th line? Or would he turn the 3rd line into another secondary scoring line.
If he were to make the roster, he would really have to impress, in my opinion. He doesn't have an edge on Potulny or Stortini or even Brule. But he would be a nice addition to the lineup.
The line combo I see him on is:
Penner-Schremp-Pisani
or Schremp-Penner-Pisani
Either way I think that they are a good mix of everything.
Penner would provide the strength and goal scoring ability that would complement Schremp.
Schremp would provide set-ups for both Penner and Pisani.
And Pisani will provide a solid defensive presence as a forward as well as take feeds from Schremp possibly netting him 20 goals.
It looks good, but with Potulny and Pouliot both on one-ways and both having to clear waivers, as well as the Oilers likely starting the year with three goalies. It would only leave us with 6 defensemen. But I believe we have 7 NHL-calibre defensemen. The only one that doesn't have to clear waivers is Smid. And he wasn't the most impressive last season. Strudwick provides some toughness if Stortini isn't playing.
All the pieces would seem to fall in place. But the three goalie system really limits the Oilers in terms of skaters.
I hope that Rob will make the team, to give him some experience and to upgrade our secondary scoring as well as our powerplay.
12.9.08
Expectations for 2008-2009: Goaltenders
Mathieu Garon-Last season Mathieu Garon stole the starting job from Dwayne Roloson. This year he will go into camp with the starting job. He had a 0.913 save percentage and a 2.66 goals against average. Looks like a legit starter to me. But he only played 47 games. A lot of that had to do with him starting the year as backup but if he had played a full(er) season what would his numbers have looked like? Maybe not as good but still decent. This year is a contract year for Garon so I expect him to step up his play a little bit this year.
Projected numbers: 60 GP, 0.915 save %, 2.50 GAA
Dwayne Roloson-Since the 06 cup run Roloson has slowly been aging. Last year it showed, as he lost the starting job to Mathieu Garon. However, in the 06 cup run I believe he was playing over his head. 2006-2007 was really not a good measuring stick as the whole season was a disaster for the Oilers but he still played decent and was the best Oiler on a lot of nights. Now Oilers fans want to get rid of him after a bad year. I know he's not getting a lot better but is it really worth trading him? For what? A mid-low round draft pick. It's not as if the Oilers are tight on cap space and Roloson makes a decent backup. He almost carried the Oilers to the playoffs last year after Garon got injured (although he had a few bad games). Think about it this way. Roloson is underperforming his contract and Garon is overperforming his contract. So if you think as if their contracts are switched around both seem to have fair salaries.
Projected numbers: 12 GP, 0.900 save %, 3.00 GAA
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers-Mathieu Garon took five years to develop into a backup. Of course he had a good 30 or so games of experience before. Deslauriers has taken four years but hasn't had a single second in the NHL. This year will likely be the year he gets some starts. But he has to prove to be a legitimate backup before everyone starts to come up with proposals to trade Roloson. However, I still believe he can be the future of goaltending for the Oilers, I believe he can be much like Garon and will some day be as good as him.
Compare these numbers:
Garon:
Deslauriers:
Consider that Oilers only had 1 AHL affiliate before the Falcons, of cource side tracking Deslauriers development. However he has shown signs of brilliance in the AHL and we will have to see what he can do in the NHL.
Projected numbers: 10 gp, 0.910 save %, 3.00 GAA
Projected numbers: 60 GP, 0.915 save %, 2.50 GAA
Dwayne Roloson-Since the 06 cup run Roloson has slowly been aging. Last year it showed, as he lost the starting job to Mathieu Garon. However, in the 06 cup run I believe he was playing over his head. 2006-2007 was really not a good measuring stick as the whole season was a disaster for the Oilers but he still played decent and was the best Oiler on a lot of nights. Now Oilers fans want to get rid of him after a bad year. I know he's not getting a lot better but is it really worth trading him? For what? A mid-low round draft pick. It's not as if the Oilers are tight on cap space and Roloson makes a decent backup. He almost carried the Oilers to the playoffs last year after Garon got injured (although he had a few bad games). Think about it this way. Roloson is underperforming his contract and Garon is overperforming his contract. So if you think as if their contracts are switched around both seem to have fair salaries.
Projected numbers: 12 GP, 0.900 save %, 3.00 GAA
Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers-Mathieu Garon took five years to develop into a backup. Of course he had a good 30 or so games of experience before. Deslauriers has taken four years but hasn't had a single second in the NHL. This year will likely be the year he gets some starts. But he has to prove to be a legitimate backup before everyone starts to come up with proposals to trade Roloson. However, I still believe he can be the future of goaltending for the Oilers, I believe he can be much like Garon and will some day be as good as him.
Compare these numbers:
Garon:
| 1998-1999 | Fredericton Canadiens AHL | 40 | 2,222 | 14 | 22 | 2 | - | 114 | 1,190 | 3 | 3.08 | |
| 1999-2000 | Quebec Citadelles AHL | 53 | 2,884 | 17 | 28 | 3 | - | 149 | 1,463 | 2 | 3.10 | .898 |
| 2000-2001 | Canadiens | 11 | 589 | 4 | 5 | 1 | - | 24 | 233 | 2 | 2.44 | .897 |
| 2000-2001 | Quebec Citadelles AHL | 31 | 1,768 | 16 | 13 | 1 | - | 86 | 1,071 | 1 | 2.92 | .920 |
| 2001-2002 | Canadiens | 5 | 260 | 1 | 4 | 0 | - | 19 | 147 | 0 | 4.37 | .871 |
| 2001-2002 | Quebec Citadelles AHL | 50 | 2,988 | 21 | 15 | 12 | - | 136 | 1,658 | 2 | 2.73 | .918 |
| 2002-2003 | Canadiens | 8 | 481 | 3 | 5 | 0 | - | 16 | 267 | 2 | 1.99 | .940 |
| 2002-2003 | Hamilton Bulldogs AHL | 20 | 1,150 | 15 | 2 | 2 | - | 34 | 537 | 4 | 1.77 | .937 |
Deslauriers:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Projected numbers: 10 gp, 0.910 save %, 3.00 GAA
11.9.08
My Projected Opening Night Lineup
Penner-Horcoff-Hemsky
Nilsson-Gagner-Cole
Cogliano-Pouliot-Pisani
Moreau-Brodziak-Stortini
Potulny
Call-ups: Schremp, Jacques, Brule
Visnovsky-Staios
Grebeshkov-Gilbert
Souray-Smid
Strudwick
Call-ups: Peckham, Chorney, Bisaillon
Garon
Roloson
Deslauriers
I believe in keeping the "Nintendo line" (P-H-H: one big guy, one medium sized guy and a skinny guy) because of their chemistry. Cole can play with two of the kids, I said Nilsson and Gagner cause they're more skilled but I think Cogliano will work as well. The reason behind that is "The Kid Line" could not play tough minutes. Cole can solidify that line, however if it ruins chemistry expect the MacBlender to be back. The only defensive pairing I really thought was reasonable was the Gilbert-Grebs pairing. The others were a defensive dman and an offensive dman together. However, I expect that to be mixed up every now and then. Of course there are going to be the three goalies as KP has mentioned. They don't believe Deslauriers will clear waivers.
Nilsson-Gagner-Cole
Cogliano-Pouliot-Pisani
Moreau-Brodziak-Stortini
Potulny
Call-ups: Schremp, Jacques, Brule
Visnovsky-Staios
Grebeshkov-Gilbert
Souray-Smid
Strudwick
Call-ups: Peckham, Chorney, Bisaillon
Garon
Roloson
Deslauriers
I believe in keeping the "Nintendo line" (P-H-H: one big guy, one medium sized guy and a skinny guy) because of their chemistry. Cole can play with two of the kids, I said Nilsson and Gagner cause they're more skilled but I think Cogliano will work as well. The reason behind that is "The Kid Line" could not play tough minutes. Cole can solidify that line, however if it ruins chemistry expect the MacBlender to be back. The only defensive pairing I really thought was reasonable was the Gilbert-Grebs pairing. The others were a defensive dman and an offensive dman together. However, I expect that to be mixed up every now and then. Of course there are going to be the three goalies as KP has mentioned. They don't believe Deslauriers will clear waivers.
TC Preview
Locks:
The Forwards:
Horcoff
Hemsky
Penner
Cole
Nilsson
Cogliano
Gagner
Moreau
Brodziak
Pisani
Total: 10
The Defencemen:
Visnovsky
Gilbert
Souray
Staios
Grebeshkov
Total: 5
The Goaltenders:
Garon
Total: 1
Total Locks:16
On the bubble:
The Forwards:
Stortini
Pouliot
Potulny
Schremp
Brule
O'Marra
Jacques
Total: 7
The Defencemen:
Smid
Strudwick
Peckham
Chorney
Roy
Total: 5
The Goaltenders:
Deslauriers
Roloson
Total: 2
On the bubble: 14
Total: 30
Maximum Allowed on Roster after TC: 23
The Oilers have stated that they would like to keep three goalies after training camp. Only making room for one extra forward and one extra defenceman.
Other notables at TC:
Spurgeon
Eberle
Kytnar
Huxley
Reddox
Bisaillon
Wild
Plante
Hrabal
Bina
The Forwards:
Horcoff
Hemsky
Penner
Cole
Nilsson
Cogliano
Gagner
Moreau
Brodziak
Pisani
Total: 10
The Defencemen:
Visnovsky
Gilbert
Souray
Staios
Grebeshkov
Total: 5
The Goaltenders:
Garon
Total: 1
Total Locks:16
On the bubble:
The Forwards:
Stortini
Pouliot
Potulny
Schremp
Brule
O'Marra
Jacques
Total: 7
The Defencemen:
Smid
Strudwick
Peckham
Chorney
Roy
Total: 5
The Goaltenders:
Deslauriers
Roloson
Total: 2
On the bubble: 14
Total: 30
Maximum Allowed on Roster after TC: 23
The Oilers have stated that they would like to keep three goalies after training camp. Only making room for one extra forward and one extra defenceman.
Other notables at TC:
Spurgeon
Eberle
Kytnar
Huxley
Reddox
Bisaillon
Wild
Plante
Hrabal
Bina
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