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Post by catnut on Jun 15, 2007 6:49:59 GMT -5
i think it's a bit of a different situation. blanchard got screwed royally in his development here. when crawford came back due to the lockout, he started nearly every night. that really gave JC no chance to gain any sort of experience, then the next year he was thrown into a pressure-packed situation where he was expected to win every night because a) it was a championship year so everything was win win win, and b) crawford's performance really raised the expectations bar between the pipes. you don't often see a 17 year old kid with 10 or so games experience just step into the starters role and be the next luongo. i can't say i blame him for folding like a cheap suit. everyone was all over his ass from day one. look at how he has excelled in victo now that the pressure is off and he has some games under his belt. at least riopel has a good chunk of experience already. he started half the games this year, and there is alot less pressure on him this year than blanchard had at the time. Folded like a cheap suit ? Except for his first 6 or 7 starts Blanchard was everything I expected he would be. You guys seem to be remembering it wrong ... Blanchard wasn't traded because he was playing poorly ... he was traded because Nolan wanted a superstar goaltender instead of a 1st yr starter. He also got injured at a point in the season very near the trade period ... a concusiion if I recall ... and there were worries on how he would bounce back from that. I would have been very happy to go to the Mem Cup with Blanchard ... I was opposed to the deal that brought in Tordjman as I don't think it was necessary. Blanchard was sensational for Vic in a very lopsided 1st round matchup that year but was just overwhelmed too often with little help from his team. Blanchard was 18 that year ... not 17. He was sent back to MAAA at 16 and backed up Crawford at 17. One part of that trade that is not often mentioned is that we also lost a good young Dman that we could have used last year and this year. Jason Demers would play a very important role on this year's team.
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Post by Porkchop on Jun 17, 2007 21:53:30 GMT -5
It wouldn't be a total surprise for them to keep Sniderman around until Christmas, with the lack of good experienced goalies around.......he could bring decent trade value if he has a good 1st half.
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Post by curtis on Jun 19, 2007 9:13:58 GMT -5
Except that to keep Sniderman around to "showcase" him, too much playing time would be taken away from Riopel.
I just don't think you can carry a 20 yo goaltender unless you are relying upon him as your #1. As someone as already pointed out, you'd have to carry a 3rd goalie to back up Riopel if you want to have three 20 yo skaters on the ice when Riopel plays.
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Post by Cristobal Huet on Jun 19, 2007 9:49:32 GMT -5
Except that to keep Sniderman around to "showcase" him, too much playing time would be taken away from Riopel. I just don't think you can carry a 20 yo goaltender unless you are relying upon him as your #1. As someone as already pointed out, you'd have to carry a 3rd goalie to back up Riopel if you want to have three 20 yo skaters on the ice when Riopel plays. Plus there are like 11 1987 goalies eligible to return, even if Sniderman plays well, he may still have low value.
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Post by Porkchop on Jun 20, 2007 20:53:00 GMT -5
Except that to keep Sniderman around to "showcase" him, too much playing time would be taken away from Riopel. I just don't think you can carry a 20 yo goaltender unless you are relying upon him as your #1. As someone as already pointed out, you'd have to carry a 3rd goalie to back up Riopel if you want to have three 20 yo skaters on the ice when Riopel plays. Plus there are like 11 1987 goalies eligible to return, even if Sniderman plays well, he may still have low value. How many of them are high end goalies though?......I could see a few contenders taking a 20 year old goalie this year, moreso than other years because of the lack of good 19's in the league......trading a 20 goalie this year might not be as hard to do as some may think.
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Post by SteveUL on Jun 21, 2007 5:33:16 GMT -5
Plus there are like 11 1987 goalies eligible to return, even if Sniderman plays well, he may still have low value. How many of them are high end goalies though?......I could see a few contenders taking a 20 year old goalie this year, moreso than other years because of the lack of good 19's in the league......trading a 20 goalie this year might not be as hard to do as some may think. Not many are high end ... and I wouldn't call Sniderman high end ... so that leaves him in the same market as the rest ... which will drive down the price since there are so many.
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Post by Porkchop on Jun 21, 2007 10:11:05 GMT -5
How many of them are high end goalies though?......I could see a few contenders taking a 20 year old goalie this year, moreso than other years because of the lack of good 19's in the league......trading a 20 goalie this year might not be as hard to do as some may think. Not many are high end ... and I wouldn't call Sniderman high end ... so that leaves him in the same market as the rest ... which will drive down the price since there are so many. I'd put Sniderman in the upper half of them though.
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