Team Canada Watch '09: Goaltending

Want
starter – Brodeur
backups/fillers – MAF, Turco

Will be there
Luongo, Brodeur and MAF

Luongo will get the unofficial starter gig due to west coast media bias

Brodeur and Luongo can battle it out for the starting job. The 3rd goalie isn’t going to see any action unless disaster strikes. So for that reason I say we put M-A Fleury in the 3rd spot. I’d say as of right now he has the best chance to challenge Luongo for the starting job in Socchi (assuming NHLers go) and he can gain some valuable experience being in that environment. You could make the exact same case for Mason and Ward, but I’m more comfortable with Fleury since he’s won a Cup and been to the FInals another time (unlike Ward who does have a Cup though).

Chris Mason is doing well? how come I keep losing in goaltending in the pool, then?

put up Brodeur-esque numbers behind NHL defensive superstars like Anders Erikkson, Bret Hedican, Andrew Ference, Lance Ward, and Ivan Majesky.

Outside of Jay Bouwmeester, Bobby-Lou never had the benefit of a capable blue line. Now, I’m not saying Brodeur’s numbers are a result of the team he plays behind, as I truly think he is one of the greatest goalies ever, but given the goalie is the last line of defense, I’d prefer #1 over #30.

why is Giguere not considered?

Sadly, I don’t see this one being as fun as the defenceman debtae was (and the forwards one will be), because it’s much more clear cut.

There’s really only three acceptable choices, and the only question is what order you put them in. And personally I don’t even think that’s a difficult question.

As a precautionary measure, I suggest temporarily suspending the accounts of any Caps fans who might drudge up some random stat that says Jose Theodore is better than the favourites. But I digress…

Starter – Brodeur
Backup – Fleury
Press Box – Luongo

Brodeur as the starter with Luongo and Fleury as the backups. Although I would wager that Yzerman plays Luongo in at least one game. Perhaps the second against Switzerland.

The other games; Norway and USA, Brodeur gets the nod.

is that neither Brodeur or Luongo (or even MAF) will be the reason we win or lose. We don’t need goalies to steal games, we just need them to perform up to their capabilities. To win the Gold, we’ll need a solid team effort.

I think Brodeur will start one game, Luongo will start another and then the braintrust will decide which one gets to run the rest of the way.

The third-string guy will likely by MAF just because of his age.

Turco shouldn’t even be part of this discussion.

No trapezoid in the Olympics. Brodeur is the best choice because he’s the best puck handling goalie in the league and with no trapezoid, he’s free to play the puck anywhere. Plus the only knock against Marty is that he’s old

Chemmy wanted me to come over and drop a few thoughts about MAF, so here we go:

-He’s as athletically gifted as any goalie in the league
-His rebound control has improved by orders of magnitude since his rookie year. It used to be his #1 issue; now it’s not really a problem
-He should be forbidden from ever handling the puck. Actually, it’s not that he’s bad at it, it’s that he picks bad times to try and do it.
-He’s prone to let a soft goal in now and then, but it’s not nearly the issue it used to be
-He uses his legs brilliantly. His glove is also awesome and he’s much less vulnerable to be picked in the high corners than he used to be.
-He’ s much better when he plays a more Brodeur/Turco style of standing up and not overrelying on his butterfly. If you see him start to go down too early, it’s gonna be a long game. He only usually does this when he feels under siege.
-Fleury’s never had the big, flashy fantasy goaltending stats, but there’s one thing he can do that puts him in an elite category: the timely big save. At various critical points of last year’s playoff run, he absolutely ROBBED Jeff Carter, Alex Ovechkin, Eric Staal, Dan Cleary and Nick Lidstrom. If any of those goals go in the game and possibly the series turn out very differently. He always shows up in the big game when it matters.
-It’s worth noting that in October before the Pens blue line was destroyed by injuries for the whole month he had a GAA of below 2.2 and a save percentage pushing .930. In other words, Chemmy is right….he’s one of the main reason the Pens got through November as relatively unscathed as they did.

and “rattling” him.

I watched the youTube clip to refresh my memory. Buff didn’t “run” the net, he took out Luongo’s legs and then drove his stick into Luo’s mask. Watch and see.

That won’t fly in the Olympics, because it puts team Canada on a power play.

Also, i’ve decided I really don’t like Byfuglien. the ’hawks can keep him…

Brodeur
Luongo
MAF

That is all

Why did the two guys who were obviously not going to get any votes given first names but the other three weren’t?

Marty, Bob and Marc deserve given names too, you know!

Brodeur is too much of a stud to not start, Luongo is the backup and Fleury is insurance.

I think Chemmy rightly chose the top 5 choices for Stevie Y in the poll question. To me you gotta throw Cam Ward out. I’m a huge Cam fan, but his season has been a mess plus he’s coming off a major injury. Steve Mason looks to be a one year wonder.

Brodeur should be a lock to be the starter. He’s currently got the best save percentage of any Canadian goalie, he’s got the experience, and oh yeah, he’s Marty freakin Brodeur.

Backup also should be a lock. Luongo’s numbers are head and shoulders above the rest of the choices. Add in that he’ll get to play in a building he’s familiar with and its a no brainer.

The third choice is where it gets interesting. I don’t think you lose any way you go. I’m fairly certain its going to be Fleury. However, Turco has rebounded from last year and Mason is having a great season in St. Louis. Turco brings an elite level ability to play the puck. Fleury should never do so unless there isn’t an opposing player over the red line. However, Marc Andre has shown when it counts he can put up great numbers. Mason loses out if for nothing else on experience, but I don’t think he’d hurt Canada at all if he was named to the team and had to play. I go with what seems to be the consensus here and agree that I’d take Fleury over Trurco though just slightly.

Canada, like at forward and defense, has wealth of talent, so unless Stevie Y picks Manny Legace I think they’ll be ok. :-)

There are times when Turco is amazing, and times when he’s more Jerk-o than Turco. His bad playoff rep comes from his underachieving teammates because he’s actually a pretty clutch player. Does he have a chance against the more talked-about goalies?

Probably not.