Guessing he doesn’t think Raanta is any better. And Rannta is physically fragile. I expect if Rod had any confidence in Raanta then Raanta would have started or he would have pulled him.
GDT: Canes v. Islanders 11/30 7:30
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Then go find somebody else.
ThinIce
Well-known member
I think Rod does have confidence in Raanta and recognizes that his last outing was an out-of-character fiasco. I also think that he and the organization were hoping that PK could take advantage of this opportunity so that they wouldn't have to consider shopping for an established goalie. Raanta is fragile and can't be counted on to stay healthy, but I think the Canes still value him as a #2.
polarbare
Well-known member
Raanta has 40 wins in 61 starts for the Canes; not sure how this translates into people wanting him traded for someone better. Sorry, he's not been on his game this season but once again, find me a Cane who hasn't had that issue.
For those that think Raanta isn't good enough, who specifically are you bringing in?
For those that think Raanta isn't good enough, who specifically are you bringing in?
Raanta is fragile and can’t be counted on to stay healthy. That’s not someone you can have confidence in. I imagine he figured if he put Raanta in and he sucked that would be worse and also if he put him in he’d likely need to have someone else for Saturday. So he rode PK hoping he’d make a save eventually or that we’d overcome it.
Raanta has not been good enough. He could come around on that but do you seriously think he’s the answer? That we can ride him as anything more than a backup? He’s generally a great backup playing 1 of 3 games or so.
If we lean on Raanta we will need an answer to your question because we will have to bring someone in because he’ll be injured.
Why are you assuming I'd want Raanta out? He's an excellent 1B. It's the kid I've got a problem with, because this is supposedly a contender and he absolutely cannot be trusted. Now, if I'm wrong and this is supposed to be a team that squeaks into the playoffs and then sees what happens? This is all fine. I'm assuming that not to be the case however. This is pragmatic for me, not emotional.
But make no mistake ... no team with .873 goaltending is doing anything memorable, unless the thing that you remember is "going nowhere."
HurryCanes
Well-known member
Yup. The team is built to win now and the goaltending isn’t good currently to get us there.
And our team defense is not as good this year (so far) and that brings the goalie issues even more to the surface.
Dunno, but when what you've got ain't working then what do you suggest? I'm not engaging in magical thinking here. I know as well as anyone how hard it is to trade for a goalie during the season. But, if this is supposed to be a contending year, and it absolutely is, then what they're getting in net ain't even close to good enough. And honestly, it's bad enough that I don't really care about the other issues because goaltending this bad renders them pretty well moot.
Look, all I'm saying is that if Freddie is going to be out and based on the utter lack of updates that seems more than likely, then you CANNOT keep going on with two guys in the top 10 in the whole league in goals allowed above expected. Not and contend. And for me, it would be a real shame to waste a possible contending season just because a goalie got hurt/sick. They finally screwed around and got it wrong in goal after years of defying the naysayers. Badly wrong. Now, I'm interested to see what the front office gonna do about it.
CanadaCanes
Well-known member
No magic pill to cure goaltending woes mid-season but let’s go back to the summer when all of this could have been handled better. I fondly remember listening to all the NHL guys on UFA signing day reporting on who was going where and for how much…the Freddy and Raanta signings were both quick and both within an hour or two of each other that day, so I get the urgency with maybe one guy…but not both. Better options like Hellybuck and Gibson were out there on the market to some degree…more expensive options yes but good goaltending does not necessarily come cheap, but since everyone knew the Canes were built for the here and now and a contender…they needed a very reliable starter that could handle a big load and more importantly the net in the playoffs for a long run. Looking at the money spent on Orlov it would have been wiser to spend a good chunk on a legit starter to shoulder the load and then let Pyotr and someone like Raanta battle it out as a backup behind a lead dog. No disrespect to Freddy but the injury history and playoff history are always a concern. Now, you’re probably looking at hoping a “no-chance” at a playoff spot team like Montreal might trade a guy like Jake Allen or perhaps Minny moves a guy like Fleury.
Hindsight is always 20/20. How much do you want to spend on a goalie? Gibson has 3 more years at $6.4 million. Hellebuyck was on an expiring contract over the summer, so that might have been doable, but what would it have taken to re-sign him? He signed a 7 year/$8.5 million AAV extension in October. He’ll be 38 when that contract expires. No way he gets an offer like that here. So you make a big trade for a 1 year goalie? And is Gibson that much of an upgrade over a healthy Andersen or Raanta? Yes, it was a dice roll that they could stay healthy, but if you’re only after Gibson because he can play 55-60 games per season, have you upgraded the position?
Look. Andersen and Raanta were always going to be an injury risk and Kochetkov has been erratic his whole career. It doesn't take hindsight to know it was a risk to go with that trio again. Hell, most of us said so this summer. Personally, I was lukewarm but OK with running them back, but only because you figured that after bad injury luck last season, maybe they'd catch a break. Yeah, no. It actually got worse. So was spending $6-8 mil on a proper starter the answer or was the answer finding somebody more likely to be healthy and/or reliable than Raanta or Kochetkov? I think it's the latter. Once they decided to bring back Andersen, the need for somebody reliable behind him became a real concern. Still is.
polarbare
Well-known member
No way to know if it woulda worked, but I would have preferred given Ghost a deal at the $4M he's making instead of Orlov, then you have an extra $3M+ to play with for a couple years during the window.
That being said, I think they pick it up. Andersen is the key, but with a clotting issue, I'm kind of assuming he's not making it back this year - so go spend that $$ if you can.
That being said, I think they pick it up. Andersen is the key, but with a clotting issue, I'm kind of assuming he's not making it back this year - so go spend that $$ if you can.
Meh ... Orlov is starting out a lot like Dougie did and it's WAY too early to judge his eventual impact. Hell, he hasn't even gotten any real PP time, and he's pretty doggone good at that once Roddy pulls him out of purgatory. I know Carolina was hoping to spend their banked cap space on offense at the deadline, but needs must. If Freddie's not a sure thing to come back then they've pretty much got to spend that space on a goalie.