Around the NHL 2024-25 regular season Part II - The holidays are upon us

[dzubrus8]

Blackwood had flashes of very good in him, also very bad. For the past 4-5 years, every goaltender we had here failed. Some of it can be attributed to talent, but I believe the biggest reason was our system.

Is Markstrom really that much better than whatever we had the past few years? I'm not sure. Our new system is making him look much much better than he really is and I believe other goaltenders we've had in the past few years would have also been much better. Hence why I think it was a mistake to overpay for a goaltender until we had a new system.

You don't need a great goaltender if you allow under 20 shots a game and limit high quality chances.

Wish we could’ve rolled with Stolarz (or similar goalie) and Askarov this year but goaltending is not on the list of problems right now so I’ve moved on

 

[AfroThunder396]

Blackwood is the same guy he’s always been, he’s just been relatively healthy lately. Only a matter of time before he gets injured again. That contract will be a disaster sooner rather than later.

 

[dzubrus8]

Yes, but we are also playing much much better defensively and he isn't getting tested as much relative to other goaltenders. Markstrom isn't suddenly a .950 goaltender. His career average is about 0.910%, right now he's playing at a much better rate and this should be attributed mostly to the team playing in front of him.


Politics/Vax saga should be a non-factor really.

People who hope he fails because of his views are miserable.

I get what you’re saying but in that situation it was an issue because he couldn’t play in certain games and was putting his teammates in danger of exposure (and having to sit out) so it was actually impactful on the team and fandom. I didn’t get too absorbed by it so maybe someone else here has more color on it

Blackwood is the same guy he’s always been, he’s just been relatively healthy lately. Only a matter of time before he gets injured again. That contract will be a disaster sooner rather than later.

Sadly I think it could age like the Georgiev deal but someone would probably take him off the Avs hands. We saw it with Kuemper in Washington and Georgiev in Colorado in the last 6 months. Granted the Kuemper trade was a bit wacky

 

[Unknown Caller]

Blackwood had flashes of very good in him, also very bad. For the past 4-5 years, every goaltender we had here failed. Some of it can be attributed to talent, but I believe the biggest reason was our system.

Is Markstrom really that much better than whatever we had the past few years? I'm not sure. Our new system is making him look much much better than he really is and I believe other goaltenders we've had in the past few years would have also been much better. Hence why I think it was a mistake to overpay for a goaltender until we had a new system.

You don't need a great goaltender if you allow under 20 shots a game and limit high quality chances.

Markstrom is significantly better than anything the Devils have had for years, aside from when Blackwood was good his first couple of seasons. It's crazy how he's being taken for granted right now.

The fanbase easily forgets how absolutely atrocious the Devils goaltending was. Literally 32nd in the league bad. Couldn't stop anywhere near expected.

Markstrom is saving 0.3 goals above expected per game and Allen is at 0.2 goals above expected per game. GSAx takes into account shot quality, shot volume, etc., so the system and team defense is already taken into account with those numbers.

For comparison, the last regular Devils goalie to have a positive GSAx was Blackwood in 2019-20 and kind of Vanecek in 2022-23, but Vanecek's play completely tanked around February and he was saving way below expected from that point forward. Vanecek stopped -1.7 goals below expected per game (!) in the playoffs that year.

 

[Camille the Eel]

Markstrom is significantly better than anything the Devils have had for years, aside from when Blackwood was good his first couple of seasons. It's crazy how he's being taken for granted right now.

The fanbase easily forgets how absolutely atrocious the Devils goaltending was. Literally 32nd in the league bad. Couldn't stop anywhere near expected.

Markstrom is saving 0.3 goals above expected per game and Allen is at 0.2 goals above expected per game. GSAx takes into account shot quality, shot volume, etc., so the system and team defense is already taken into account with those numbers.

For comparison, the last regular Devils goalie to have a positive GSAx was Blackwood in 2019-20 and kind of Vanecek in 2022-23, but Vanecek's play completely tanked around February and he was saving way below expected from that point forward. Vanecek stopped -1.7 goals below expected per game (!) in the playoffs that year.

In addition, Markstrom is a marked upgrade just by virtue of being durable. No injuries. He plays. You can depend on him. Think of not only Blackwood but everything back to Crawford - that we paid significant money for and that let us down. Fitz finally bet on a dependable thoroughbred.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Not gonna root for the guy and I've already hated Colorado since 01 so it's even easier to root against him. I'm glad that goof is out west where we barely ever even have to hear about him. One of my least favorite Devils ever.

 

[Blackjack]

Markstrom is significantly better than anything the Devils have had for years, aside from when Blackwood was good his first couple of seasons. It's crazy how he's being taken for granted right now.

The fanbase easily forgets how absolutely atrocious the Devils goaltending was. Literally 32nd in the league bad. Couldn't stop anywhere near expected.

Markstrom is saving 0.3 goals above expected per game and Allen is at 0.2 goals above expected per game. GSAx takes into account shot quality, shot volume, etc., so the system and team defense is already taken into account with those numbers.

For comparison, the last regular Devils goalie to have a positive GSAx was Blackwood in 2019-20 and kind of Vanecek in 2022-23, but Vanecek's play completely tanked around February and he was saving way below expected from that point forward. Vanecek stopped -1.7 goals below expected per game (!) in the playoffs that year.

I was a huge Markstrom critic and hated the trade but it’s absolutely silly to deny that he’s been fantastic for weeks now. Even the 12 save shutouts included a healthy number of high danger chances and he stopped all of them.

 

[jkrdevil]

5 years for someone with two average months of play?!

 

[Comparison Ford]

Seems terrible

This seems egregiously high

 

[TheBeerNerd]

Yes, but we are also playing much much better defensively and he isn't getting tested as much relative to other goaltenders. Markstrom isn't suddenly a .950 goaltender. His career average is about 0.910%, right now he's playing at a much better rate and this should be attributed mostly to the team playing in front of him.


Politics/Vax saga should be a non-factor really.

People who hope he fails because of his views are miserable.

The irony of a fan of this team arguing that Marky is doing well because of the system isn't lost on me.

The vaccine stuff is funny to joke about. But more than the politics of the issue (which there really shouldn't be any attached to it, but I digress), his actions betrayed a lot of the fanbase's trust. It's a team sport and you need to do what gives them the best chance to win. He wasn't willing to do that until he realized that, no, they weren't going to make exceptions for Canada games.

 

[Blackjack]

5 years for someone with two average months of play?!

What? He has not been anywhere near average.

 

[IDEKWTM]

I was a huge Markstrom critic and hated the trade but it’s absolutely silly to deny that he’s been fantastic for weeks now. Even the 12 save shutouts included a healthy number of high danger chances and he stopped all of them.

No one is denying that he's been much better.
What is portrayed here is that Markstrom is all of a sudden much better than his career average. Markstrom is good, however (and as a fan I'm really happy about it) is the team system is a bigger reason for our success than anything else.

 

[NJDevs26]

This seems egregiously high

The money isn’t even what’s egregiously high with that deal

 

[My3Sons]

5 years for someone with two average months of play?!

You think he got that degree in epidemiology from Facebook in two weeks? Give Dr. Blackwood some credit.

 

[Blackjack]

No one is denying that he's been much better.
What is portrayed here is that Markstrom is all of a sudden much better than his career average. Markstrom is good, however (and as a fan I'm really happy about it) is the team system is a bigger reason for our success than anything else.

“Is Markstrom really that much better than whatever we had the past few years? I'm not sure”

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

No one is denying that he's been much better.
What is portrayed here is that Markstrom is all of a sudden much better than his career average. Markstrom is good, however (and as a fan I'm really happy about it) is the team system is a bigger reason for our success than anything else.

who said that? lmao

all we need Markstrom to be is to be average to have a chance. Stu Skinner nearly won the Cup last year for christ sake lol

 

[MasterofGrond]

Incredible f***ing decision by the Avs, lmao

Who are you bidding against

 

[Zajacs Bowl Cut]

the Avs cap was already f***ed even before this

not sure how they afford to sign Rantanen

 

[mdj12784]

I’ll always root for him. I have no reason to wish him ill will. Everyone has moved on.

 

[Triumph]

I have reason to wish him ill will but this is a gigantic risk by the Avs, I get it because if it pays off, it could pay off huge - Blackwood has the ability to be a top 5 goalie. He's just never been healthy enough or consistent enough to do it.

 

[Devils731]

The league has gotten so smart on the PP. NHL is definitely waiting for a similar PK evolution in response.

 

[Darkauron]

I’ll always root for him. I have no reason to wish him ill will. Everyone has moved on.

Not me. I still do

 

[Guttersniped]

The thing about the Laine stuff is he isn’t wrong. It’s the same exact thing Waddell said. Columbus is historically the worst franchise in the league and recently has consistently been in the basement as well. Just maybe don’t say it and give guys a reason to take your head off lol

He could have just ripped the organization and said something nice about his former teammates.

One of the reporters threw him a lifeline, asking if he specifically meant the club’s management or players, and this genius said “I’ll leave that for everybody’s imagination”.

Laine has become an injury report in human form, it’s extraordinarily foolish to poke every bear in the opposing locker room that hard like this.

And he’s had the “time of his life” playing for his new terrible team for all of 9 games lol. Time of his life = personally scores goals. What a champ.

 

[NjDevsRR]

Seems like thats the standard $$$ for league average goaltending in a league where thats a premium. Seems about right to me if he can stay healthy

 

[mdj12784]

He could have just ripped the organization and said something nice about his former teammates.

One of the reporters threw him a lifeline, asking if he specifically meant the club’s management or players, and this genius said “I’ll leave that for everybody’s imagination”.

Laine has become an injury report in human form, it’s extraordinarily foolish to poke every bear in the opposing locker room that hard like this.

And he’s had the “time of his life” playing for his new terrible team for all of 9 games lol. Time of his life = personally scores goals. What a champ.

Very disappointed in him. Some things should just not be said. He should know better by now…