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At this point if I'm Finlands coach I start Lankinen in net
Nothing against Lankinen, but Saros is definitely better, and I imagine he'll be energized by finally playing behind a "real" team for a change. Finland is still going to be disadvantaged in this tournament relative to the other teams from a skill perspective, but it's still going to be a much better run team than what Saros has here.

Saros isn't the problem for us. (Aside from the term and protections in his contract extension being silly ones).
 
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Nothing against Lankinen, but Saros is definitely better, and I imagine he'll be energized by finally playing behind a "real" team for a change. Finland is still going to be disadvantaged in this tournament relative to the other teams from a skill perspective, but it's still going to be a much better run team than what Saros has here.

Saros isn't the problem for us. (Aside from the term and protections in his contract extension being silly ones).
He is the problem. He's not scoring enough goals. :sarcasm:
 
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Nothing against Lankinen, but Saros is definitely better, and I imagine he'll be energized by finally playing behind a "real" team for a change. Finland is still going to be disadvantaged in this tournament relative to the other teams from a skill perspective, but it's still going to be a much better run team than what Saros has here.

Saros isn't the problem for us. (Aside from the term and protections in his contract extension being silly ones).
The thing is Saros is certainly a problem for us. Gold-colored glasses are as strong for Saros in the fanbase as any player than I can remember. Adam Vingan succinctly put out some stats that clearly show this - here is Saros' stats since Annunen arrived:
  • GAA 3.32
  • SV% .884
  • GSAE per 60 -0.04
  • XGA per 60 3.24
The point I will concede is that the team isn't scoring 5 goals a game to bail him out more often. Saros is part of the problem this year period. You have to judge a player as they are, not as they were a couple of years ago. But even with this said I am pulling hard for him to rebound and find his game, because if they win a Cup in the next 8 years he will have to be the one stopping the puck.
 
Saros' numbers suck. There is no sugar coating it. Would they be better with a competent system and defense in front of him? Yes. Does that make me feel better about his upcoming contract? No.

With how much the cap is scheduled to rise over the next 3 offseasons, i dont think his contract will hinder the team from signings and improvements. Best case scenerio is he rebounds after a coaching change and his contract looks mediocre. Worst case is he doesnt, the contract looks terrible, and he refuses to waive his NMC come expansion time forcing us to either protect him or buy him out.
 
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To me you cut way back on his starts this season at least because the thing is over. Let Annunen take most of the games and if there is some other young guys you want to see a bit give them a start.

This is why signing that extension and trading Askarov was so freaking stupid. Could have just traded Saros, gave Askarov the starts and brought someone else in as a back up when the season went like this.
 
To me you cut way back on his starts this season at least because the thing is over. Let Annunen take most of the games and if there is some other young guys you want to see a bit give them a start.

This is why signing that extension and trading Askarov was so freaking stupid. Could have just traded Saros, gave Askarov the starts and brought someone else in as a back up when the season went like this.
We have all those picks now though
 

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