BeaCH ClubBad news for Primeau's career.
He has kind of saved it by dominating in the AHL for 25 games, and if he had carried the Rocket to the championships he'd be caught up a lot more.
But now, Primeau will be on the bench doing nothing, and Fowler will lead the Rocket to a championship.
This is eminently logical both from the point of view of asset management and the dynamics of goalie development.People who are giving up on Primeau just don't get it. This is not an atypical development curve for a good NHL goaltender and he very well could be an NHL stud just as easily as he might never find the consistency that he has been searching for.
Letting Primeau walk after all of the development time only to have him blossom elsewhere is a very real possibility and I think we need to try and keep him even if that means Dobes starting in Laval next season. Of course this is all contingent on Primeau signing a short/cheap deal as he certainly will have garnered NHL wide interest again.
This is eminently logical both from the point of view of asset management and the dynamics of goalie development.
That said, there are some less tangible factors here at play that need to be considered. Is the management and coaching staff ready to trust Primeau one more time? Abysmal backup goaltending was one of the major factors that nearly derailed our season, and it forced the management to scramble and promote another raw goalie prematurely.
Even with Dobes up, they felt compelled to lean on Montembeault so heavily, that I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to sign a veteran backup to a short term deal this offseason.
What about Primeau himself? Does he feel at ease as part of this group that has already seen him fail? Not unreasonable to think he would prefer to start with a clean slate somewhere else.
Bad news for Primeau's career.
He has kind of saved it by dominating in the AHL for 25 games, and if he had carried the Rocket to the championships he'd be caught up a lot more.
But now, Primeau will be on the bench doing nothing, and Fowler will lead the Rocket to a championship.