Voight
#winning
Going back to the 70s the Rangers have had an almost interrupted run of elite goalies. There was a gap between Giacomin and Beezer, but then they went from him to Richter, another gap then Hank and now Shesterkin.
& the gap between Richter and Hank was Dan Blackburn, who very well could've been elite if he hadn't been injury prone.
I mean, they had Bob and traded him cause they didn't think he was capable of being a #1.
& the gap between Richter and Hank was Dan Blackburn, who very well could've been elite if he hadn't been injury prone.
Is it luck though, or lack of prioritizing. As a Habs fan we once had a team deep with Cs , with Vinnie Damphousse, Pierre Turgeon and Saku Koivu. Then mismanagement came and the best we could do is Koivu and Pleakanec. We somehow couldn't lay our hands on a legit top 6C for almost 30 years before we got Suzuki.
But we didn't
make drafting Cs a priority, and only one GM, Gainey , tried trading for one (and he failed. ), the others just happily going with what we had. So for Montreal it wasnt bad luck, it was bad management. Until Bergevin finally was willing to trade a high value asset for a top C prospect. I mean it's you draft, trade or sign as a FA.
Goalies are harder to project, but other than Hart, did the Flyers invest in drafting a bunch of good quality prospects, or trade for them over the decades ? I didn't follow other than thinking these guys are as good at turning up good goalies as we are with centres.
I mean, they had Bob and traded him cause they didn't think he was capable of being a #1.