FiveTacos
Registered User
He was unlucky. If he'd been a few years older and come along sooner, the Ducks might have won another Cup or two. But he was too young in '14 and '15, and by the time he came into his own as an impact goalie the cracks in the team were already showing; they were a good team being made to look better than it was in good part because of him. He was ultimately better than Freddie Andersen or Jonas Hiller, who both proved not quite good enough in the playoffs with stronger teams.
And the timing of his extension was awful, just as the team was about to fall apart completely. So he ended up locked into a long term deal at just the wrong time, with a high salary and long term that made him almost impossible to move for most of it.
Thankfully he's still young enough to potentially have a number of good years left. 31 is not ancient in goalie years. If his revival is legit, it's not crazy to think he could have another half decade in him.
