Playoff Grade Card

[Sore Loser]

When's the last time an RFA goalie won the Vezina? Not in the past CBA or maybe even the one or two before that. What other apple is there?

I might be mistaken, but Jose Theodore (26 years old) may have been. Also, Jim Carey (not the comedian) ...

In either case, where do you think the Canadiens would be now (or the Capitals then) if they had inked one of those guys to an 8 year, $50+ million contract?

Both teams got smart and got out of those situations before they became an albatross. I'm not saying the case will be the same with Bob, but his play is very up and down. Lundquist makes Lundquist money because he is consistently the best goalie in the world. We've seen flashes of how good Bob can be - but with two very good young 'tenders in the system, who's to say we need to pay him elite type of money, if he can't be consistent?

I get the idea ... great goaltending wins championships. But, we didn't see great goaltending from Bob this year. Above average at times, but not Vezina worthy.

Edit: And, there are still those not-so distant commenters who thought we should sign Steve Mason to such a deal...

 

[Crede777]

In the end the CBJ should be proud to have won two games vs the Penguins, to make the semi's next season MGT must add some scoring power and get rid of those who should score but don't... Bob must be better and will be...

The Jackets have a lot of work to do before being taken seriously, and it's more than simply signing Richards, they need better players to compete at the elite level.

I agree with this.

I'm concerned about how much room they'll have during the offseason to make changes, though. A major FA acquisition and a trade is a fairly big offseason nowadays when many teams are much more conservative.

Also agree that if Bob wants to keep being "BOB" then he needs to be better regardless of who is in front of him. I'd take his regular season (minus the injury of course) as being a slightly below "average" year for him but his postseason play HAS to be improved.

 

[major major]

I might be mistaken, but Jose Theodore (26 years old) may have been. Also, Jim Carey (not the comedian) ...

In either case, where do you think the Canadiens would be now (or the Capitals then) if they had inked one of those guys to an 8 year, $50+ million contract?

Both teams got smart and got out of those situations before they became an albatross. I'm not saying the case will be the same with Bob, but his play is very up and down. Lundquist makes Lundquist money because he is consistently the best goalie in the world. We've seen flashes of how good Bob can be - but with two very good young 'tenders in the system, who's to say we need to pay him elite type of money, if he can't be consistent?

I get the idea ... great goaltending wins championships. But, we didn't see great goaltending from Bob this year. Above average at times, but not Vezina worthy.

Edit: And, there are still those not-so distant commenters who thought we should sign Steve Mason to such a deal...

Theodore was indeed an RFA the summer after his Vezina season. But remember I'm not arguing Bob should have made Lundqvist money, or saying anything remotely like that. I'm arguing that it isn't possible to make apples to apples comparisons because there is no other RFA Vezina winner (since Theodore, but that was when folks weren't making nearly so much money). The central point of contention is whether Bob is making "elite" money. He is clearly not, relative to UFA goalies, and there is no comparison to RFA goalies.

Edit: Interestingly, after Theodore's remarkable season, he was signed to a two year deal worth about 5.25 m per, very similar to Bob's. It was a much larger relative salary in that era, but it was a Hart season, not just a Vezina season.

 

[db2011]

I agree with this.

I'm concerned about how much room they'll have during the offseason to make changes, though. A major FA acquisition and a trade is a fairly big offseason nowadays when many teams are much more conservative.

Also agree that if Bob wants to keep being "BOB" then he needs to be better regardless of who is in front of him. I'd take his regular season (minus the injury of course) as being a slightly below "average" year for him but his postseason play HAS to be improved.

My feeling is that we won't see a conservative offseason. My money is on Jarmo completing some move or series of moves that will alter the team fairly significantly.

Just a feeling. I'm not pulling one way or another, just thinking that although we don't know too terribly much about Jarmo's MO, my take so far is that he's a big splash kind of guy.

 

[EspenK]

The good news with Bob is that he still is an RFA and as such could be re-signed for another short term contract if he has another good but inconsistent season.

As a point of reference Bob had better numbers than very similar numbers as Lundqvist this year - in the regular season. 2.38 GAA vs H's 2.36 but a better save pct .923 to Henrik's .920. But it was the playoffs where Bob "floundered" relative to HL.

I think Bob will get better but hope we don't sign him to some ridiculous contract next time around. It's tougher though because if we only go two or three years and he goes Vezina again, his UFA price will skyrocket.

As always will be interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[blahblah]

I think we need to compare apples to apples, not a RFA to a UFA.

Bob is paid like a top 10 goaltender in both salary and cap hit next season and within shouting distance of the top 6. Is that elite? Well, maybe not quite yet depending on what your criteria is.

Bob might not be in Lundqvist territory, but he's in the same ballpark as Quick. Let's compare Bob's RFA contract from last season with the brand-new shiny deal that no one else in the league is even close to (goal tenders that is). New York is likely going to regret that contract in 3 or 4 years.

Comparing this to 90's thinking (from a contract perspective) is just asinine. It's out-of-control hyperbole.

 

[blahblah]

The good news with Bob is that he still is an RFA and as such could be re-signed for another short term contract if he has another good but inconsistent season.

Next season will be interesting, but I figure Bob will be up around Rask with his next contract.

 

[EspenK]

Next season will be interesting, but I figure Bob will be up around Rask with his next contract.

Probably but 7 mill for a long time could be problematic if Forsberg and /or Dansk develop as expected. Could it be that some day the Jackets will have a Luongo/Schneider situation to deal with? At least Jarmo won't lose his hair worrying over this.

 

[Nordique]

I forgot one:

Marion Gaborik A (his 8 goals leads the NHL in post season scoring)

 

[DarkandStormy]

I forgot one:

Marion Gaborik A (his 8 goals leads the NHL in post season scoring)

Brass is at least an A- too.

 

[EspenK]

I forgot one:

Marion Gaborik A (his 8 goals leads the NHL in post season scoring)

Brass is at least an A- too.

I didn't see a Nash goal but I bet Ranger fans would have him at or very near F

 

[blahblah]

I didn't see a Nash goal but I bet Ranger fans would have him at or very near F

I haven't really watched, but Nash is averaging 3 shots on goal per game for the playoffs. Would seem he's getting chances.

Stats don't suggest F.

I'll have to watch a couple of games and see what's up with him.

 

[EspenK]

They pay for chances in heaven; in the NHL they pay for goals

Seriously, beyond his goal shortage he is floating a lot; the other night I wondered if he was actually in the line-up

 

[DarkandStormy]

I haven't really watched, but Nash is averaging 3 shots on goal per game for the playoffs. Would seem he's getting chances.

Stats don't suggest F.

I'll have to watch a couple of games and see what's up with him.

They are Arniel-style chances...mostly harmless. He has a 1.9% career shooting percentage in the playoffs.

 

[Nordique]

They are Arniel-style chances...mostly harmless. He has a 1.9% career shooting percentage in the playoffs.

so....

 

[Sore Loser]

so....

Perfect.