sincerity0
Registered User
- Dec 23, 2016
- 1,970
- 740
Goalies are both overvalued and undervalued but first of all, you can't count on a guy like Murray exploding in the AHL and then bringing you a Cup or even a deep playoff run. There aren't many Murray/Patrick Roy/Ken Dryden types out there. Just because it happened with teams before doesn't mean it will.
Secondly, how many teams may have made the playoffs this year with average goaltending? Dallas? Winnipeg? Calgary almost lost their season until Elliott started playing better. So you need a good goalie. If you have one you don't have to overpay but you can't just keep thinking you just keep rolling out guys on entry-level contracts and spend everywhere else.
We are arguing for the same thing. The only difference is I think you are taking the term "premium" to mean overpaying. That is not what I am advocating for.
The "premium" I am referencing is simply the cost difference between paying a guy like Chad Johnson or Nilsson in FA to start vs X starting goalie who provides above avg goaltending at $5m-$5.5/yr.
A good team needs to keep their Crawfords, MAF, ...etc until they find someone who can do it cheaper or for better value.
The point that teams just can't keep rolling out guys on ELCs is the exact reason why I'm saying there is a worthwhile premium to be paid if you can get a solidified starter at around $4-6m a year when your team is trying to contend.