Confirmed Trade: [TOR/ANA] Bernier to Anaheim for conditional 2017 pick

[Pi]

I suppose he couldn't "keep the net" because his .920 SV% in the 2nd half of the season was interfering with the tank and Sparks was the better strategic choice with that goal in mind.

Yes, instead of winning games when they were important, he won them when it was meaningless to win.

I thank Bernier because without him there is no Auston Matthews. He was horrible for the first half of the season despite being given the job on a platter. IIRC, if you take out the horrendous start in October, the Leafs were the second/third best Canadian team over 6 months from November to April.

Bernier gave us Matthews as much as Sparks did.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Surprised by this move. Seems like a waste of part of the Ducks internal cap.

 

[Vipers31]

Bernier was much better in games where he faced a lot of rubber.

He loses focus if he's not busy. He'll probably be worse in Anaheim.

With Carlyle back behind our bench shakehead) not seeing enough rubber is probably not going to be a problem. He sure doesn't mind letting shots reign in, at least from weaker areas.

 

[RoadWarrior]

Man, I'm suddenly getting a bit scared for Freddie, given the overreaction of some Leafs fans to Bernier's mental lapses, because that has been the one noteworthy drawback of Andersen, himself. He's obviously never had it to the degree Bernier had for the first half of last season, but if some fans think that was a constant with Bernier before and after that timeframe, those people might be hard to please for Freddie.

Bernier's mental lapses last season were epic. The worst of any goalie in recent memory.

Andersen is an upgrade with decent playoff stats.

 

[Halakitlikethat]

toronto:where goalies go to die

 

[nbducksfan19]

Bernier's value in this thread has sky rocketed since he is no longer a leaf....

I would assume that has a lot to do with improvement in the quality of the team around him...

 

[Vipers31]

Yes, instead of winning games when they were important, he won them when it was meaningless to win.

I thank Bernier because without him there is no Auston Matthews. He was horrible for the first half of the season despite being given the job on a platter. IIRC, if you take out the horrendous start in October, the Leafs were the second/third best Canadian team over 6 months from November to April.

Bernier gave us Matthews as much as Sparks did.

Sure, everyone has well acknowledged how terrible he was in the first half. That doesn't make it any less idiotic to suggest he couldn't keep the starting job over Sparks lateron.

 

[Kelly]

I'm not debating it's win-win. It is. Toronto gets cap room, Ducks get a useful guy on a very affordable remaining salary. It just works, and that's why so many people had a feeling this could go down.

I just didn't like the notion that Bernier is rated more highly now than before out of an anti-Leaf bias. I'm not saying that doesn't exist, but in Bernier's case, there never was a fanbase more harsh on him than the Leafs' own. Which was warranted for only half of last season, where he truly broke down mentally. Over the rest of his tenure, he was pretty damn good.

Look at the post below yours, doubt that gets said he was a Leaf. For some people the fact that he isn't a Leaf automatically catapults him to a good goalie.

I can't speak for other fans but I appreciate the fact that Bernier's performance at the start of the year basically won us Auston Matthews.. other than that Bernier just prove to me that he's an inconsistent mentally weak goaltender. If you want to talk about an actual under appreciated goaltender in Toronto then let's talk about James Reimer.

 

[nbducksfan19]

Surprised by this move. Seems like a waste of part of the Ducks internal cap.

I think you are confusing Cap with budget.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

toronto:where goalies go to die

They've certainly cycled through them for the past number of years.
Until the defense is upgraded I think goaltending will continue to be an issue. Makes me wonder if they are going after Russell.

 

[uncleben]

I thought the Ducks had an internal cap. 9.1 left with Lindholm and Rakell to sign. Plus rounding out the rest of their roster

Possible dominoes from this trade:
-Anaheim trades a high-profile defenseman away, to shed more salary
-Toronto uses cap-space to sign Russell or another D for the top 4
-Toronto signs a back-up goaltender

Realistic repercussions/side-stories:
-Cowen was not cleared for buy-out so that money was not coming off the books, Toronto wanted to shed money another way
-Lupul is possibly cleared to play, can't LTIR him, can't find a buyer, Toronto wanted to shed money another way
-Sparks gets the call for back-up

 

[SprDaVE]

I suppose he couldn't "keep the net" because his .920 SV% in the 2nd half of the season was interfering with the tank and Sparks was the better strategic choice with that goal in mind.

Leafs wanted to test Sparks and other young players, which is why there was a massive in flux of younger players getting opportunities across the board. One of the reasons they were in that bad position was because of Bernier and his inability to to make a stop in the first half of the season.

Bernier wasn't good at all and you can blame whoever you want for that but he definitely didn't earn his pedigree or to play above anybody. He did have some solid streches of goaltending but a lot of super bad stretches, which shows his complete lack of consistency.

 

[OldMilIce]

As a leaf fan I'm happy to see Bernier gone. He could be a decent goalie, but he just doesnt seem to have the mind for it. He is ridiculously streaky. He was absolutely awful to start the past season, and then towards the end he was actually pretty good. Not something you want in a starting goalie. I think thats his biggest problem, he is too good to be a backup, but way too unreliable to be a full time starter. The soft goals on the first shot of a game/period also dont look good on him.
That being said, I hope he can play well in anaheim. He came to the leafs with hype and for a good reason, he has the tools to be better than he has proven to be.

 

[ottawa]

lol, yeah......

I'll give you Condon for a 4th

 

[Rude Dog]

I have always liked Bernier. I think he is a better goalie then what he has shown in Toronto. I suspect he will be very good on the west coast. Wishing him well. I would be surprised if he doesn't post at least a 915 save percentage.

 

[Canada4Gold]

They've certainly cycled through them for the past number of years.
Until the defense is upgraded I think goaltending will continue to be an issue. Makes me wonder if they are going after Russell.

But I thought we were talking about upgrading the defense?

I mean I guess he's an upgrade on the 3rd pair over Hunwick or whoever. But the on ice upgrade of the 3rd pair left side is more than negated by the fact we'd have to allocate a lot of cap to him for a few years(best case is probably 4x4) which will without a doubt hurt us elsewhere.

 

[Pandaman11]

My thoughts:

1.What's the condition?

2.Straight up for a conditional pick: way to tell a player that he's worth something in this league.

3.As a backup on a powerhouse like Anaheim he should do okay. He better does, or he could be out of the league next year.

4.Backup goalie in SoCal - back to square 1, exactly where he didn't want to be anymore

 

[Kamiccolo]

I'll give you Condon for a 4th

If we wanted to start an AHL goalie we can save the 4th and play Sparks.

 

[CreeksideStrangler]

Now he can play basketball with Nelson Mandella

 

[The Examiner]

Sure, everyone has well acknowledged how terrible he was in the first half. That doesn't make it any less idiotic to suggest he couldn't keep the starting job over Sparks lateron.

After his AHL stint, Bernier was given another shot (albeit on a shorter leash) and he blew it again. Bernier was a mess.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Seems like there's not many smaller goalies like Bernier succeeding today. Jonathan Quick is only 6'1" but he 's big at 220lb. Lundqvist is not that big but seems like most of the newer goalies are.

 

[Vipers31]

Leafs wanted to test Sparks and other young players, which is why there was a massive in flux of younger players getting opportunities across the board. One of the reasons they were in that bad position was because of Bernier and his inability to to make a stop in the first half of the season.

The atrocious first half is more than acknowledged. I suppose I'll take this post of your's to acknowledge that suggesting Bernier couldn't keep the net over Sparks was disingenuous.

Bernier wasn't good at all and you can blame whoever you want for that but he definitely didn't earn his pedigree or to play above anybody. He did have some solid streches of goaltending but a lot of super bad stretches, which shows his complete lack of consistency.

Especially as a goalie, I'll stick with my own evaluation of his play. Other than the first half last year, he was entirely solid, and far longer "great" than "super bad". It's absurd to even suggest that. If those are your standards (and that word doesn't really fit, because it's not a standard, but a purely arbitrary), I really feel for Andersen, who I wish nothing but the best.

 

[Kamiccolo]

My thoughts:

1.What's the condition?

2.Straight up for a conditional pick: way to tell a player that he's worth something in this league.

3.As a backup on a powerhouse like Anaheim he should do okay. He better does, or he could be out of the league next year.

4.Backup goalie in SoCal - back to square 1, exactly where he didn't want to be anymore

I mean.. Carlyle handed him the roll here. He loves him. Reimer outplayed him most of the time. He was handed the starting job with Babcock. He failed both years. He hasn't been starter material in a while. I will say though he has stretches that make you think he can be the guy, but he always found a way for it him to get back to sucking.

When people say he is weak, it's because that something is usually something you can tell shakes him.. Getting pulled, a really weak goal, a bad pass, being out of position trying to play the puck and messing up and then being out of position for the goal. All these things send him on stretches of terrible play.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

But I thought we were talking about upgrading the defense?

I mean I guess he's an upgrade on the 3rd pair over Hunwick or whoever. But the on ice upgrade of the 3rd pair left side is more than negated by the fact we'd have to allocate a lot of cap to him for a few years(best case is probably 4x4) which will without a doubt hurt us elsewhere.

He wouldn't be my choice but I don't see much else out there. And seeing what Edmonton gave up for Larsson, I'm not sure that trading is a solution either.

 

[ottawa]

If we wanted to start an AHL goalie we can save the 4th and play Sparks.

Condon has more experience than Sparks, and yes he just put up an awful .900 save% but keep in mind he played 55 games in his rookie season, in Montreal nonetheless. Not too many rookie goalies in the history of NHL had to deal with something like that.

Give him 10-20 games a season and he'll do just fine.