Will Marc Andre Fleury Choke Again?

[Jacob]

There are more than 3...

1. Calgary - maybe starter or maybe platoon, but Ramo is the only goalie they've got under contract next season
2. Carolina - big overhaul coming and reportedly shopping Ward hard; likely looking for a guy to platoon with Khudobin
3. Minnesota - another maybe; Backstrom and Harding are still under contract, but their statuses are a bit up in the air
4. NY Islanders - no brainer
5. Pittsburgh - have to be in the market looking for an upgrade over Fleury
6. St Louis - only have Allen under contract for next season, likely looking for that 1b guy to roll with him
7. Vancouver - claim they're happy with Markstrom+Lack, but who knows?
8. Washington - similar to St Louis, looking for a 1b guy to play with Holtby
9. Winnipeg - another no brainer

Lotta "maybes" and rumors amongst that list. Fact is Minnesota and Carolina have 2 capable goalies. Calgary has Ramo. Vancouver is content with Markstrom & Lack as you stated and Washington merely needs a backup, not a $5 million starter.

 

[Crosbyfan]

If you put Fleury on waivers this summer he goes unclaimed. Nobody would want him even for free, IMO. If we buy him out, there might be some interest in him at a significantly reduced cap hit, like there was with Bryzgalov.

Someone might want him for ticket sales...not bad as a 1 year boost and maybe some help in getting to playoffs... he might actually play consistently when the pressure is reduced...once he realizes the dream of the "first overall pick" is over, and he can start working on being a solid fundamental NHL goaltender rather than some kind of Rock Star.

 

[radapex]

Lotta "maybes" and rumors amongst that list. Fact is Minnesota and Carolina have 2 capable goalies. Calgary has Ramo. Vancouver is content with Markstrom & Lack as you stated and Washington merely needs a backup, not a $5 million starter.

Well, Washington went out and got Halak because they needed more than a backup. I assume they're planning on doing the same this summer.

 

[Crosbyfan]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=716608

"For beleaguered Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the word "meltdown" has become virtually synonymous with the Stanley Cup Playoffs."

 

[radapex]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=716608

"For beleaguered Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, the word "meltdown" has become virtually synonymous with the Stanley Cup Playoffs."

You forgot the title of the article

Analysis: Fleury's positional play not a worry

Which is quite true. If he'd stay in his crease, he'd be just fine and the series would be 3-1 or better.

 

[Sivek]

There's probably not another goalie in the league under less pressure. He keeps screwing up horrifically in the playoffs and time after time, management pats him on the back and tells him it's okay. He is also beloved among the media and most fans even now. He never has to win 1-0, 2-1 games where one mistake will lose the game.

Considering the Pens's backups have produced extremely similar results over MAF's career and Vokoun significantly outplayed him in last season's playoffs with the same team and system in front of him, it's most likely MAF is just not that good.

He is also as reliant on athleticism as any goalie in the league and in seeing that he'll turn 30 next season with a lot of tread on his tires for that age, I can see him being out of the league in 3-4 years. He hasn't bothered to work on handling the puck much is entire career, so I doubt he'll suddenly get positioning and other fundamentals that can extend a guy's run once he loses his lateral quickness and reflexes a bit.

 

[radapex]

He never has to win 1-0, 2-1 games where one mistake will lose the game.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

Something MAF has not been able to absolutely do, is have a rebound game the way he did tonight, not since 2009.

To me, not sure what else he needs to do to prove he's over his crap. MAF of the last 4yrs, would have shat the bed so hard, he'd have gone home and let Zatkoff sit on the bench while Vokoun played the rest of the way.

But he hasn't. I feel like he deserves more respect, Sid & Geno on the other hand...buy a goal?

First time in a while they're finally getting some criticism.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

There's probably not another goalie in the league under less pressure. He keeps screwing up horrifically in the playoffs and time after time, management pats him on the back and tells him it's okay. He is also beloved among the media and most fans even now. He never has to win 1-0, 2-1 games where one mistake will lose the game.

Considering the Pens's backups have produced extremely similar results over MAF's career and Vokoun significantly outplayed him in last season's playoffs with the same team and system in front of him, it's most likely MAF is just not that good.

He is also as reliant on athleticism as any goalie in the league and in seeing that he'll turn 30 next season with a lot of tread on his tires for that age, I can see him being out of the league in 3-4 years. He hasn't bothered to work on handling the puck much is entire career, so I doubt he'll suddenly get positioning and other fundamentals that can extend a guy's run once he loses his lateral quickness and reflexes a bit.

Right.

 

[nbonaddio]

Something MAF has not been able to absolutely do, is have a rebound game the way he did tonight, not since 2009.

To me, not sure what else he needs to do to prove he's over his crap. MAF of the last 4yrs, would have shat the bed so hard, he'd have gone home and let Zatkoff sit on the bench while Vokoun played the rest of the way.

But he hasn't. I feel like he deserves more respect, Sid & Geno on the other hand...buy a goal?

First time in a while they're finally getting some criticism.

Agreed wholeheartedly.

People are very irrational when it comes to him - positively and negatively, to be fair - that any discussion of him is difficult. Either way, I think it's clear he's had both his best regular and post-season (so far) in years. YEARS.

 

[Allie Kitsune]

Agreed wholeheartedly.

People are very irrational when it comes to him - positively and negatively, to be fair - that any discussion of him is difficult. Either way, I think it's clear he's had both his best regular and post-season (so far) in years. YEARS.

It comes with him being a #1 Overall.

 

[Fleury3434*]

And the fleury haters crawl back into their cave until we lose again lol

 

[cheesedanish87]

And the fleury haters crawl back into their cave until we lose again lol

I can think of maybe 2 or 3 good scoring chances pens gave up the entire game, it was much more about the team in front of him then MAF playing good.

 

[ByeBye]

And the fleury haters crawl back into their cave until we lose again lol

He gave up a meh goal and didn't fall asleep for the rest of the game. So, well done.

 

[Shady Machine]

And the fleury haters crawl back into their cave until we lose again lol

I'm not crawling anywhere. He played fairly well last night with little pressure or quality scoring chances. Should I praise him for every shot he stops?

 

[Ogrezilla]

Fleury didn't lose us the game. What more can you ask from a 5M dollar goalie?

Seriously Fleury3434, is that the standard we are holding him to? Should we be praising him just because he didn't directly cost us this game like he did the one before it?

 

[Cardboard Orpik]

Fleury might actually finish a playoff series with a save percentage above .900, so that's something.

 

[Kharkov]

Fleury might actually finish a playoff series with a save percentage above .900, so that's something.

Definitely great achievement, especially when you think his salary.

 

[Sideline]

Let's see if he can steal a game or two before we bury 4 years of terrible play. He was Chris Osgood on a good day last night. He was Dan Cloutier in game 4. Some of you guys have the memory of a goldfish...

 

[radapex]

Let's see if he can steal a game or two before we bury 4 years of terrible play. He was Chris Osgood on a good day last night. He was Dan Cloutier in game 4. Some of you guys have the memory of a goldfish...

Maybe for the last 3-4 minutes. For the first 59 he was fantastic.

 

[Sideline]

Maybe for the last 3-4 minutes. For the first 59 he was fantastic.

Yeah, and OJ was fantastic at having an ex-wife until he killed her.

 

[JTG]

There are a handful of things you should never talk about...religion, politics, and MAF

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

And the fleury haters crawl back into their cave until we lose again lol

*Until he loses the game for us again.

Big difference.

 

[JTG]

I can think of maybe 2 or 3 good scoring chances pens gave up the entire game, it was much more about the team in front of him then MAF playing good.

Most of the time, this applies to any goaltender to is playing well.

 

[cheesedanish87]

Most of the time, this applies to any goaltender to is playing well.

I disagree, Boston and LA can play games where they don't give up many scoring chances, pretty much every other team will give up a bunch of great scoring chances almost every game.


BTW MAF got beat by a shot that hit the post, i don't remember if it was in the 2nd or 3rd period, but it would of been a terrible goal to give up, MAF was inches away from going into meltdown mode again.