Robin Lehner versus Carey Price

by rob1989 on Jun 7, 2011 11:20 PM EDT

Hey I figured i'd post this for a bit of discussion.

How are we feeling about the Antoine Vermette for Leclaire+Lehner trade today? :P

Robin Lehner
2011 Birmingham Senators

20 Games Played, 14 Wins, 4 Losses, 2.10 Goals Against Average, 0.939 Save Percentage, 3 Shutouts

AHL Playoff MVP

Carey Price
2007 Hamilton Bulldogs

22 Games Played, 15 Wins, 6 Losses, 2.06 Goals Against Average, 0.936 Save Percentage, 2 Shutouts

AHL Playoff MVP

Poll

Have the Senators finally solved their goaltending woes?

Yes

63 votes

No

22 votes

85 votes | Poll has closed

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Comments

I voted no

Just because it’s still too early to say for sure. Signs are definitely pointing towards yes, but we aren’t there yet.

by B_T on Jun 7, 2011 11:50 PM EDT reply actions

I get that

I agree it is early yet but we do have to sit back and remember the way in which these games were won. I mean the character that Robin displayed in some cases is pretty astounding for a 19 year old. Do I think he will be ready next year? No. Do I think he will the year after? Maybe, maybe not. But if they’re patient with him instead of tossing him in like Montreal did with Carey, there is the potential that we will have a Ljungqvist like goalie who is only 22-23 years old in a few years.

by rob1989 on Jun 7, 2011 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Same here

I wanted to vote yes because of Craig Anderson, but that would just be facetious.

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by Mark Parisi on Jun 8, 2011 12:44 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

a little early to tell I think

http://ottawasconsensus.blogspot.com/

by DaveYoung on Jun 8, 2011 12:31 AM EDT reply actions

Disappointed because I was secretly hoping this would be about who would win in a fight

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by Mark Parisi on Jun 8, 2011 12:44 AM EDT reply actions

Anyone who votes yes is delusional

Have the Binghamton Senators solved their goaltending woes? It looks like it.

Have the Ottawa Senators? No way.

by TheGuineaPig on Jun 8, 2011 8:09 AM EDT reply actions

Robin Lehner winning a Calder Cup is great.

God knows how he will turn out in the future, but he is beginning to make suffering two years of Glass Joe seem worthwhile.

The Marginal Virtues

by JonathanA on Jun 8, 2011 12:00 PM EDT reply actions

Potential only

It’s great to see Lehner take the ball and run the way he did. He shows potential and eases the pain from letting go of Vermette. The potential will only be realized if they handle his development properly. Bringing him up too quickly during a losing season could ruin him.

So far I count one NHL-caliber goalie, and that doesn’t mean goalie position solved. It means goalie position VERY THIN. We should be drafting another good young goalie prospect with one of our 2nd rounders, and another one with one of our later round picks.

If Anderson gets injured right now we are screwed. So no we have not solved our goaltending woes yet. And I really do hope that Lehner follows in Price’s footsteps and becomes a great one-two punch between the pipes. But let’s keep building other goalies in case that doesn’t work out.

by Marvellous on Jun 8, 2011 12:17 PM EDT reply actions

Calder Cup

Winning the Calder Cup shows more than winning the Memorial Cup or World Juniors, but it is still not the NHL.

Lehner is off to a great start, but I voted “No” because RL needs more experience before he will be ready to be a No. 1 goalie at the NHL level.

If the question was about Anderson then I might vote “Yes”.

by DW19 on Jun 8, 2011 12:25 PM EDT reply actions

I still wouldn't have

We’ve had too many goalies come in, put on a spectacular goaltending show late in the season only to fall on their face the next season.

I’m not saying that is definitely going to happen with Anderson – I really hope it doesn’t. But I won’t consider the goaltending issues solved until he proves it’s not going to happen.

by B_T on Jun 9, 2011 9:18 AM EDT up reply actions

That't reasonable

I can totally understand that argument. I sincerely hope Anderson is not the latest in a long line of false hopes in the Ottawa nets.

by DW19 on Jun 9, 2011 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions

I voted yes

because of Anderson. That’s the thing about polls, hard to get the question exactly right.

I think we’re fine for next year with Anderson and whoever as backup, even if Lehner is starting in Binghampton, since he’s just a callup away.

Agree we need some G prospects but I wouldn’t say we’re VERY THIN since there are a ton of UFA 3rd string goalies available (look at all the ones Philly signed this year!) even during the season.

by Joebo on Jun 8, 2011 10:20 PM EDT reply actions

Let's build some depth between the pipes

One good NHL-ready goalie does not mean solid goaltending. Lehner is ready for a short callup. If Anderson gets injured, then what? Barry Brust?

The reason why Ottawa is considered a goaltender’s graveyard is that we have never bothered to develop any depth in that area. We’ve settled for having one goalie with potential and filling in with undrafted or unproven goalies or antiques like Hasek.

So it’s great to have Anderson and Lehner, but all I’m saying is let’s build some depth in the position so we have excellent goaltending even if Anderson goes down for a while.

by Marvellous on Jun 9, 2011 7:50 AM EDT up reply actions

Never bothered?

This claim is, as politely as I can put it, completely wrong. The Senators’ lack of success in developing goaltenders in their own system in no way indicates a lack of effort in doing so.

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by Mark Parisi on Jun 9, 2011 8:36 AM EDT up reply actions

A matter of priority

I didn’t say they lacked effort. My “never bothered” meant that it never was a high enough priority. They didn’t go out and acquire a proven goalie… and settling had it’s consequences. Sure they “tried” different goalies… so did Phily… and they invested big money in unproven goalies. The way I see it, they just prioritized other things.

A while ago when we had such a great defence, we got away with it. But then the defence thinned out and they decided to count on an unproven goalie (again) and the latest one also had a history of injury.

Now hopefully we have a goalie, and if Anderson falters or gets injured, we don’t have anyone NHL ready. Compare that situation to Vancouver and Boston. Vancouver prioritized goaltending, and they went out and got Juongo, amd spent a first rounder for Schneider. Boston also prioritized galtending and they traded for Rask when they had Thomas and it looked like he was faltering.

by Marvellous on Jun 9, 2011 10:24 AM EDT up reply actions

We have prioritised, but just hasn't worked out

We traded for Leclaire, at the time a solid move.
We had Emery, who then ended up having a failed alarm clock.
We had the best goalie of our generation in Hasek, but he got injured.

An Ottawa Senators supporter in Toronto, Ontario. I am cool like that.

by Adnan on Jun 9, 2011 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Also, I hate Hasek

I feel like Murray took my personal feelings into his decision to move on from him.

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by Mark Parisi on Jun 9, 2011 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions

But I can't prove it

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by Mark Parisi on Jun 9, 2011 11:12 AM EDT up reply actions

Ha

Yeah, your theory doesn’t make sense to me. Our team was loaded, there was a huge incentive for him to come play if he could.

But everyone has players that rub them the wrong way, like Chris Neil for me.

An Ottawa Senators supporter in Toronto, Ontario. I am cool like that.

by Adnan on Jun 9, 2011 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions

The theory makes sense if you believe he's a selfish coward!

No such thing as incentive for a person like that. Plus, it was an elimination game… tons of pressure to be a savior. Hell, even Leclaire played injured this year.

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by Mark Parisi on Jun 9, 2011 12:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Hasek... barf...

Oh come on, Hasek was 40 years old when they signed him. He was a good goalie with the Sabres but come on… What did they expect? He couldn’t play unless he was 100% so he invented injuries he never even had. Barf… DUH!!!

And Emery said numberous times that his favourite part of the game was fighting = RED FLAG!!! and we signed him to a big contract after a handful of good games behind one of the best defences in the NHL.

Even then if Emery was only one of many prospects, fine… but who else did we have… Glass is the only name I can remember?

And Leclaire was a speculative move based on a very small sample size for a goalie with a history of being injured. Again it wouldn’t have been the end of the world problem, except that there was no one else ready so we ruined Elliot.

by Marvellous on Jun 9, 2011 12:16 PM EDT up reply actions

I think you're missing Adnan's point

We know those guys didn’t work out, but the team has made goaltender a priority via free agency, internal development, and trade. Failure doesn’t indicated a lack of prioritization.

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by Mark Parisi on Jun 9, 2011 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions

All I got to say is

Lehner= Hefty, Hefty, Hefty

Price= Wimpy, Wimpy, Wimpy!!!

by Barnsley Pal on Jun 9, 2011 6:56 AM EDT reply actions

Sure let's get some G's

But I’d say BM could take the Butler/Da Costa route. Goalie prospects are notoriously hard to evaluate, so I’m thinking grabbing some dudes out of European leagues might be a good plan. In fact, I think some other team did just that with a finnish guy the other week.

by Joebo on Jun 10, 2011 3:30 PM EDT reply actions