Sterling Predictions: Goaltending

It's the first entry in our annual series in which the writers attempt to predict the upcoming season.

Last season Craig Anderson only started 35 games, but has started more than 50 the last four full seasons. Andrew Hammond had a spectacular run to end the season, but his contract and his lack of experience suggest that he'll be the backup for 2015-16. Will Andrew Hammond get 30 or more starts this season? Bonus: how many games will each goalie start?

Trevor: No, Hammond will not start 30 games. I'd be pretty shocked if that happened, unless Anderson is out for a long time. Anderson 53 GP, Hammond 25 GP, O'Connor 4 GP (filling in for an injury)
Ary: No Andrew Hammond will not get 30 or more starts this season. Lehner, who the team trumpeted as the goalie of the future, got 36 and 25 starts the last two years. Since the team doesn’t really have a commitment to play Hammond (with Lehner, it was future investment), I don’t think they play him that much. I’ll go with 57 for Anderson, 22 for Hammond, and 3 for O’Connor.

Peter: I don't think Hammond will start 30 games--UNLESS Anderson gets injured again. Andy is signed and envisioned as the starter, and this year there's no question about that; he's said he likes to play lots of games, and I think Cameron will ride him as far as he can. I project Anderson starting 65 games, Hammond starting 16, with one left over for a random start to O'Connor or Dreidger at some point.

Richard: I’m going to say that Andrew Hammond indeed gets more than 30 starts. As confident as I am that he won’t replicate last year’s success, I still haven’t seen him play consistently bad hockey at the NHL level and I do have a potentially misguided gut-feeling that he’s going to continue to be quite good. I also think that Anderson could end up being injured again at some point this year. A consistently healthy Anderson and a massive regression from Hammond wouldn’t astound me by any means, but it’s not the outcome I’ll put my money on today. Hammond 33 starts, Anderson 44 with five left over for the other guys.
Ross: I'm going to say Anderson gets injured, giving Hammond 31 starts. Anderson will get 45, and that leaves 6 for O'Connor and Driedger. I don't think the points go that far, but if so, I'll say Driedger gets one and O'Connor gets the other five.

Callum: Andrew Hammond won’t get 30 or more starts unless Craig Anderson gets injured (knock on wood). Andy will start 59, Hammond with 22 and Matt O’Connor will grab a single game between the pipes at the NHL level.

Michaela: I don't think Hammond will start more than 30 games this year, unless Anderson gets hurt. Without any major injuries, I'll go with 55 games for Anderson, 23 for Hammond and 4 for O'Connor. Of course, if Andy gets injured, all bets are off.

Ian: Craig Anderson will get 58 starts this season and Hammond will get the other 24. With the trading of Lehner, there is no question that this is Anderson's team to run with, just have to hope he stays healthy.

B_T: Hammond will not get 30+ starts. Going to say 64 for Anderson, 18 for Hammond.

Adnan: Andrew Hammond will not get 30 start games. My guess is that Anderson starts 68 and Hammond starts 14, barring any accidents while going ziplining.

How many starts will Hammond get?

fewer than 103
10-1961
20-29203
30-3928
40 or more18

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