Mark H.

We need Dave Ritchie to come back for just one Wiecek interview.

Ok, I meant all other offensive situations - clearly I needed a bigger mug of coffee this morning

Yes because when a defenseman has a -15 rating and his counterparts are hovering around 0 that really doesn't paint a picture ..... specially when the whole media, town and all the fans clearly rag on the guy for huge giveaways and lazy play. A defensive defenseman who's never out on the powerplay and plays a regular shift on the penalty kill - it's more acceptable for a guy like that to be minus -10 - than someone who's on ice in more offensive situations.

Why does it seem far-fetched to you. He did have a number of work-outs with NFL teams. He doesn't have the size to play Linebacker in the NFL. How much experience does he have at other positions?

Oh yes, the Kelly comment was bound to come up at some point According to everything we've been told by the Bombers, they have now lost out on Plan A and Plan B. Think about how that looks to average fan, who read the Lawless and Penton articles a few days ago. But hey, maybe Glenn and Willy were Plan A all along and Walters has now manipulated everyone into thinking they weren't. Maybe Bomber fans are schizophrenic because they have to be.

Montoya hasn't been the primary backstop for a putrid team most of the year. A turnover prone D is hard on a goalie's psyche - so are forwards to glide back on the back check. Thankfully that seems to be changing If it were as obvious as you believe it to be - Montoya would be starting every game.

I only watched the first period and he made some fantastic saves, the proof is in the stats.... the guy clearly is outplaying Pavs When it comes to goaltending, stats are definitely for losers. Until goalie stats show the number of 'scoring chances' against, they will be mostly meaningless. For example, Kiprusoff played some excellent goal for a poor Calgary team - for quite a few years.

Oh yes, Taman front loaded deals with Goodspeed, Canada, Glenn et al. Took a couple years for the team to recover from that

But hasn't this been the story of Pavs career starting in Atlanta..... up and down and zero consistency? Which was exactly like the team playing in front of him...

'Tried' is the key word - when you're signing guys like Boatman and starting them at Right Tackle - it ain't quite workin' out.

Steady on old chap - let's see how they fair going forward before passing judgement.

Pavs got burned out playing behind an inconsistent team. He had to make too many flashy saves and bail out the D most nights or the team lost, plain and simple. a) Wait and see if the consistent play of the team continues Wait and see if that leads to Pavs settling down and becoming a more consistent goaltender

Noel tendencies = Jets' tendencies Maurice doesn't have a lot work with and it's starting to show. Goaltending is just the tip of the iceberg,

So now that they've lost a game or two...the old 'Noel tendencies' are starting to show. (According to 1290, who have nothing better to talk about)

We were really weak at DB then, I wanted us to take him instead of Val St.Germain or whoever we picked at that spot. With that being said, I think he's past his best before date. I would pass on him at this stage. And they traded up to get St. Germaine. OL wasn't great either, IIRC

It's double digits lower than both Price & Luongo. What was the Alex Auld saga? Price: .928 Luongo: .922 Smith: .910 Holtby: .910 Darn it, I don't know why I said Alex Auld, I meant Corey Schneider.

You have evidently forgotten Ryan Miller carrying his team to a silver medal in 2010. He'd definitely be my choice in net for the Americans. What both Scrivens & Jones did in Quick's absence this season in pretty telling for how much it's LA's team D that contributes to goaltender success there. I'm not sure if you're being serious or not, but no, Holtby should not be on Team Canada. but to be completely fair to LA, Martin Jones absolutely stoned the Wheat Kings in the WHL on more than one occasion. He was the only reason the Hitmen won some of those playoff rounds so him coming into LA and doing the same wasn't really a surprise because I saw him play that way in jrs even though I hate to admit he was any good. Holtby didn't deserve to be on team canada either. For all people crap on Luongo he's always been a goaltender who can carry a team. He got that rep as a choker but it's not deserved, the entire canucks team are soft chokers. Price wins a ton of games in Montreal on a roster that isn't all that great so to me he's another guy who is capable of carrying a team. Smith I am not sold on but I understand wanting a more veteran guy as their third guy. He's a goaltender who carry a team SOME OF THE TIME. At other times the team appears to lose confidence in his ability. The whole Alex Auld saga wasn't just a coaching issue.

He's been on fire lately. He has a .949 S% in the last month and has stolen six wins for them in that time. The Sabres are a middle of the road AHL team without him. Who is Mr. Meltdown? It can't be any of the guys on the Olympic team if Holtby has been better than him this season. Mr. Meltdown = Luongo. I just don't have confidence in him as a goaltender. Holtby has stolen playoff games for the Caps...his SV% is right in line with the three 'tenders chosen for the team. Similar to Price, he's averaging 30+ shots per game. Luongo and Fleury 25 - 26.

You have evidently forgotten Ryan Miller carrying his team to a silver medal in 2010. He'd definitely be my choice in net for the Americans. What both Scrivens & Jones did in Quick's absence this season in pretty telling for how much it's LA's team D that contributes to goaltender success there. I'm not sure if you're being serious or not, but no, Holtby should not be on Team Canada. Oh yes, Miller. He hasn't been great of late...not that I've watched all that many Sabres games. Holtby > Mr. Meltdown

If you look at all the goaltenders going to the Olympics, Jonathan Quick is probably the only one capable of carrying a team. By that I mean the way guys like Brodeur, Kiprusoff, and Hasek used to do it. Does anyone else think Brayden Holtby should be on Team Canada?

Is Pavelec overrated or just playing against good teams more often than he did the previous two seasons? I think it's a little of both. I find overrated goaltenders to be a major problem in the NHL...starting with the guy out in Vancouver.

IMO, it's just like the Bombers last season. Talent is deficient, but the HC sure ain't helpin' either. When they played in the East, a north-south system and consistent play from Pavelec kept them mostly in the playoff hunt. You need more than that to win in the West.

My OP was partly in reference to Lawless basically throwing Buck under the bus in a recent column...wrote about his deficiencies like they were some kind of surprise. I'm too lazy to go digging for the link.

Bogosian is that steady stay at home guy with some offensive upside, that every team needs. Keep in mind, a guy like Adam Foote used to be a mainstay on team Canada.

I find it ironic that Dustin Byfuglien has become a scapegoat for what ails the Jets. He's an offensive-minded turnover prone defenseman who's capable of playing great hockey. That's not going to change... Suddenly it's a problem that he doesn't fit into Noel's system? Who ever thought he was going to change his style of play and 'fit in?'