Craig Anderson Info from the Denver Post

NEELY wrote:I agree that the backup needs to be dependable, but Anderson has proven he can play 70 games... the risk in Ottawa is a lot lower than it would be if they had Elliott, Lehner, or someone else stepping in.

Either way, I think there is upside to signing Leclaire at this point but if they walked away I get it.

hemlock wrote:
Harding would be a nice option if he's cheap. Anderson and he would make a nice tandem IMO.

stempniaksen wrote:Jimmy Howard is absolutely not Brian Elliott in any way. I'm sure he's being insulated in Detroit and he has had a rough stretch this year, but the potential in this kid is just unreal. I'm not saying he'll ever be a top-five goaltender, but he is certainly a legitimate #1 goaltender (closer to Anderson level then Elliott). That being said style wise they are kinda-ish similar so a comparison can be made in that regard.

stempniaksen wrote:

NEELY wrote:I agree that the backup needs to be dependable, but Anderson has proven he can play 70 games... the risk in Ottawa is a lot lower than it would be if they had Elliott, Lehner, or someone else stepping in.

Either way, I think there is upside to signing Leclaire at this point but if they walked away I get it.

Anderson hasn't proven he can play 70 games a year in the city where goalies come to die though

I think it's important for a backup to be healthy enough to be able to go into games when called upon, and for that reason alone I wouldn't go near Glasscal with a ten foot pole when there are literally a dozen other options (think of it as trading off skill for reliability, as long as we aren't doing that with our starter I'm fine with that).

Hoags wrote:

hemlock wrote:
Harding would be a nice option if he's cheap. Anderson and he would make a nice tandem IMO.

Harding is a good choice for #2 job here. He seems to have some potential to be a #1. He's been playing behind Backstrom so there's no chance he'll be #1 ever in Minny, they have some good prospects there as well if I recall (Lindback ?).

Injury concerns are the only big negative. He blew out his knee in preseason and hasn't played all year. Hard to tell if that will be an issue going forward and if his game will suffer long term.

Jimmy Howard is a good one as well but I can't imagine Detroit not resigning him nor do I see him wanting to leave.

NEELY wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:Jimmy Howard is absolutely not Brian Elliott in any way. I'm sure he's being insulated in Detroit and he has had a rough stretch this year, but the potential in this kid is just unreal. I'm not saying he'll ever be a top-five goaltender, but he is certainly a legitimate #1 goaltender (closer to Anderson level then Elliott). That being said style wise they are kinda-ish similar so a comparison can be made in that regard.

If there were two goaltenders that are similar in every way it's those two. From their technique to the mental focus. Both guys let in a bad goal and they get rattled, they are both big bodies who play the butterfly, and they both depend on their teams in front of them to win games.

Howard is a backup in any other organization other than Detroit, if you flip Elliott and Howard in Ottawa and Detroit, it would be the exact same result. Howard is nothing to write home about and Detroit already tried to make a move to move him out of that number 1 spot when they signed Nabokov.

Dash wrote:If Craig Anderson is the guy the Senators deem to be their #1, then you treat him as the #1. You don't bring in a guy that also expects to be the #1, and you don't bring in a guy to "share the workload". As Neely said, Anderson should be the go to guy handling roughly 85% of the starts. Anderson is here and I think he knows that he is the guy here, and that is good for the team, the fans and him.

NEELY wrote:
Harding would be a great option as well. My fav guy out there.

stempniaksen wrote:

NEELY wrote:

stempniaksen wrote:Jimmy Howard is absolutely not Brian Elliott in any way. I'm sure he's being insulated in Detroit and he has had a rough stretch this year, but the potential in this kid is just unreal. I'm not saying he'll ever be a top-five goaltender, but he is certainly a legitimate #1 goaltender (closer to Anderson level then Elliott). That being said style wise they are kinda-ish similar so a comparison can be made in that regard.

If there were two goaltenders that are similar in every way it's those two. From their technique to the mental focus. Both guys let in a bad goal and they get rattled, they are both big bodies who play the butterfly, and they both depend on their teams in front of them to win games.

Howard is a backup in any other organization other than Detroit, if you flip Elliott and Howard in Ottawa and Detroit, it would be the exact same result. Howard is nothing to write home about and Detroit already tried to make a move to move him out of that number 1 spot when they signed Nabokov.

Nabokov was/is a goalie who couldn't even cut it in the KHL and who I believe is most certainly on his last legs. Obviously we have very differing opinions about Jimmy Howard though, since I think the guy is probably a top-20 goaltender in this league and a legitimate #1 on a handful of teams.

EDIT: And Harding is a guy I haven't been all that impressed with (although flashes of great play). Different strokes for different folks I guess

NEELY wrote:
Anyways, if they turn the page on Leclaire I get it and agree, but I can see the upside in signing a 1 year deal and seeing where it goes.

Hoags wrote:

NEELY wrote:
Anyways, if they turn the page on Leclaire I get it and agree, but I can see the upside in signing a 1 year deal and seeing where it goes.

Next season has to be a fresh start. New team, new coach, new GM.

I think it'll be a negative with him in there leaving some of the players wondering when he'll go down again. Not his fault but he's left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

NEELY wrote:

Hoags wrote:

NEELY wrote:
Anyways, if they turn the page on Leclaire I get it and agree, but I can see the upside in signing a 1 year deal and seeing where it goes.

Next season has to be a fresh start. New team, new coach, new GM.

I think it'll be a negative with him in there leaving some of the players wondering when he'll go down again. Not his fault but he's left a bad taste in everyone's mouth.

I agree with the first part, disagree with the second. If Leclaire goes down it will be a huge non issue like it basically is right now. Anderson is the number 1 already and he has shown how good he can be.

I think the fresh start with fresh faces is probably the right way to go though. I just refuse to totally dismiss the possibility of Leclaire coming back or the upside of it. Risk may be to high for sure but like I said, if there was ever a time to take a risk with a backup, it's next year.

Dash wrote:Down Goes Brown has a new "post"... talking about the NHL's Trade Call service, and among other funny gems, he has this:

http://www.downgoesbrown.com/2011/02/what-official-nhl-trade-call-sounds.html

"If you just realized you've accidentally traded for a good starting
goaltender when you're trying to tank for the first overall pick and
would like a mulligan, press 2."

Oglethorpe wrote:

NEELY wrote:Well, I am not one to say Leclaire should be part of the team going forward... but having Anderson changes a lot. If people want to say "no way Leclaire should be back, get rid of him", it's tough to disagree and that's probably the right way to go about it in all honestly. BUT could signing Leclaire at his lowest value and perhaps building him up to the point he has value again a risk worth taking?

Having an Anderson/Leclaire duo next year would be a small risk, but nothing crazy or totally out of the ordinary. Obviously they would need to sign a guy like Brust or Sandford, someone like that as a little insurance. They need depth in goal and having 2 goalies that are capable of being number 1's (insert Leclaire joke) would not be a bad thing. Having two goalies who have the ability to steal games on any given night might be the way to go.

If they don't resign Leclaire than obviously they really don't want him, but IMO, the risk is minimal if they have a true number 1 and have the ability to lave Lehner down in Bingo to play a large portion of games.

The true risk to signing Leclaire as a backup, is that he is so unreliable you almost have to keep a spare goalie in the organization. Let him go and get someone who can stay healthy. The organization needs Lehner to have a nice stable year, not being bounced around like a superball.