“Goaltenders are voodoo” is a term that has become increasingly popular over time, with instability in the crease being a hot topic for many of the league’s top teams.
Whether it’s the Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota Wild, or even the New York Rangers, to some extent, reliable goaltending has put some teams quality in tough positions as the fight for playoff berth begins to heat up. .
With instability in the league, goaltending salaries changing and goaltending being one of the main reasons former coaches Jay Woodcroft and Dean Evason found their heads on the chopping block, Seravalli explains why goaltending made his naughty list.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Frank, what’s the second topic on your naughty list for this year?
Frank Seravalli: For me, it’s the goalkeepers. Instability in this position. I say all the time that we should change the name of this sport from hockey to goaltending. If you don’t have one, you can’t win. We talked about the Carolina Hurricanes and how their goaltenders are sinking their season and looking around the league; The Edmonton Oilers’ rough start in net probably cost Jay Woodcroft his job, and goaltending in Minnesota definitely cost Dean Evason his job in Minnesota. How many times, year after year, do we see a two-week stretch of bad goaltending that ends with someone’s head on the shooting line?
Frank Seravalli: For me, it’s hard to swallow and, by the way, the goalkeepers are getting pressured. The goalie market is changing, we see that the Los Angeles Kings are not spending much on goaltenders. We talked about the Maple Leafs trading Ilya Samsonov, they may not spend much on goaltenders, which could be the new trend in the NHL.
You can watch the full show here…
