Hey Professor, I am about to commit San Jose Sharks blasphemy. hehe I think the Sharks in their franchise history have only had two "good goalies" and neither was named Nabakov. I think Ed Belfour and Mika Kiprusoff were most likely the only two goalies we have ever had who are a step above "above average" in terms of their quality of play. Belfour is a name most Sharks fans hold in infamy (including me) because he jumped ship to Dallas and won a Stanley Cup and would not negotiate with San Jose to even hear a proposal (supposedly). At his age when this happened I can't say I blame Eddy. He was already in his early 30's with a bad back so time was not on his side per se as far as starting for a championship team and he did have a Vezina trophy already from his time with Chicago. Kiprusoff never won a Stanley Cup with Calgary but, they were a very strong team and made several deep play off runs with Kipper in nets AND Kiprusoff did also win a Vezina trophy for his time in Calgary. No other Sharks goalie has won a Vezina nor won a Stanley Cup. I think both Arturs Irbe (big fan of his) and Nabby had some great seasons for the Sharks but, when you look at their careers the statistics tell a story of an above average NHL starter. In Nabby's case he benefited from the very strongest Sharks defenses ever to take the ice in San Jose and his success for those of us (like me) who don't know the game that well thought at the time that we were witnessing greatness. To be fair Nabby was great during stretches of his career. Unfortunately for Nabby and the Sharks we were never able to pair a team without major flaws in its game with Nabby when he was at his best and later when Nabby was not as sharp the team was better but, Nabby was no longer the goalie he had been. After following Sharks hockey since the Sharks made their first play off run with Irbe, Makarov, Larionov, Ozolinsh and the great Jamie Baker to name a few I have come to think that there are precious few "great goalies" in the NHL in any given decade. The statistics used to be heavily inflated after the Gretzky era of the high flying 80's when nobody played defense and goalies were left to their own devices. After the 80's teams tightened up their defenses with the rise of the "clutch and grab" era and the advent of the "left wing lock" and "neutral zone trap." During that defensive/obstruction era of the NHL offense went way down and goalies benefited tremendously from the huge effort made by most teams to play solid defensive hockey. Thus, goalie stats from that era of clutch and grab were inflated and it became understandable that some of us less knowledgeable hockey fans were fooled into thinking that there was a wealth of great goaltending in the league. There wasn't. There was a strong trend towards defensive hockey which coincided with another expansion in the league. The influx of teams spread the talent thinner throughout the league and offense became hard won. Not everyone can be a good offensive player but, everyone is capable of being a decent defensive player so long as they have the desire to do so. When this dawned on me (a little perspective goes a long way eh?) this was the genesis for my thinking about good goaltending or the lack there of in the league in any decade. Why bring this up now? Because I don't think it's necessary to find a "good" goalie. Above average is capable of doing the trick if the team in front of that goalie is solid defensively and has adequate offense. If either of those areas are deficient than a good goalie is necessary. If Blackwood can prove to be consistent and stay relatively healthy he is (in my opinion) probably good enough. If the Sharks defense becomes solid I think Blackwood's stats will surge into top 5ish goaltending range. Until that time or if Blackwood proves to be injury prone or inconsistent (both accusations leveled against him by New Jersey fans) the Sharks will need to search for a goalie who can carry the team to a championship. Above average is enough if the team is solid. If the team is lacking than a "good" goalie will be necessary. I do like Blackwood and I think our season would have been so much worse had we not had him in nets this year which is frightening to ponder. hehe Thanks Professor, Pete Clovis, CA
I think it really depends on what one has in mind as to what qualifies as a good goalie. Nabokov was never the best goalie in the league when he played because he had to compete with the likes of Brodeur, Lundqvist, Luongo, Kiprusoff and a couple others who were a step above him consistently. If we say that any goaltender outside of that group is only above average, then that is a fair assessment. But I think it is also fair to expand our view a bit and say that while Nabokov certainly doesn’t have that legendary status, I would still consider him a really good goalie at that time, top 10 or so most seasons he played during his prime at least.
@@professorhockey I used the specific designations I did (above average and good) because I think it is very rare to have a really good or even rarer great goalie. When you look at the goalies we have watched in the last few decades you can see that most of them have dramatic swings in their stats with few exceptions. Martin Brodeur is a prime example. I think he was largely the beneficiary of the most fierce defensive hockey team of the clutch and grab era when defensemen were huge and less mobile than today. What was prized was the ability to maul an opposing player wherever you encountered them. Entering the defensive zone, along the boards or in front of the net. Those championship teams for NJ would just choke out opposing teams offensively. Brodeur's numbers were other worldly. I suspect that if you put Nabby behind that team he would have had similar success. Brodeur may have been a better goalie but, I think Nabby was capable given that much defensive support. I never thought Nabby was a "really good" goalie. I thought he was great until I saw otherwise. Then perspective gave me context for his play and while he did have some great years (like his rookie year when we won the Calder) he was playing behind a Daryl Suter team and Suter is a huge fan of "take the body" not the puck. All of Suter's teams including his Sharks teams featured a rugged, tough defense. After Daryl left SJ the Sharks were still a very good team but, we just never quite put it all together.
![[TH] VCT Pacific Stage 2 - Playoffs Day 1 // GEN vs RRQ | TLN vs TS](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/JhkzKOhvOps/mqdefault.jpg)
Blackwood was a stud for us. I hope he continues to grow his game, he was a bright spot in a dark abyss of a season.
Love his positioning and compete
Great show!
Thought he was great just the d let him down we should possibly try to trade him for a younger goalie of the future
Hey Professor,
I am about to commit San Jose Sharks blasphemy. hehe I think the Sharks in their franchise history have only had two "good goalies" and neither was named Nabakov. I think Ed Belfour and Mika Kiprusoff were most likely the only two goalies we have ever had who are a step above "above average" in terms of their quality of play.
Belfour is a name most Sharks fans hold in infamy (including me) because he jumped ship to Dallas and won a Stanley Cup and would not negotiate with San Jose to even hear a proposal (supposedly). At his age when this happened I can't say I blame Eddy. He was already in his early 30's with a bad back so time was not on his side per se as far as starting for a championship team and he did have a Vezina trophy already from his time with Chicago.
Kiprusoff never won a Stanley Cup with Calgary but, they were a very strong team and made several deep play off runs with Kipper in nets AND Kiprusoff did also win a Vezina trophy for his time in Calgary.
No other Sharks goalie has won a Vezina nor won a Stanley Cup. I think both Arturs Irbe (big fan of his) and Nabby had some great seasons for the Sharks but, when you look at their careers the statistics tell a story of an above average NHL starter. In Nabby's case he benefited from the very strongest Sharks defenses ever to take the ice in San Jose and his success for those of us (like me) who don't know the game that well thought at the time that we were witnessing greatness.
To be fair Nabby was great during stretches of his career. Unfortunately for Nabby and the Sharks we were never able to pair a team without major flaws in its game with Nabby when he was at his best and later when Nabby was not as sharp the team was better but, Nabby was no longer the goalie he had been.
After following Sharks hockey since the Sharks made their first play off run with Irbe, Makarov, Larionov, Ozolinsh and the great Jamie Baker to name a few I have come to think that there are precious few "great goalies" in the NHL in any given decade. The statistics used to be heavily inflated after the Gretzky era of the high flying 80's when nobody played defense and goalies were left to their own devices. After the 80's teams tightened up their defenses with the rise of the "clutch and grab" era and the advent of the "left wing lock" and "neutral zone trap."
During that defensive/obstruction era of the NHL offense went way down and goalies benefited tremendously from the huge effort made by most teams to play solid defensive hockey. Thus, goalie stats from that era of clutch and grab were inflated and it became understandable that some of us less knowledgeable hockey fans were fooled into thinking that there was a wealth of great goaltending in the league. There wasn't. There was a strong trend towards defensive hockey which coincided with another expansion in the league. The influx of teams spread the talent thinner throughout the league and offense became hard won. Not everyone can be a good offensive player but, everyone is capable of being a decent defensive player so long as they have the desire to do so.
When this dawned on me (a little perspective goes a long way eh?) this was the genesis for my thinking about good goaltending or the lack there of in the league in any decade. Why bring this up now? Because I don't think it's necessary to find a "good" goalie. Above average is capable of doing the trick if the team in front of that goalie is solid defensively and has adequate offense. If either of those areas are deficient than a good goalie is necessary.
If Blackwood can prove to be consistent and stay relatively healthy he is (in my opinion) probably good enough. If the Sharks defense becomes solid I think Blackwood's stats will surge into top 5ish goaltending range. Until that time or if Blackwood proves to be injury prone or inconsistent (both accusations leveled against him by New Jersey fans) the Sharks will need to search for a goalie who can carry the team to a championship. Above average is enough if the team is solid. If the team is lacking than a "good" goalie will be necessary.
I do like Blackwood and I think our season would have been so much worse had we not had him in nets this year which is frightening to ponder. hehe
Thanks Professor,
Pete
Clovis, CA
I think it really depends on what one has in mind as to what qualifies as a good goalie. Nabokov was never the best goalie in the league when he played because he had to compete with the likes of Brodeur, Lundqvist, Luongo, Kiprusoff and a couple others who were a step above him consistently. If we say that any goaltender outside of that group is only above average, then that is a fair assessment. But I think it is also fair to expand our view a bit and say that while Nabokov certainly doesn’t have that legendary status, I would still consider him a really good goalie at that time, top 10 or so most seasons he played during his prime at least.
@@professorhockey I used the specific designations I did (above average and good) because I think it is very rare to have a really good or even rarer great goalie. When you look at the goalies we have watched in the last few decades you can see that most of them have dramatic swings in their stats with few exceptions.
Martin Brodeur is a prime example. I think he was largely the beneficiary of the most fierce defensive hockey team of the clutch and grab era when defensemen were huge and less mobile than today. What was prized was the ability to maul an opposing player wherever you encountered them. Entering the defensive zone, along the boards or in front of the net.
Those championship teams for NJ would just choke out opposing teams offensively. Brodeur's numbers were other worldly. I suspect that if you put Nabby behind that team he would have had similar success. Brodeur may have been a better goalie but, I think Nabby was capable given that much defensive support.
I never thought Nabby was a "really good" goalie. I thought he was great until I saw otherwise. Then perspective gave me context for his play and while he did have some great years (like his rookie year when we won the Calder) he was playing behind a Daryl Suter team and Suter is a huge fan of "take the body" not the puck. All of Suter's teams including his Sharks teams featured a rugged, tough defense. After Daryl left SJ the Sharks were still a very good team but, we just never quite put it all together.