TRELIVING HAPPY WITH NET WORTH OF FLAMES
GM has no concern about team’s goaltending with No. 1 Smith and duo battling for backup
Of all the things the Calgary Flames are going to address this summer, goaltending isn’t likely one of them.
Flames GM Brad Treliving has essentially wrapped up his dissection of the season and as he proceeds to act on shoring up holes in the roster and the dressing room, the last thing on his list of priorities is netminding.
Yes, as a group, the Flames’ goaltending the last 30 games was among the league’s very worst.
It was one of the biggest reasons the Flames collapsed at the finish line.
However, for the first 50 games, Mike Smith and rookie David Rittich did wonders to mask the shortfalls of a team that ultimately wasn’t anywhere close to being playoff material.
Early on, Smith was among league-leaders in save percentage and goals-against average and Rittich’s play was so undeniably good as a call-up he made it easy for the team to trade away opening-night backup Eddie Lack.
The big question is: Can they return to the form that made Smith an all-star and Rittich a legitimate NHLer in just his second season removed from playing in his native Czech Republic? Treliving believes so.
“I’m confident in the goaltenders we have,” said Treliving.
“I think we have the right personnel here.”
Every bit as important as his assessment is the fact Treliving has far more pressing needs to address than meddling with goaltending.
And he has very little ammunition with which to effect the significant changes he needs to make to add depth up front.
Wasting assets or cap space on potential goalie upgrades is nonsensical given the team has no draft picks in the first three rounds next month.
Smith has one year left on a deal paying him a cap-friendly US$4.25 million.
His age has many worrying about the durability of the 36-year-old, who missed a month late in the season with a groin injury he refused to discuss in detail at season’s end.
While it would be convenient to blame the team’s downfall on his absence, the fact is his game started to slide a handful of games before he came up lame in the final seconds of a game in Brooklyn Feb. 11.
“Hey, it’s a critical position and the first 50 games there wasn’t a lot of doubt there,” said Treliving, who admitted that talk before the all-star break of disrupting his goaltending next year would have been hard to fathom.
“If you look at Mike, I think we all agree Mike was having a terrific season. Yes, there was a dip before his injury.
“I’ve spent some time talking to Mike. Along with our team, quite frankly, there was a feeling of, ‘Let’s hold on until Smitty can get back.’ They were expecting him to walk on water and save us the rest of the way. I think he put that pressure on himself and I think he was trying to make the 40th save on save one every night. It didn’t go his way.
“But I think he’s an elite goalie in this league.”
Rittich turns 26 this summer and is a restricted free agent who is clearly up for a raise from the $725,000 he made during his breakthrough season.
Picking up crucial wins and confidence as a rarely-used backup starting late November, Rittich’s game took a bad turn when asked to be the starter in early February.
“When Mike got injured it put two young goaltenders in a real tough spot,” said Treliving, who summoned college hotshot Jon Gillies from Stockton to back up Rittich.
“Up until that time David had performed real well. Jon Gillies had great save percentage in Stockton and here was pretty darn good.”
Assuming Treliving doesn’t shake up the goaltending group or bring in an inexpensive veteran to push the youngsters, there’s little doubt Rittich and Gillies can benefit from competing for the backup job in training camp.
The organization still has high hopes for first-year pro Tyler Parsons longterm and isn’t interested in blocking — or speeding up — his development for any reason.
Smith will be counted on to shake off his forgettable finish and return to the all-star form he had the bulk of the season if the Flames are to rebound with a playoff spot next year.
Staying with the status quo in net is not only the right call, it’s really the only call given the Flames issues elsewhere.