I don't like evaluating goalies on Wins totally takes away the strength of the team and the number of starts. Didn't Raycroft own the Leafs record for a while? I don't think anyone would argue he was better than Joseph or Belfour.
There are games where Freddie does not give up a softie, but not many. He does look to me like everything is life and death around the Leafs net.. but that could be my own nervousness watching him play. The deciding game of the playoffs thing is real; every time.
I don't expect the same things from Hutchinson that I do from Andersen, although the stats comparison back to last season, is pretty interesting 
Like I said, I think the most telling thing is, can any of us say we would be surprised at any putrid goal Andersen let in? Yeah, we would get pissed, but surprised? I can't see how we would be.
I can't count the number of times I here the pro-Andersen arguments start with "well except for the # goal, and maybe the # goal, he was solid".
Yes, all goalies make mistakes, but all teams also make defensive mistakes and the Leafs this year are better than most. His numbers are mediocre at best.
- Aetherial
Ok I get what your saying, I don't agree with alot of it but I get what your saying and why your saying it to some degree. I also appreciate you admitting you have a bit of a possible bias as to how you view Andersen when you watch him play - what's the saying if you wait and watch for the bad thing to happen it usually will - STOP WATCHING! lol
I 100% agree he has not been nearly as consistent this year as we would all (most of us?) like him to be, hell even he has said that he hasn't been consistent enough.
I just don't see him as the horrific, train wreck that some do.
I feel like if you watch any player waiting to prove a theory that they suck because they make mistakes you will be rewarded with the proof you seek - goalies included.
At the core of it almost all goals scored are a result of a series of mistakes from players and goalies. I fully admit I am in general a 'goalie defender' because I play goal. I know how hard it is to be perfect and how much it sucks when you make a mistake and get burnt. I factor those things into my evaluation of goalies - all goalies but I also use a sliding scale for all players.
Ie. - Willy is soft on a backcheck, misses his man an that guy scores he 'owes' us a goal in my bizzaro world. When he scores one I rejoice but don't forget the goal he caused against and owns (even if it's just partial ownership) and he is "even".
When he goes on to score the winner later - good he's a +1 now for me.
For goalies - bad goal against that goalie made a mistake on that caused it -1.
Goalie stops a high danger chance that is generally a goal in the NHL against most goalies or clear cut breakway etc. +1
When I do this I just don't see Red Head Fred as a huge "minus" player in my insane rating system but I know this is just my way of viewing things - I like to think it's more impartial than just ignoring all the good any player does (goalie or skater) because of the one mistake they made.
I don't agree that his numbers are mediocre - they are inconsistent just like his play.
He is tied for 2nd in the league with wins - although some say it's not a good stat to judge goalies on (which I don't agree with personally but that's my opinion - I just don't see many NHL teams winning games when they goalie plays like poop).
His Save % is .906 which is 37th sure that looks bad. Now back out say any goalie with less than 15 starts and where is he? He's 10th. I think the # of games has to be factored in when you are comparing goalies, of the top 10 save % goalies currently only 4 of them have played 10 or more games.
He has played the 10th most minutes in the league (18 games) and his GAA is 30th so he's bad right? There are only 4 goalies with lower GAA's that have played 15 or more games than him. 11 more if you want to push out games played to 12 or more.
I won't keep rambling on and I now realize I look like the crazy guy who was crying to leave Brittney alone - all I'm saying is when put into perspective I think he is what he is - slightly better than middle of the road in the league, fairly good value for the cost and as has been proven many times you rarely need the best goalie in the league to win the cup. Certainly not the highest paid one who was the best of the best when he signed his contract and is now seeingly more focused on trying to figure out what colour gear looks better than how to fix his game! Sorry couldn't resist the chance to take a shot at the Habs.
As far as you being tired of hearing except for goal x or goal y he was solid - I'm equally tired of hearing pre-game Andersen will give up, 5, 7 etc. or the proclamation that every single goal against him is a softie. Christ I read someone saying the shot, from the side boards when Hutch was down on his knees like vintage Jenna Jameson was scored because it was a 'perfect shot' while reading just a few posts later Freddy sucked because he didn't stop a 2 on 1 where the pass was allowed to be made. As a goalie both those things drive me absolutely insane!
Ok I'm going to hang up and listen now - oh wait no this is the old blog so I'll carry on and try to keep quiet about the whole thing as best I can but sometimes I just can't and get TRIGGERED like Garnie and have to say something.
Go Leafs Go.
