Article: There's A Lot Riding On Jesper Wallstedt's Bounceback Season

[B1GKappa97]

15 hours ago, Outskated said:

The blame for Wally's bad year falls solely on BG's shoulders.  Flouting a 3-goalie rotation and telling him to get an apartment were egregious errors.  It totally messed with his head and made everything a disaster.  Goalies are already headcases, so this was just a stupid move especially when we had almost no cap space to start the season.  This year, BG is leaving money available in case he has to go trade for a goalie if Wally struggles.

Gus is to blame. If he hadn't come out scorching hot, they would've found a way to rotate in Wallstedt. 

[Citizen Strife]

Outside of injuries, everything that happened was on Wallstedt.  Gus can force things to an extent, but if Wall played like shit in Iowa, that's under his control.

Gus playing for a contract should force Wallstedt to man up and take the backup role.  Fleury isn't there to "block him" (hate that term, but it applies for once).  So it's his role to lose.

Edited 14 hours ago by Citizen Strife

[Imyourhuckleberry]

15 hours ago, 1Brotherbill said:

Buium and Jiricek on the 3rd pair.  Maybe spread the new kids out but reality is he is a 3rd pairing right now.  As far as his offensive skill he is top pair on this team.  Spurgeon is not a scorer.  Brodin is average with Faber.  Middleton we don't know and probably never will.  Buium has shown he can score.  So the two kids are going to be the offensive defenseman on this team.

I think they might put Buium at 1st pairing with Faber. Middleton and Spurgeon have a solid history together. I don't think they are going to pair up 2 guys getting their first full season on NHL ice for line 3.

[mnfaninnc]

I think The Wall is going to be just fine. One nice thing about having this goalie tandem is that they play pretty much the same style of game. The Wall is a bit bigger than Goose, but both are calm in the net and The Wall is reported to be able to track pucks better than Goose. 

My hope is that they start the season playing every other game. Both goalies can get settled in, then. 

What The Wall has missed the past season or 2 has been getting NHL shooters against him. The angles are slightly different as NHL shooters can pick corners, so I imagine an adjustment period for him. I also believe he is a quick learner.

[1Brotherbill]

8 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I think they might put Buium at 1st pairing with Faber. Middleton and Spurgeon have a solid history together. I don't think they are going to pair up 2 guys getting their first full season on NHL ice for line 3.

Maybe, but Faber and Middleton work well together.  Spurgeon and Brodin can teach the new kids.  Regardless the d core will be more offensive this season with Buium and Jiricek. 

[1Brotherbill]

23 hours ago, Burnt Toast said:

I think so too. I base my opinion on his family. He grew up surrounded by professional goalies. I’ve read things he’s said, he’s aware of where he’s at and what areas need to improve. I’m really excited about the season coming up, not just to see JW, but all the new players. 

When you hear him talk he has a handle on what he needs to do and where he wants to go.  The three goalie thing last year was really unexpected and foolish to even think it would work.  That messed with his head a bit.