didn't he also call out vlasic during an interview for screening him?
nabby was never scared to pass the buck for goals that were scored on him to the players in front of him.
This is that DW was referring to in suggesting Nabber needed to be a better team player. The Vlasic and Demers stuff is classic. In the locker room yes, never to the media.
You can say that about anyone. So far as we know, Greiss hasn't faltered. And the way that whole thing played itself out dealt a pretty bad hand to him when he had earned more than that. Luckily, he's gutted it out and the team hopefully recognizes it and recognizes the solid performance he had this season and gives him more opportunities. He's earned it and I think there's more in him.
Fair enough and I agree that Greiss deserves a chance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SHARPENCAP
Probably thinking I can save this I know I can and then whoops next time I'll get it I know i will
I like to imagine him going "you a beast son. that shooter aint ****. yous the best thing to come out of finland since thor, yous just gonna block it like its no big deal homie. oh **** he scored? merry christmas son, that aint happening again. fosho. oh **** it happened again? well butter my biscuits and call me a ham sandwich, i guess im kris kringle tonight." or something.
Niemi had over a 3.00 GAA last year in the playoffs, that's disgusting.
You just proved you didn't watch the playoffs. Niemi was the best Sharks in that series after Thornton, stole game 1 and gave us a chance to win every night. The #1 reason we lost was coaching.
You just proved you didn't watch the playoffs. Niemi was the best Sharks in that series after Thornton, stole game 1 and gave us a chance to win every night. The #1 reason we lost was coaching.
Meant the 2011 Playoffs, where we got to WCF despite Niemi having the worst GAA in the entire Western Conference.
Fair enough and I agree that Greiss deserves a chance.
I like to imagine him going "you a beast son. that shooter aint ****. yous the best thing to come out of finland since thor, yous just gonna block it like its no big deal homie. oh **** he scored? merry christmas son, that aint happening again. fosho. oh **** it happened again? well butter my biscuits and call me a ham sandwich, i guess im kris kringle tonight." or something.
His 2004 playoff run was easily the greatest by any Sharks' goaltender, and he dragged a team whose forwards were Marleau, Damphousse and a bunch of dreck farther than any Sharks team has gotten since.
The fact that he never replicated those 17 games in crunch time is what led Wilson to look elsewhere. Just wish he hadn't gone with the guy whose longest equivalent run was 4 games against the Sharks.
You just proved you didn't watch the playoffs. Niemi was the best Sharks in that series after Thornton, stole game 1 and gave us a chance to win every night. The #1 reason we lost was coaching.
So true. Niemi is so much better than fans give him credit for. Our defense was a joke all year. One of the main reasons why getting Larry Robinson is so exciting for the coming season.
Nabby is missed, but only for nostalgic reasons. Neimi is our guy.
So true. Niemi is so much better than fans give him credit for. Our defense was a joke all year. One of the main reasons why getting Larry Robinson is so exciting for the coming season.
Nabby is missed, but only for nostalgic reasons. Neimi is our guy.
Our defense was a top ten defense even with a really poor PK. It's not just defense that is an issue with that aspect. It's the coaching AND it's the goaltending as well. I didn't mind making the switch in net due to salary but I know that Niemi is just as prone to giving up a softy as Nabby was. Niemi is no better as an individual goalie and, in reality, he'd be damn near unanimously worse if he didn't ride the back of a very talented Chicago squad to a Stanley Cup. That Cup is the only reason why anyone gives him the least bit of slack at this point.
Our defense was a top ten defense even with a really poor PK. It's not just defense that is an issue with that aspect. It's the coaching AND it's the goaltending as well. I didn't mind making the switch in net due to salary but I know that Niemi is just as prone to giving up a softy as Nabby was. Niemi is no better as an individual goalie and, in reality, he'd be damn near unanimously worse if he didn't ride the back of a very talented Chicago squad to a Stanley Cup. That Cup is the only reason why anyone gives him the least bit of slack at this point.
I think the appeal with Niemi is more than that. In all 8? playoff series he has played in, he's "given his team a chance to win" in all of them. The only exception might be the series against LA, where he at least was able to be pulled (Nabokov wouldn't have allowed it), and where he eventually rebounded. He's also stolen a couple of games and had the odd series where he's been a major factor.
It is a relatively small sample size, but that is always how it is going to be.
Nabokov, on the other hand, has/had a mix. Early in his career, he was more like Niemi. But when you factor in the years when he was older and had a heavier workload, it looks like the opposite end of the spectrum. He was costing the team games and series, and wasn't "stealing" very much.
Skill-wise, I think Nabokov hurt the team by his need to see more action to "get comfortable" as well as his (and the two are not unrelated) insistence that players abdicate shooting lanes.
I think the appeal with Niemi is more than that. In all 8? playoff series he has played in, he's "given his team a chance to win" in all of them. The only exception might be the series against LA, where he at least was able to be pulled (Nabokov wouldn't have allowed it), and where he eventually rebounded. He's also stolen a couple of games and had the odd series where he's been a major factor.
It is a relatively small sample size, but that is always how it is going to be.
Nabokov, on the other hand, has/had a mix. Early in his career, he was more like Niemi. But when you factor in the years when he was older and had a heavier workload, it looks like the opposite end of the spectrum. He was costing the team games and series, and wasn't "stealing" very much.
Skill-wise, I think Nabokov hurt the team by his need to see more action to "get comfortable" as well as his (and the two are not unrelated) insistence that players abdicate shooting lanes.
The appeal of Niemi to some is that he's not Nabokov, nothing more. Some people just didn't like Nabokov for whatever reason...some legitimate and some not. But Nabokov gave the Sharks a chance to win every time he stepped on the ice in the playoffs whether people want to admit it or not.
And the criticisms laid against Nabokov ought to be laid against Niemi if the standard was one and the same. However, most people don't stick to one standard when it comes to this conversation. Niemi has done no better here than Nabokov has. That's really the bottom line.
The appeal of Niemi to some is that he's not Nabokov, nothing more. Some people just didn't like Nabokov for whatever reason...some legitimate and some not. But Nabokov gave the Sharks a chance to win every time he stepped on the ice in the playoffs whether people want to admit it or not.
And the criticisms laid against Nabokov ought to be laid against Niemi if the standard was one and the same. However, most people don't stick to one standard when it comes to this conversation. Niemi has done no better here than Nabokov has. That's really the bottom line.
Shockingly I agree with all this...
We will truly see what we have this year in Niemi because this is now his 3rd real season in the league and he now has a D in front of him that is about as close to the Chicago cup winning D as we're likely to get while he's here.
Our defense was a top ten defense even with a really poor PK. It's not just defense that is an issue with that aspect. It's the coaching AND it's the goaltending as well. I didn't mind making the switch in net due to salary but I know that Niemi is just as prone to giving up a softy as Nabby was. Niemi is no better as an individual goalie and, in reality, he'd be damn near unanimously worse if he didn't ride the back of a very talented Chicago squad to a Stanley Cup. That Cup is the only reason why anyone gives him the least bit of slack at this point.
I agree the coaching sucked last year. But so did the D. You never leave a guy standing on the backside of a goalie, ever! The Sharks were lacking big time in this area, especially on the PK. I can't wait to see what Larry Robinson does with this group. Burns may have the chance to shine. Braun, Demers, and Pickle will only get better. It could be exactly what we need.
Well that and a better strategy on offense than just changing up the lines every other game.
I agree the coaching sucked last year. But so did the D. You never leave a guy standing on the backside of a goalie, ever! The Sharks were lacking big time in this area, especially on the PK. I can't wait to see what Larry Robinson does with this group. Burns may have the chance to shine. Braun, Demers, and Pickle will only get better. It could be exactly what we need.
Well that and a better strategy on offense than just changing up the lines every other game.
The PK sucked. The D in general was actually very good to be a top ten team in goals against given such an abysmal penalty kill. People seem to willing to lump the D in general with the effectiveness of the PK. It simply isn't the case. They were one of the best teams at even strength defensively.
