The goalie carousel continues: Is another prospect ready to jump on? Meet Jussi Rynnäs
by Travis Hughes on Mar 17, 2010 11:33 AM EDT
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Goaltending. It's always the problem.
We know this, and there's no reason to look back at all the goaltending failures we've seen over the last... 23 or so years. (For the record and on the subject, we've changed the slogan on the site for the first time this season!) On Tuesday night in Nashville, though, our little three-ring goalie circus got a little more absurd when Michael Leighton left the game in the first period with what's being reported as a high-ankle sprain.
As Brian Boucher came into the game with nobody to back him up, word first got out via the Daily News that Johan Backlund was injured up in Glens Falls. We had just spoken with Tim McManus at the Post-Star for 40 minutes in an interview for BSH Radio and he hadn't mentioned a word about Backlund's injury, so things were questionable. As it turns out, it appears Backlund did indeed look a little injured in overtime on Sunday and after an off day on Monday, he missed practice on Tuesday.
So then, everybody scrambled to figure out who would be the emergency call up instead of Backlund. It appears now that it'll be AHL backup Jeremy Duchesne instead of the other possibility, an emergency call up of QMJHL goalie Nic Riopel. His team, Moncton, is set to make a lot of noise and run at the Memorial Cup.
With the playoffs starting on Friday, that would've been less than ideal for Moncton and likely for Riopel's development. Also, as was pointed out in the game thread last night, signing Riopel to a deal with the Flyers may not have even been possible.
Because of this, Duchesne seems to be the ideal choice. He's not going to be playing anyway unless Boucher gets injured, and since he's been backing up Backlund in Glens Falls for a while now, I'm sure his door opening abilities are top notch.
As this carousel continues to spin around the Flyers in Philadelphia, Glens Falls, Nashville and Dallas, one of our scouts is across the pond in Europe on the look out for the next goaltending prospect to add to the system.
His name is Jussi Rynnäs, he's 22, and Flyers scout Neil Little is in Finland for the rest of the week watching him play. As reported by the reliable Teemu H, also known as @euroflyers on Twitter, Little confirmed that the Flyers are interested in his services.
"We are interested in Rynnäs", Little confirms. "Several NHL teams are. I believe he'll get an NHL contract but he's not NHL ready yet."
So who is Jussi Rynnäs? We'll try to answer that question after the jump.
That seems to be the case here with an HF member named Tormentor. Here's a little scouting report on Rynnäs.
Rynnäs still has some problems with his rebound control, recovery quickness, lateral movement when being down, and covering angels in some situation, but I think that these areas will improve with hard work. At least Pekka Rinne is a good role model for Rynnäs, because he had similar weaknesses in his game when he still played in Finland.
Naturally Rynnäs still has a lot of work ahead of him, but there's a chance that this kid goes far.
NHL teams are noticing, and there are also reports that the Stars have interest. The Dallas report says that Rynnäs will be available to become a free agent this upcoming summer, and we should probably expect him to get a lot of looks. It's nice to see that the Flyers are showing a bit of interest as well.
Besides, with Mika Pyörälä in Adirondack, the Flyers are in serious need of umlauts.
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is there any way
we just nix Emery’s return next season…maybe drop few people…::cough cough:: Cote ::cough cough:: I thought that turd was floating down the river off of waivers and he seemed to float back up to us.
…and make some much needed room to make a push for a goalie, or should I really say ‘The’ goalie…Thomas Vokoun. ??? I know it is a stretch with him being such a cap hit and us not really having any wiggle room for mistakes but if he can keep Florida in the playoff run each season, plus wanting to waive his NO TRADE for Philly, makes me think this guy wants to win the Cup now – - – and what a coincidence, so is Philly!!!! This guy should be in our net, we would finally have our goaltender we always coveted.
How would we do this?
Skip the Pitt, Move on down to Broad Street....
Philadelphia Flyers / Columbus Blue Jackets, 'nuff said.
we just nix Emery’s return next season…
His hip seems to have nixed his return for us. I doubt you’ll see him play another game for the Flyers (or anyone, for that matter).
If we could somehow get Vokoun I’d be all for it. I would not want to give up Carter, though.
I’m also for trying to get this guy. We need to hoard all of the promising goalie prospects we can, so we can improve our chances of having a franchise guy and have pieces to trade if need be.
Do you see what happens when you find a stranger in the Alps?
I would.
Vokoun is a very, very good goalie. You’ll have to give up the goods to get him, tho. Carter for Vokoun, for you, sounds about right.
Which B's team is this?
I don’t want to debate this again but 25 year old 40 goal scorer vs. 33 year goaltender who never really played under pressure I would stick with Carter. Next season the Cap is not going to be an issue for Vokoun we will have the money available without having to give up Carter the question is would FLA trade him for less. Being they got pretty much nothing for JBo they might. I rather go after Price but of course he wouldn’t demand Carter either.
Big difference between Vokoun’s situation and JBO’s situation. Vokoun will still have another year on his contract this offseason, whereas JBO was a pending UFA and it was clear Florida wasn’t going to be able to re-sign him.
Of course, if Vokoun were to request a trade, that’s a whole different story…
yep by why get traded for a contender when you can make your 6 million in sunny Florida and nobody really cares whether or not you stop the puck. The fact he hasn’t demanded a trade says something about his desire to win.
European Goalies and the Stanley Cup how many have actually won a cup. Is it just Hasek (who stole his) and Khabibulin? Or did I miss someone from before my time.
This article says you are correct.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 17, 2010 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions
I guess that my feeling is that if you really want to solve your problem
you have to be willing to part with something very valuable. Otherwise, you keep playing the field and hoping (against hope) to land a true number one. There are not that many truly elite goaltenders out there. You need one. What you do next is up to you (your management). Just don’t complain if you make it to the semi’s and get bounced again and again. Goalies and D win championships. Unless you have ungodly depth (like Detroit). Of course the counter argument to what I just said is Gigeure. So there’s that.
Which B's team is this?
Big Fan
Love the slogan change…I guess discussions of the storied history of goalies since Hextall will do that for you…
Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com
by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 17, 2010 12:22 PM EDT reply actions
I just noticed that. I think I might have suggested something like it for a t-shirt. I was just being snarky, but glad to see it can go to some use. Well, not really, as I wish it wasn’t such painful truth.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luuko
Your idea was the original motivation for the slogan change, and it may be coming to a t-shirt near you ASAP.
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 18, 2010 1:17 AM EDT up reply actions
Sweet! I’ll have to get one! Just don’t make it black. We suck in the black.
"Tortorella’s got it all wrong ... Gaborik shouldn’t be messing with our skilled player." -Peter Luuko
…. might be too late. I think you’ll like it, though. It’s simple, yet excellent.
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 19, 2010 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions
I hate to be such a stickler but…. I think the slogan is completely wrong. Obviously I’m biased because Ron Hextall is my favorite player of all time, but I don’t see how hilarious a slogan about him supposedly sucking is. Am I the only person who remembers 1989? Or even 1997?
If you could slash the internet, Hexy would be showing his disapproval.
I forgot all about those parades, they were fantastic. Really though 87 was magical but after that it was frustration wrapped in memorable moments of insanity.
Yes, and saying that’s the fault of the goaltending is one step away from the people who call into 610 to talk about QBs.
Hextall alone had two more conference finals runs, a Stanley Cup finals run, and some amazing statistical seasons in there. He posted a 2.17 GAA in 1995-96 for goodness’ sake!
dude, lighten up. You see that wisp of fine white smoke above your head? That’s the point flying by…
Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com
by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 17, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions
Or I could get the point and just think its not funny and having little to no basis in reality. Also an option.
I hate arguing stats when I clearly remember unblocked 40 footers daggering me through the heart. Hextall was not the worst goaltender in the history of the Flyers and not the only reason for not having a couple of cups, but holding him out as unblamable and the only reason for their success is short sited at best. Only one more option.
OR maybe you have no sense of humor, you haven’t been following the discussion here for the past week, reliving the Wregget/Peeters glory years, you don’t fondly reflect on the two headed monster that was Roussel/Soderstrom, you were living under a rock for the last 20 years and you didn’t read 100’s of media stories about the state of Flyers goaltending every season (whether perceived or reality) and you’ve put out of your head the complete abomination turned in by Hextall/Snow in the 97 finals. That might also be an option.
Managing Editor - HockeyOutsiders.com
by HockeyOutsiders on Mar 17, 2010 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Hexy was great… his first time around. He was a solid goaltender during the 97 run, for sure, but I mean, he was clearly past his prime during that second Flyers stint.
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 17, 2010 4:23 PM EDT up reply actions
For such a pro-North America franchise we just love our Finns. I think Lukko and Snider failed Geography in High School. They must think Finland is in North America
Well, Detroit has the Swedish contingent locked up, and Florida has 6 Czechs on their team (and Phoenix has 5), so it’s not like we’re the only team that has a tendency towards having lots of players from one European nation.
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
Not mention Washington’s tendency toward Russians.
by Mitchell Green on Mar 18, 2010 12:24 AM EDT up reply actions
Surprisingly not that high, now that Kozlov and Fedorov are gone. Only Ovechkin, Semin, and Varlamov are Russian. Jurcina’s a Slovak and Fleischmann’s a Czech (which would have been interesting ten years ago).
Oddly enough, Phoenix has more Russians (Tikhonov, Lisin, Kalinin, Bryzgalov) than the Caps.
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
This is from last year, but Mirtle did an NHL breakdown on From the Rink by nationality and position last year. According to his numbers, Finland is strongly represented league wide in goaltending. In his report, 12% of all the NHL goaltenders were from Finland, so it’s not just the Flyers.
We have a bunch, but I think the whole Flyers liking Finnish players thing seems like a lot more than it actually is…. Searching on NHL.com, we’ve only had 12 Finnish players appear in an NHL game for the Flyers (all time). We’ve also only got 4 combined between the NHL and AHL at the moment, and we’ve only drafted 10 total all time, which were spread out pretty evenly back to 1986. I don’t really think that’s all that high, even though it seems like more than that.
by DragonGirl0583 on Mar 17, 2010 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions
I think
the problem stems from trying to snag that young talent, like Marc-Andre Fleury, and just ride him til he finally settles in and becomes Brodeur-like….well in Philly its a bit different then the Pitt.
Philadelphia is like Montreal in the fact that we EAT goalies alive! So stop trying to find a lucky diamond in the ruff, get a solid goalie, sign him for a couple seasons and continue your search for the future in net….That’s my opinion (I think the question is, are we willing to give up someone for a net-minder like Vokoun???) I would be, I think I would be willing to sacrifice SOME offense for a big leap in our defense.
Skip the Pitt, Move on down to Broad Street....
Philadelphia Flyers / Columbus Blue Jackets, 'nuff said.
get a solid goalie, sign him for a couple seasons and continue your search for the future in net….
Thats what they have been doing since 1987. Thats why it is a problem. Every goalie is a stop gap until they find the next Patrick Roy. 20 years later and we still haven’t found that franchise goalie. If we’d had, we would have won the couple numerous times over the past 20 years.
by Mitchell Green on Mar 18, 2010 12:36 AM EDT up reply actions
At what point do you consider a 22 year old un-drafted European goaltender that is not ready for the NHL by all estimations a legitimate prospect? What a waste of time. Focus on scouting legitimate talent in the legitimate minor leagues or around the league on current NHL radar. Like the kid from Vancouver, Schnieder I think his name is, that has all but guaranteed he doesn’t want to play in that organization. This is why having a fourth #1 center is not as important as goaltending, prospects and draft picks and not to mention cap space.
Yeah, because Niklas Backstrom was a waste of time as an undrafted 28 year old European goaltender…OK, so the odds are low. That’s why you have multiple prospects. If you get Rynnas on a minor league deal and he never pans out, you spent maybe a couple hundred thousand dollars. If he does develop into a star, you’ve got a star. Looking at Rynnas for the future doesn’t prevent us from looking at other minor leagues. He’s playing well in SM-liiga, which is second to the KHL for being the best league in Europe. It’s not like he’s playing in Estonia or Turkey.
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
How dare thee insult Estonia.
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 17, 2010 2:55 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The finnish elite league is like the assistant to the assistant manager of the movie theater. If you can’t smell those qualifications then forget it. That was humor, the distant future is all fine and dandy, but while we are waiting for long shot aging european prospects to rescue the franchise what are we going to do in the next month and the next six months? The article looks at the immediate goaltender issues while giving a long term prospects report centering on a guy that is not even in our system.
Dunno know why you guys didn't make a play for Tim Thomas
Okay, so he makes 6M. He’s still got a lot of miles on him, good guy for the team and will be your #1 for 3 years. So, trade Gagne for him, that would about match the $$.
Was there any talk about this? Up here in Boston, all we heard was that Chicago might be interested.
Which B's team is this?
What would we have given for an obvious back down to earth aging goaltender? There has to be a few spare parts for the Zamboni the Flyers cold have thrown in with a couple minor league talented checking forwards.
Honestly,
I think that you’re underrating TT. I’ve seen him for 3 years. He’s in great shape, plays athletically and stops pucks. I don’t like him much in the shoot out, but otherwise, if it were not for Tuukka, he’d still have the bulk of the playing time.
just my .02
Which B's team is this?
SHIT. WHY CAN'T WE GET A REAL GOALIE ALREADY.
I wasn't even a year old but I stayed up to be outside the Vet with my Dad and Mom when the Phillies won the World Series 1980.
Rynnas has problems with:
a)rebound control
b)recovery quickness
c)lateral movement while being down
d)covering angles
or, in other words, Rynnas has problems with nearly everything involved with being a quality goalie.
Sounds like Micheal Leighton. What are we waiting for? Sign this kid!
by Mitchell Green on Mar 18, 2010 12:37 AM EDT up reply actions
hoping on Riopel
Nic Riopel has been a beast in the QMJHL he has put up better numbers than Luongo, Brodeur and Mark Andre Fluery in that league. I am hoping he can develop into an NHLer. Quebec goalies are the way to go.
Moncton’s also a really good team. Riopel’s numbers are very good since being sent back (2.06 GAA, .918 save %), but under normal circumstances even those stats wouldn’t give you a record of 20-2-3.
You also have to factor in how offensive of a league the Q is. Look at the league offense leaders.
He leads the league in GAA and 4th in save % (among goalies with 15-plus games).
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 17, 2010 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh yeah; completely forgot the kind of numbers players put up in the Q. Wasn’t trying to diminish his numbers or anything (certainly one’s stats are in relation to their level of skill), but the team in front of him is, from what I understand, excellent and he sees the second fewest shots per game of any other goalie in the Q (not counting the two who have only played in one game).
Montcon has a solid defence leading to exaggerated goaltending stats. what happened to Mika Pyörälä?
by J.D_Rentschler on Mar 17, 2010 6:14 PM EDT up reply actions
He holds the Q record for GAA. Solid defense or not, he’s an excellent prospect.
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 17, 2010 7:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Who's the Phantoms backup you ask?
Why, none other than Kris Mayotte. Never heard of him? Yeah, shocker. He signed to a professional tryout – the same thing John Grahame was signed to – and he has 8 career AHL games.
Bad news? He has a 3.84 gaa and 0.892 s% in the ECHL this year.
Best news? He played for the Johnstown Chiefs.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 17, 2010 4:34 PM EDT reply actions
Screw Johnstown. I hate them with a passion. (although it sucks they’re folding)
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 17, 2010 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions
They should sell the team and move to Florida.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 17, 2010 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
That whole Hockey Team moving to Florida from Slap Shots was a great running joke who would have figured we would have 2 NHL franchises in that state today. Or that one of them would have a Stanley Cup.
They did sell the Chiefs. I am a PSU student and on the local news a couple weeks back i saw that this is the Chiefs last seadon in Johnstown. Im not sure where theyre moving
Greenville, South Carolina
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
Ah – that bustling hockey town in good ol’ SC…
"I did my walk of shame this morning and everyone was so much nicer," she said. "People were inviting me to parties at 9 a.m."
They had a team a few years back. The Greenville Grrrowl. Yes, three R’s.
Broad Street Hockey - SBN's Philadelphia Flyers blog. Got goaltending? Searching since 1987.
by Travis Hughes on Mar 17, 2010 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions
How sad is it when some kid in the Q is the best goalie in the system? I mean, it’s nice to have prospects, but from all indications Riopel should be splitting time with Boucher next season unless the Flyers can sign someone else.
No way should Riopel be in the NHL next year.
Broad Street Hockey - Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Geoff Detweiler on Mar 18, 2010 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions
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