Ray Emery

[doom88]

Is Ray Emery's career over?  Not hyperbole or an overreaction post.  In my opinion, he's slow as hell laterally, and hasn't improved at all this season.  I know he's a backup, but he's just not reliable.  Still better than Bryz, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement.  Ray is extremely vulnerable to wrap around chances, shooters skating across in front of him, and struggles against cross ice one timers (more than the run of the mill goalie anyway).  My observation suggests this is a trend, and not a good one.

 

I guess the hip never fully recovered?

 

UFA replacement ideas, if available:
- Brian Elliott, 29 in July 2014, 1.8m

- Jonas Gustavsson, 29 in July 2014, 1.5m

 

I'm thinking maybe a decent guy who could fill in short-term if needed, without costing too much or complaining about their role.  Ideally, the new backup in 2014 should be a little older than Mason to ensure Mason doesn't feel threatened, but not so old they fart dust.

 

Thoughts?

[hf101]

17 - 1 last year.

 

I think I'd go with a RFA younger goalie as a back up. - however I have no idea who ?   :unsure:

[colorado_al]

He's most likely not as bad as he looks right now.... with no "D" in front of him... his head most likely isn't 100 percent in the game... after give away after give away... he's most likely too busy being pissed off to do his job. .

[Polaris922]

17 - 1 last year.

I think I'd go with a RFA younger goalie as a back up. - however I have no idea who ? :unsure:

17-1 with the best team in the league last year. Said it then and I'll say it now... More the result if what was in front of him than any real talent of his own.

Mason is playing well for you guys... I'd use him as much as he can take!

[mojo1917]

He was screened on 1 and had two deflected inside of 8 feet, I thought the team defense was atrocious tonight. I also though the flyers looked really slow, I know guys were shuffled because of injury and illness, so there was some unfamiliarity with who was supposed to be where...situations like that highlight the roster's lack of straightline speed.

I don't know if I can evaluate Emery's performance too harshly because he had rubbish in front of him tonite.

I will agree that he is not good when there is traffic in front of him though.

[hf101]

@Polaris922

 

I agree, and I think that will be the case in the second half of the season.  Teams know to shoot high on Emery. time to move on.

[doom88]

Just to clarify, this is NOT based on one or two games this season.  I have seen this all season.

 

Mind you, nearly every goalie in Chicago has seen some success as of the last few years, for good reason.  Emery included.

 

Nowadays, his defense in front of him isn't elite, but the team as a whole has played much better team defense overall recently.  That said, I'm not looking at that.  I'm watching the goalie and how he moves.  I think Emery is done, and I think he might think so too.

[OccamsRazor]

UFA replacement ideas, if available:

- Brian Elliott, 29 in July 2014, 1.8m

- Jonas Gustavsson, 29 in July 2014, 1.5m

 

Anton Khudobin 27 800K!!!

 

Didn't see the game just the highlights and wow he did not look good, hell once he went down i don't think he moved on any of them....

Edited December 22, 2013 by OccamsRazor

[Howie58]

Anton Khudobin 27 800K!!!

 

Didn't see the game just the highlights and wow he did not look good, hell once he went down i don't think he moved on any of them....

Greetings:

 

I did not see anything except the last 10 minutes. But I have had my doubts about him this year.

 

Peace,

Howie

[The Quigster]

Its tough to stop a puck if you can't see it. With the Flyer's all-star defensive line-up,anti-screen squad, fall on your face style of play,its surprising the score wasn't higher!

[flyerrod]

He was screened on 1 and had two deflected inside of 8 feet,

This was definitely the case tonight. HOWEVER, Several posters on here have noted this year that his lateral movement has seriously decreased even from his play last year. I do believe that his hip is deteriorating again and this will be his last year. If Mason plays the lion's share of the games with Ray only catching the second of  back to backs, I think he will finish the season if only just barely. If not, we will see Stolarz or Heeter maybe get a game or 2 with the big club.

Edited December 22, 2013 by flyerrod

[Samifan]

I don't know I though Emery looked pretty solid on the Jackets 6th goal

[mojo1917]

This was definitely the case tonight. HOWEVER, Several posters on here have noted this year that his lateral movement has seriously decreased even from his play last year. I do believe that his hip is deteriorating again and this will be his last year. If Mason plays the lion's share of the games with Ray only catching the second of  back to backs, I think he will finish the season if only just barely. If not, we will see Stolarz or Heeter maybe get a game or 2 with the big club.

I have not noticed the slow down, i have not been watching for it though, i will pay attention to him the next time i watch one of his starts. i don't doubt or even question what other's are saying , the nights Ray has started that i've watched the skaters have been rubbish in front of him.  So he's been the minimal reason for maalox.

[doom88]

I have not noticed the slow down, i have not been watching for it though, i will pay attention to him the next time i watch one of his starts. i don't doubt or even question what other's are saying , the nights Ray has started that i've watched the skaters have been rubbish in front of him.  So he's been the minimal reason for maalox.

 

Concentrate on post to post movement, or lack thereof.  Also watch the time it takes for him to slide if he's down in the butterfly.  Atrocious.

[AMMOnation]

He's most likely not as bad as he looks right now.... with no "D" in front of him... his head most likely isn't 100 percent in the game... after give away after give away... he's most likely too busy being pissed off to do his job. .

 Man.... So many ways I can go way with end of this quote. I employ a few angry men like him... They mutter under their breath.. Anyway.....

[brelic]

I guess the question is do we scapegoat the goalie again? Or, do we take it as yet another in a long list of signs that our team defense simply doesn't cut it? We do not have an elite level goalie. We probably never will unless we draft one and develop him ourselves, which will take many many years.

 

So, what's the smarter path to success? Keep changing goalies and hoping to find one that can deal with crappy team defense? Or address team defense?

 

I mean, Chicago keeps changing goalies and they keep excelling... not because they've found a magical goalie repository, but because they have excellent team defense. What about LA? Is Jones really that good? And Quick? Not to take too much away from them, but put either of those goalies in Philly, and it's a different result. Jones wouldn't even be given a chance, and Quick would be a run of the mill goalie. 

 

Mason *appears* to be the real deal. He has given us hope that he really is the same guy who won the Calder. But in December, he has looked like the Mason of the last 3 seasons. His save% has been below .900 in the majority of his starts (only 3 times over .900). He has allowed 4+ goals, what, 3 times? 4 times?

 

Any coincidence that when we find our team offense, our team defense disappears? It's like this team can't do both. Giroux has been one of the worst offenders. I love the guy, and I understand that now his role is really an offensive one, but he has been very l-a-z-y on many many plays, some which have led to goals that could have been prevented with some effort.

 

Anyway, I apologize for the rant It sure gets frustrating watching this Jekyll and Hyde team, doesn't it????

[doom88]

Its not throwing the goalie under the bus, Emery is the backup and is losing physical ability to play the position. That's not scapegoating in my opinion, or at least not the intent. If anything, it is nice to gripe about the backup without much worry in the starter.

[radoran]

Its not throwing the goalie under the bus, Emery is the backup and is losing physical ability to play the position. That's not scapegoating in my opinion, or at least not the intent. If anything, it is nice to gripe about the backup without much worry in the starter.

 

So, you're saying... that having made some of the worst goalie decisions in the history of the game, the GM went ahead and put half of the goalie job on a guy who, not even halfway into the season and playing as a true backup, is "losing the physical ability to play the position"?

 

I'll go with Brelic's Chicago team defense theory long before that. And, as we know, I'm no Homer fan.

[brelic]

Its not throwing the goalie under the bus, Emery is the backup and is losing physical ability to play the position. That's not scapegoating in my opinion, or at least not the intent. If anything, it is nice to gripe about the backup without much worry in the starter.

 

I didn't mean to imply we were throwing Emery under the bus. I was just talking about the larger context of there always being some excuse about our goalies. It wasn't directed at you, but just an observation in general

 

Anyway, here's the thing: I think there is reason to worry about the starter... not because he hasn't been excellent, but because in December, he has looked like the stinky version of Mason. And I don't know if it's the team that stinks in front of him (which is usually the case in Philly), or if Mason's honeymoon phase is over. I'm not pushing any panic buttons... but just taking mental note when looking at the team and his performance going forward. If things start to go south through no real fault of his own, it can still have a mental effect on his game.

 

All that being said, that's how I look at the Emery context. I don't know that his medical condition is causing him to play poorly. That's just an assumption people are making (unless it's been published somewhere... but I haven't seen anything about it). So, my first instinct is to look at team play in front of him. And while I don't expect Chicago Ray, I would expect a little more. Last night was a stinker. But the team itself was awful.

[Bakanekimiwa]

the thing i did notice is that when he went down, he stayed down. if he dropped to his knees.. he just tried to shuffle about if there was a further pass play. i dunno if he was fatigued or if he's injured or simply just sick of all the **** breakdowns in front of him. but, yah.. he has not look good here for the last little while. 

[doom88]

So, you're saying... that having made some of the worst goalie decisions in the history of the game, the GM went ahead and put half of the goalie job on a guy who, not even halfway into the season and playing as a true backup, is "losing the physical ability to play the position"?

 

I'll go with Brelic's Chicago team defense theory long before that. And, as we know, I'm no Homer fan.

 

 

I agree with Brelic's Chicago comments.  I also think that Emery is rapidly declining physically, faster than anyone anticipated.  Or he is hiding an injury (because that NEVER happens).  It's not an indictment against Emery's GAA or SV%, but his actual mobility.  He could be posting shutouts, and I don't think that changes my tone one bit.  I'm talking about the man, not the stats.

[radoran]

I agree with Brelic's Chicago comments.  I also think that Emery is rapidly declining physically, faster than anyone anticipated.  Or he is hiding an injury (because that NEVER happens).  It's not an indictment against Emery's GAA or SV%, but his actual mobility.  He could be posting shutouts, and I don't think that changes my tone one bit.  I'm talking about the man, not the stats.

 

I don't think it's any coincidence that Mason's GAA is going up as the team does adopt a more offensive mindset.

 

This team isn't built to win 2-1 or 3-2, it's built to win 4-3 and 5-4.

[doom88]

I don't think it's any coincidence that Mason's GAA is going up as the team does adopt a more offensive mindset.

This team isn't built to win 2-1 or 3-2, it's built to win 4-3 and 5-4.

I think the forwards were blowing more defensive coverages as of late. It's just law of averages that their shots are finally going in, and maybe removing Hartnell from the top line helped. It doesn't seem like they are shooting more.

I don't think the team strategy has changed though, Berube expects responsibility in all zones. Imagine how good this team could be if Berube succeeds in cutting down the PIMs...

[Polaris922]

I think you're all correct. Defense suffers when you're pushing for offense. No it's not the Blackhawks in front of him.

And @doom88 is correct also. Emery has always been an average to below-average goaltender. My Pens used to tear him up game in game out. I often wondered how he even remained in the league. I understand he did better against other teams but even then he was no starter. Now he does look less mobile. I've not seen entire games recently, but what I'm seeing in short segments and replays he looks slow to recover.

[flyercanuck]

Concentrate on post to post movement, or lack thereof.  Also watch the time it takes for him to slide if he's down in the butterfly.  Atrocious.

 

 

So he's Bryz on a one year for a lot less money and a better attitude?