ELLIOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cprice12]

Remember fellas - the question with Elliot in Ottawa was never whether or not he was capable of playing well.

It was whether or not he was capable of playing well for an entire season and if he was capable of stepping up when the pressure was on.

It wasn't his 'regular' play that cost him his starters gig in Ottawa; he was generally seen as a guy that could absolutely be very good for decent stretches. What got him fired was the fact that he would go into long funks that would really damage the team. It also seems they felt that this would keep him from ever being a true #1 goalie or a potential playoff factor.

I'd be damn reluctant to move Halak to clear space for Elliot, to be honest. He's cratered under the pressure of the big chair before. Unless we believe Allen can step in and start in the event that Elliot truly is better served as the underdog backup, I'm not so keen on trading Halak.

Keep in mind that Elliot has only been in the league a few years. His rookie year was in '08-'09.
Typically younger players that develop into better players have habits or tendencies when they come into the league that they are able to correct over time. They also learn "the nhl game" and adapt and hopefully excel.
I'm not saying Elliot falls into that category...but he could...and he could also regress. We'll have to wait and see.

[glen a richter]

Hasn't Elliott been touted as a future #1 in the past? His relatively anemic numbers were the result of playing behind crappy teams. He doesn't play behind a crappy team anymore.

[Oaklandblue]

Elliott is a NO ISSUE. Why do we keep discussing this? The guy is GOOD and he's kept us alive at times when we should have lost the game, which is quite ofthen. The D has been out to lunch more than helped him and he's doing the kind of saves he's made in Ottawa (Seriously, look it up. He pulled off a stick save from the side of the Net.). Elliott, as everyone including myself will and has noted, has been making solid saves, not lucky ones. He's got the training under him and it looks like this fire is real. He's keeping the teams confidence up and he's being rewarded with wins. Even if he doesn't stay on fire, his play is consistant and SOLID. I'm not going to lie, I heard we were getting this guy, saw his stats and thought WTF. I wanted Vokoun. Well, I got my wish in a way; we got someone whose posting Vokoun or better stats.

This thread should be named HALAK. He's our #1 and it's obvious this team doesn't believe in him enough to win, even when he makes the saves and keeps the score count down. HE is the one we need to be concerned about, not The Ell. Because if Ells does cool down, which is possible, we have to deal with Mr. Throat-Noise-For-A-Last-Name. We don't want Blues Halak, we want Habs Halak, THATS the guy we signed. Where is he and when is he going to dress for a game?

So when this happens and Halak has to start playing his #1 minutes, what happens to us?

12th Place Blues? 14th Place Blues? 10th?

THAT is what we should be concerned about.

[glen a richter]

I would be satisfied if Army tried to shop Halak to a team that needs a goalie and needs to reach the cap floor during the draft. Just saying. Elliott and Bishop or Elliott and Allen would be fine with me.

[cprice12]

I would be satisfied if Army tried to shop Halak to a team that needs a goalie and needs to reach the cap floor during the draft. Just saying. Elliott and Bishop or Elliott and Allen would be fine with me.

I think 12 games of Elliot is a little soon to be coming to the conclusion we should possibly trade Halak.

I can't see us trading Halak this year at all...no matter how this season plays out or how well Elliot plays.

[Oaklandblue]

I would be satisfied if Army tried to shop Halak to a team that needs a goalie and needs to reach the cap floor during the draft. Just saying. Elliott and Bishop or Elliott and Allen would be fine with me.

I think 12 games of Elliot is a little soon to be coming to the conclusion we should possibly trade Halak.

I can't see us trading Halak this year at all...no matter how this season plays out or how well Elliot plays.

I'd rather we didn't trade Halak. Figure out what his issue is and see if we can fix it. Halak at top form is a dangerous commodity. Thing is, there has been much talk that we should sign a netminder who will give Halak a challenge, which according to many, would cause him to work harder and bring out his talent. Well, the challenge has arrived and his name is Elliott who has pretty much stolen the job from Halak, at least stats-wise.

I think the biggest concern with Halak is whether the team trusts him between the pipes or not. I don't think they do. You watch him between the pipes and the team is vastly different than when Elliott is there. And when the team plays like garbage and Elliott is in goal, they win. Halak plays top drawer and they lose. Who does the team trust more?

Since Hitch has taken over, Halak has drastically improved. I think Halak's problems are all in his head and not an ego that comes with a $4m paycheck. I think the major Red Flag that the team should have taken note of (if they haven't already) is the shell painting of Demitra that Halak got on his mask. That speaks volumes to me about where his mind is.

If he's not mentally into Hockey and can't snap out of it, we have to do what's best for the team, regardless who we -think- he is and what we -feel- he can be while wearing the Note. We have to work with what works for us.

At this point, I'd call up Bishop and play him for a few games to ascertain our real situation between the pipes in terms of depth. Allen, I don't feel is ready to take the step. We need to access the situation before we do something drastic as a trade. At this point, for all ends concerned, our netminding situation is sound. We shouldn't worry too much about it. We should worry about lack of production and start pinging those who aren't playing to form. Now would be a good time to look to add depth and spark some fires. Stewarts taken some penalties and a suspension, so that's slowed down his production and, like a few others, just need a whack on the behind to get back rolling. Jackman, I don't know what to say about him, he goes from Wow to Wow o.o. Whack him in the face instead? .

EDIT: It's been a thousand years so do correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't Hitch have production issues out of Belfour initally, not unlike Halaks?

[glen a richter]

Halak got what he got based on one very magical postseason run. From what I hear, he also has a major attitude problem, he's grossly overpaid for the numbers he puts up and he has no excuse. I'd rather they spent the money locking up Pietrangelo.

[xbleed83bluex]

Remember fellas - the question with Elliot in Ottawa was never whether or not he was capable of playing well.

It was whether or not he was capable of playing well for an entire season and if he was capable of stepping up when the pressure was on.

It wasn't his 'regular' play that cost him his starters gig in Ottawa; he was generally seen as a guy that could absolutely be very good for decent stretches. What got him fired was the fact that he would go into long funks that would really damage the team. It also seems they felt that this would keep him from ever being a true #1 goalie or a potential playoff factor.

I'd be damn reluctant to move Halak to clear space for Elliot, to be honest. He's cratered under the pressure of the big chair before. Unless we believe Allen can step in and start in the event that Elliot truly is better served as the underdog backup, I'm not so keen on trading Halak.

This. It's way too soon to even bring up an idea about trading our number 1 goaltender just because our backup is playing excellent. Backups aren't supposed to suck. Let's finish a season first. Right now, we probably have the best goaltending duo in the league.

[Oaklandblue]

Remember fellas - the question with Elliot in Ottawa was never whether or not he was capable of playing well.

It was whether or not he was capable of playing well for an entire season and if he was capable of stepping up when the pressure was on.

It wasn't his 'regular' play that cost him his starters gig in Ottawa; he was generally seen as a guy that could absolutely be very good for decent stretches. What got him fired was the fact that he would go into long funks that would really damage the team. It also seems they felt that this would keep him from ever being a true #1 goalie or a potential playoff factor.

I'd be damn reluctant to move Halak to clear space for Elliot, to be honest. He's cratered under the pressure of the big chair before. Unless we believe Allen can step in and start in the event that Elliot truly is better served as the underdog backup, I'm not so keen on trading Halak.

This. It's way too soon to even bring up an idea about trading our number 1 goaltender just because our backup is playing excellent. Backups aren't supposed to suck. Let's finish a season first. Right now, we probably have the best goaltending duo in the league.

Duo? Where? Unless you mean Duo as in Elliotts name having 2 L's and 2 T's, then you're right. Halak isn't even playing well enough atm for a backup Netminder for Peoria.

We're living and dying by Elliott.

[Slim]

I've always followed the Blues but I also follow the Senators as well(I have no idea why, glutton of punishment I guess), and Elliott has the ability to keep this up. When Elliott first started playing, the Sens were playing decent and his confidence was great. Injury bug hit, play in front of him slipped, and as a result his confidence dipped and it showed. The team played up and down the rest of the year and as did Elliott's play. He had an average(with flashes of grandeur) season. Last season was dreadful. Ottawa sucked something fierce and Elliott followed suit. Got traded, and went to another sh*t team and again was awful.

Blues showed interest, gave him a chance, raised the confidence, played well in front of him and he has been lights out. Can he keep up the numbers, I don't believe he can keep this crazy pace, but he can be a very good goalie as long as his mind is right.

But that's just my opinion.

[Oz-iz-God]

Remember fellas - the question with Elliot in Ottawa was never whether or not he was capable of playing well.

It was whether or not he was capable of playing well for an entire season and if he was capable of stepping up when the pressure was on.

It wasn't his 'regular' play that cost him his starters gig in Ottawa; he was generally seen as a guy that could absolutely be very good for decent stretches. What got him fired was the fact that he would go into long funks that would really damage the team. It also seems they felt that this would keep him from ever being a true #1 goalie or a potential playoff factor.

I'd be damn reluctant to move Halak to clear space for Elliot, to be honest. He's cratered under the pressure of the big chair before. Unless we believe Allen can step in and start in the event that Elliot truly is better served as the underdog backup, I'm not so keen on trading Halak.

This. It's way too soon to even bring up an idea about trading our number 1 goaltender just because our backup is playing excellent. Backups aren't supposed to suck. Let's finish a season first. Right now, we probably have the best goaltending duo in the league.

Duo? Where? Unless you mean Duo as in Elliotts name having 2 L's and 2 T's, then you're right. Halak isn't even playing well enough atm for a backup Netminder for Peoria.

We're living and dying by Elliott.

Overstating your position doesn't make it accurate.

In the month of November, Halak is 3-2-2 (8 pts in 7 games) w/ a 1.55 GAA and a SV% of .938.

Halak has been quite good for the last month. Elliot's been better, but Halak's numbers would be in the top 5 or so among goalies over the last month in their own right.

So he was absolutely correct - we presently have the best goaltending duo in the league.

[ottawa0214]

I'm a Senators fan, but I have admired Elliott ever since I saw him play his 1st NHL game vs. Thrashers and post his 1st win-while wearing his Wisconsin helmet, no less! I just wanted to say that you guys have got a really great goalie in this guy, and I was very sorry to see him go-especially since he was sort of made a scapegoat after such a yeoman's performance. He was a young backup goalie, but carried most of the load! I'm not at all surprised to see him post these great stats, or make those amazing saves, because I've seen it myself. His performance today just shows what a talented, hard-working guy can accomplish when he actually gets decent coaching and support. I'm flat-out jealous of you guys right now! KEEP IT UP, BRIAN!!! He's going to be right up there with guys like Brodeur and Lundquist in years to come. Congrats, Blues fans!!

[Oaklandblue]

Remember fellas - the question with Elliot in Ottawa was never whether or not he was capable of playing well.

It was whether or not he was capable of playing well for an entire season and if he was capable of stepping up when the pressure was on.

It wasn't his 'regular' play that cost him his starters gig in Ottawa; he was generally seen as a guy that could absolutely be very good for decent stretches. What got him fired was the fact that he would go into long funks that would really damage the team. It also seems they felt that this would keep him from ever being a true #1 goalie or a potential playoff factor.

I'd be damn reluctant to move Halak to clear space for Elliot, to be honest. He's cratered under the pressure of the big chair before. Unless we believe Allen can step in and start in the event that Elliot truly is better served as the underdog backup, I'm not so keen on trading Halak.

This. It's way too soon to even bring up an idea about trading our number 1 goaltender just because our backup is playing excellent. Backups aren't supposed to suck. Let's finish a season first. Right now, we probably have the best goaltending duo in the league.

Duo? Where? Unless you mean Duo as in Elliotts name having 2 L's and 2 T's, then you're right. Halak isn't even playing well enough atm for a backup Netminder for Peoria.

We're living and dying by Elliott.

Overstating your position doesn't make it accurate.

In the month of November, Halak is 3-2-2 (8 pts in 7 games) w/ a 1.55 GAA and a SV% of .938.

Halak has been quite good for the last month. Elliot's been better, but Halak's numbers would be in the top 5 or so among goalies over the last month in their own right.

So he was absolutely correct - we presently have the best goaltending duo in the league.

First, he used the word probably. I don't see you comparing any other teams netminders beyond giving me Halaks. If Halaks numbers 'would be' in the top 5, why haven't I seen it anywhere? Why do I see netminders like Schnider, Kipps, Howard, Thomas, etc. instead?

Second, as I have noted in a previous post in this same thread, Halak has drastically improved and after watching the Caps game, I am considering actually lowering the verbage on the word 'drastically' - put it short, he looked sloppy.

Third, if we use 3-2-2 (8 pts in 7 games) w/ a 1.55 GAA and a SV% of .938, which I'll take you at your word at, these numbers are very misleading. You look at those numbers and expect to see a netminder standing on his head and carrying the team. That's so not the case with Halak. With the Caps, they didn't put up much of a fight, we got hungry and we won.

So is it the team that won those 3 games with shoddy netminding or was Halak that darn good?

I'd rather we kept this in perspective and looked at his total numbers for the season: He stands for the season at 4-7-2 with a 2.44 GAA and .898.

That sounds abit more reliable to what we're seeing from him than your stats. Not that I am discounting at all your stats, but that what you want them to mean isn't exactly what I think they do; I don't see any change at all save people like Backes stepping up and scoring goals and playing hard. I'd credit those numbers, for the most part, to them. Not him.

If we ran solely with Halak with Bishop as backup, we would probably be standing in 10th, maybe 12th Place.