Markstrom IS a NHL #1 goaltender

[*Buzzsaw*]

Despite what Kelly Hrudey said on Saturday's Flyers/Canucks broadcast, Jacob Markstrom has become an NHL #1.

 

It has taken him longer than most, but this season he has grown as a player, and has shed a lot of his bad habits.

 

90% of his problems were inside his head... he has all the physical tools to do the job.

 

He has worked hard to fix his biggest problems.

 

-  He has worked hard on his focus, and has stopped giving up the early easy goals

 

-  He has stopped collapsing mentally when he is scored on

 

-  His puckhandling and decision making has improved drastically  (see tonight's dash out of the net to clear the puck away)

 

That is not to say he is a allstar, he is not there at the moment, but he is a bonafide NHL starter who can be relied on to give a decent performance every game he starts... if he gets rested correctly.

 

He does require management... he does not play well for long stretches at a time...  he can't take a huge share of the games, and  he benefits from games off, probably more than most.

 

If his game share is limited and he has the opportunity to re-focus with days off he will do a competent and capable job.

 

Is he the top flight Cup winning Goalie a contender needs?  Maybe not.  But he will do for this team until one of Thatcher Demko or Michael Di Pietro get a chance to show their skills.

 

And Nilsson is a good backup... who has the potential to elevate his game to #1 standards.  He is the ideal partner for Markstrom if he is given enough games to keep sharp.

 

In my opinion, Markstrom should be playing 4 games for every 2 games Nilsson plays.  55 games for Markstrom, 27 for Nilsson.

 

It is not worthwhile for the Canucks to rush their acquisition of a star goalie...  the team right now is still developing, the Defense is weak and it would be premature to spend a lot of money trading or signing an elite goalie.  Better to wait and see what we have in the two guys in the minors.  Both of them are potential #1's, perhaps elite.

[chon derry]

 

Wins

Jacob Markstrom

#25

VAN

Goalie

11

Wins

 

Sv%

Jacob Markstrom*

#25

VAN

Goalie

*Tied with 1 player

.901

Sv%

[Toews]

18 minutes ago, *Buzzsaw* said:

He does require management... he does not play well for long stretches at a time...  he can't take a huge share of the games, and  he benefits from games off, probably more than most.

 

If his game share is limited and he has the opportunity to re-focus with days off he will do a competent and capable job.

Does that sound like a #1 goalie to you?

[oldnews]

On a bad team, a depleted team, Markstrom isn't a #1.  Few would be.

On a healthy, team, a good team, he is.

It depends.  It's not all on Markstrom.  But he's certainly capable.

[*Buzzsaw*]

4 minutes ago, Toews said:

Does that sound like a #1 goalie to you?

Most NHL #1 goalies need to be managed.

 

Only the exceptions like Carey Price in his heyday, Hasek, or Roy can play dozens of games in a row without their game being affected.

[Toews]

23 minutes ago, *Buzzsaw* said:

Most NHL #1 goalies need to be managed.

 

Only the exceptions like Carey Price in his heyday, Hasek, or Roy can play dozens of games in a row without their game being affected.

I am just saying you are throwing in a lot of qualifiers and that to me is not the definition of a true #1.

[xereau]

He's been very good for a little while now, and it is something to build upon.  But let's not forget the many many stinkers for 4 seasons running; all the 1st shot goals putting the team behind the 8-Ball within the first minute or two, all the late collapses and soft goals that would have preserved leads.  No, not saying ALL of these were his fault, but many were.  He has not shown yet that he is a bonafide #1 goalie for any stretch in his time here in Canuckland, better than this most recent.  Hrudey is a paid troll and probably took too many pucks to the head, but he is not completely wrong either.  Markstrom may just now be on the cusp of showing the league he is a true starter.  Better late than never.

[*Buzzsaw*]

http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?report=goaliesummary&reportType=season&seasonFrom=20182019&seasonTo=20182019&gameType=2&filter=gamesPlayed,gte,1&sort=wins,goalsAgainstAverage,savePctg

[6string]

Of course no mention of Dan Cloutier's departure helped too?

[Angry Goose]

My strange take:

 

Jacob is a superb athlete.  I definitely think he is NHL level in that regard.  

Its tough to get a read on him.  Goalie is a tough position, especially in the NHL and sometimes I wonder if he doesnt get enough puck luck at times.  Some goals he clearly needs to make a save on.   

 

I think if you roll the dice with him you have to expect some tough stretches.

[Nuxfanabroad]

His numbers took a beating, during that rough stretch. Backup was injured too, so it was psychologically taxing. With a young team, that's being on the high-wire, with no safety net.

 

When the team's intact & rolling along, agreed, he does have #1 capabilities. Also Nilsson is better in such an environment.

 

So with Demko on the verge of promotion to the bigs, it makes me curious if they run with this until the end of this season?

 

What if(for example) a team that's long needed decent 'tending, would give you a 1st R pick(this draft) for Demko? Or a prospect that WAS a 1st before(NYI, Dobson; Philly, Sanheim or Myers, etc...?). We might have such a solid tandem(almost unbeknownst, under our freeken noses!) that we could run with it for a couple more yrs, until Dipietro is ripe.

[-AJ-]

I'm peg him as a fringe starter at this point. He's 34th in GAA among goalies with 12+ games and 29th in save percentage. At times, he's had really good streaks like the end of last season, but then he has times like the first chunk of this year where he's more of a backup level netminder.

[FijianCanuck]

Until he posts decent numbers as a starter, my view of him as a good backup won't change. 

[Lastresort318]

I know that Markstrom is currently on a bit of a hot streak, but he is a fringe starter at best. For short periods of time he can be your number one, but not as real number one.

[Hindustan Smyl]

I think Markstrom is a very serviceable goalie, but I think he needs more consistently good performances to really solidify himself as a bonafide #1.   He’s still young enough to do it (goalies often peak much later than players in other positions), but the Canucks will most likely need to upgrade in this area when they become a playoff team (either through an emergence of Demko/Dipietro or help through Free Agency).

[iinatcc]

Markstrom is 28, the fact we are still debating if he's a #1 goalie at his age probably means he's not a #1 goalie 

[canuck_in_england]

The only question going forward when we are looking to contend is would you trust him to take you deep into the playoffs? Probably not eh

[DrJockitch]

Marky is a number one goalie like Halak is a number one goalie.  Can play great just can't play a lot. 

He wears down quickly and is prone to mental lapses when fatigued.

It is not a coincidence that he got worse the longer Nilsson was out and better when he got back.

I think he will be a great goalie to have while bringing along a young guy like Demko because he can give you 40-50 good games at the most in a season and really isn't a threat to be true number one, no concerns about a Luongo-Schneider thing here.

[D.B Cooper]

The only reason he is a number 1, is because he is better than our other goalie.

He isn’t a real number 1, but the best we got.  

 

Its like when Toronto used to call Bozak a number 1 center.  

He is YOUR number one, but only because you don’t have anyone better.   

[canucklehead44]

To me he is a tandem goalie or a 1B with potential to be a 1A. I liked the Miller-Markstrom tandem for example. He is very hot/cold. Lets in weak goals some games other games he is fantastic. Not good enough to regularly steal games but solid enough to keep the team in them most nights. He is a good placeholder for Demko to develop beside.