Ugli Fruit Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Reading the Wiki page on him really spoke volumes about the guy. I mean, he posted a then-franchise record of 7 shutouts in a season (only broken by Lu in 08-09), first Canuck goalie to reach the 30 win plateau in back to back seasons and showed that he was able to put on some really great stretches of hockey behind a not so solid D-core (being named player of the week multiple times in a season, posting sub 2.50GAA and above .910sv%). He's a first round pick, was a really, really athletic goalie and had all the right tools to be a great netminder (was quite tall but quick, was French-Canadian, played as a starter basically right after he arrived). You might say, no, he sucks! There's a reason he's 3 years older than Lu and ~5 years retired! Well, Cloutier may have had one of the worst injury stretches a human being could have in 2 years. He gets concussed and whiplash, comes back and gets run over less than a month later, then tears his ACL 3 days later to miss 4 months of hockey while playing elite-level hockey. The next year (so 10 months after his ACL tear), he was signed by the Kings where he injured his hip a week into the regular season. Obviously sick of missing so much hockey, he played through that, aggravated it, and was then sidelined to the AHL over Ersberg, Quick, and even Labarbara. That isn't the end of the story! He then (after some really sad stuff) was then recalled by the Kings later as a backup to Labarbara. He first recorded his first win in over a year, then when Labarbara went down to injury, Cloutier apparently played some really solid hockey stats-wise as the interim starter. He then suffered a groin injury. It surprises me that Cloutier was even able to post some pretty good season numbers, as that has got to be the worst, most injury-plagued career ever for what looks like a goaltender starting to reach his prime. What kind of goaltending did we miss out on from this guy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMapleLaughs Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Too bad about the injuries, but he was mediocre in his prime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeltaSwede Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 He was a very likeable person and it was hard not to root for the guy. Was he a top end starting goalie in the NHL, I don't think so but that never mattered because he was too awesome not to like him. It's a shame that he suffered so many injuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ugli Fruit Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 He was a very likeable person and it was hard not to root for the guy. Was he a top end starting goalie in the NHL, I don't think so but that never mattered because he was too awesome not to like him. It's a shame that he suffered so many injuries. As a "goalie consultant". Not sure if that's a serious position but that's what he's doing, and I'm glad. He's gotten his fair share of personal middle fingers too (imagine reporting to your bus and then being left behind last minute for a different goalie). And to Warhippy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njGNrPKLBYI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losing With Pride Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Inconsistent. However he was tough as nails. Have you ever seen him fight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalie13 Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Too bad about the injuries, but he was mediocre in his prime. I think mediocre is a little harsh. He was a better than average goalie and one of the best goalies that ever played for the Canucks. Sure, he wasn't Vezina material, and he did have that unfortunate mid-ice goal, but he was still very good at stopping the puck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 He had the right mindset, he just didn't have a body built for goaltending. He was often injured, and I don't think his body could handle the day to day stress of being a goaltender. Not everyone can. I still think injuries have hurt Luongo's abilities as well. But that was for a longer term, and he's recovered enough to keep on going. Goaltending has to be one of the toughest and most thankless jobs in hockey. You get all the blame and rarely get credit for doing everything you can. If you defence doesn't back you up, you get lit up. Remember you can make 40 saves out of 43 shots and 3 go in and have a save percentage of .930. Stats say you're a great goal tender, but the GAA of 3, and a loss is all the fans will remember. You can also have a GAA of 1.4, but if your team can't score, despite you're doing all you can, you can still get losses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzle Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Only does this fanbase bash one of the best goalies that the Canucks have had in recent history. back to back 30+ wins seasons, a low GAA, shutouts. Not necessarily Vezina numbers but they were good enough to make the Canucks into the playoffs. The team overall faltered there. The WCE disappeared in the playoffs. There was also not enough playoff depth, possibly coaching. Goaltending was hardly the issue on that team. He's now a goaltending consultant and he's in charge of bringing up our young goaltenders. He's done a marvellous job IMHO. Our strongest position in terms of depth IS goaltending. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mispelled Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 He set an NHL record in the playoffs. Does it still stand? *but he had 30+ wins... bla bla bla... a team stat. To me, he ranks at the very bottom of our goaltending history. He was a head case who took the team's momentum away at every turn. Just because somebody wrote nice things about him on some website does not make him any better today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
touchable Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Only does this fanbase bash one of the best goalies that the Canucks have had in recent history. back to back 30+ wins seasons, a low GAA, shutouts. Not necessarily Vezina numbers but they were good enough to make the Canucks into the playoffs. The team overall faltered there. The WCE disappeared in the playoffs. There was also not enough playoff depth, possibly coaching. Goaltending was hardly the issue on that team. He's now a goaltending consultant and he's in charge of bringing up our young goaltenders. He's done a marvellous job IMHO. Our strongest position in terms of depth IS goaltending. I think you mean "WAS". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ugli Fruit Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 He set an NHL record in the playoffs. Does it still stand? *but he had 30+ wins... bla bla bla... a team stat. To me, he ranks at the very bottom of our goaltending history. He was a head case who took the team's momentum away at every turn. Just because somebody wrote nice things about him on some website does not make him any better today. Do you understand what Wikipedia is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thad Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Never been so frustrated with a player before haha. Like edler, when he was good, he was unreal, looking like a vezina goalie.. but when he was bad he would completely lose his marbles and be absolutely attrocious for a little stretch... Looked like he could be a great goalie if it wasnt for the inconsistency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chalky Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 I always liked Cloutier, he was a character guy and had decent talent for his part. John Cheechoo and Scott Gomez come to mind when I think of Clouts, it was more than injuries, it was a mental fragility that plagued him. He was never going to be a superstar but he wasn't quite as bad as the beach ball gif that floats around the internet. For every example of injuries lowering output of a player, there is another of a player that overcame adversity. In my opinion, he was as good and bad as we saw here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogbyte Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 He was average at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mispelled Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Do you understand what Wikipedia is? Glad you have the opinions of others as a reference on this guy, smarty pants! Are you even serious about Cloutier as having been a good or even decent goalie? Every body has a good game, or stretch, but come on, Cloutier broke the hearts of the province and the spirit of the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
touchable Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 He was good, not great. If he hadn't been injured so often, he probably could've continued being a good starter in this league for a few more years. But I don't think he ever would've been a Vezina nominee or a top 5 goalie in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera82 Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Fortunately, at least during the regular season, the WCE was able to score their way out of trouble. I thought Cloutier was alright but he never had a Sv% higher than .914 in a regular season and like Luongo after him, the numbers slipped in the playoffs. Maybe if he weren't so injury prone his career would've been better but to me it seemed he was too flashy and not technically sound enough. He also seemed overly emotional which may have led to him to being more mentally fragile, as we know Cloutier had his share of meltdowns as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spotted Zebra Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 He was an above average goalie victimized by a not give a crap offensive style coupled with a poor defensive core. He was easy to like and got unjustified hate, not that it is surprising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 He was inconsistent, but people sometimes forget that he made some incredible saves from time to time. I'll never forget Hughson's old "Great save, Cloutier!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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