Canadian Club: Stop, Drop, and Roll
Rene Bourque and Dustin Penner highlight the forward group. Ed Jovanovski and Michael Del Zotto bring up the back-end. And if you think any of the aforementioned players will actually be on the club come February, you’re an idiot. But what about the goaltenders? Who will get the start for Canada when the 2010 Winter Olympics invade Vancouver in less than four months time? You know the usual suspects. You’ve assessed the pros and cons of each. You’ve put together your lists at work. You’ve debated their merits over beers at the local spirits establishment until the chairs rested on the tables.
But are those guys in the mix for some Canadian Club?
The Goaltenders
Like the forwards and defence, the numbers are going to tell us who should start. Point totals are out, though, so what do we use as the determining stat? Well, wins is a pretty baseless stat and goals against average is just slightly better. Let’s go with save percentage. The number of saves made in relation to the number of shots received, telling everyone if a goaltender is hotsy-totsy or hotsy-notsy. Once again, all numbers listed are heading into Tuesday night.
Jose Theodore — .922 save percentage
Why he’s on the team: The better question is: Why is he still in the NHL? His meltdown against the Rangers last spring was memorable. Thanks for coming out: The ghost of Patrick Roy still haunts this guy. Darkhorse factor: Could act as a translator when the team tries to pick up French athletes in the village.
Marty Turco — .917 save percentage
Why he’s on the team: Because Team Canada desperately needs a goaltender named ‘Marty’ on the club. Thanks for coming out: His generosity with the puck has eroded any idea that he’s an elite goaltender. Darkhorse factor: Marc Crawford, his coach in Dallas, has a great history with Canadian Olympic teams. Oh wait. No, he doesn’t. Grab some pine, Gretz.
Marc-Andre Fleury — .917 save percentage
Why he’s on the team: Well, he won the Stanley Cup so that’s something. Thanks for coming out: Once wore bright yellow pads. Has since switched to white ones, but people don’t forget things like that. Darkhorse factor: Who am I kidding? Not one of these guys has a chance to even GO to the Olympics, let alone play in them.
So who’s not here?
Before getting to that, I should mention that I wrote a capsule on Craig Anderson. Figuring it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check where that guy was from, I noticed he was American. Too bad. Where are the big name goaltenders for Canada? Well, Marty Brodeur and Cam Ward are just a shade under the leaders and Roberto Luongo is on the shelf for a week following a very slow start. Steve Mason? Yeah, his .883 save percentage is not going to get it done.
