THE GOALIE CONTROVERSY
by The Mask

Thursday December 5, 2002

It started in year one with Jamie and Manny sharing the duties. The Wild's coaching staff thought that Jamie would become their #1 goalie. Surprise surprise...Jamie played well below average and Manny played well above average. When it was all said and done, Manny earned the team's MVP award for the first time in Wild history. Although Manny should have played more games that season due to his stellar performances night after night, they shared the workload pretty equaly.

Year two started with some surprise. Dwayne Roloson was choosen as the backup goalie instead of Jamie.

Question was: Was Dwayne going to be regular enough to stay with the team all year? For this reason the Wild did not wanted to trade Jamie right away. After all Jamie was paid over 1 million dollar and for a minor leaguer it's pretty expensive.

Dwayne was a goalie who always played in the NHL-AHL, what we call up and down. He never was able to secure a regular spot on a team. The previous year Dwayne was playing in the AHL, and he was the best goalie in that league. As we say, he was burning up the league. But there is a huge difference between the AHL and the Show (NHL).

So year two started with a controversy!!! Dwayne started the season in net. The Wild coaching staff said that Manny had an ankle injury. In reality Manny would have been able to play. He thought that the MVP award in season one would get him the #1 spot automatically. It did not.

Dwayne played so good in the first few games that he earned respect from the team almost instantly. Seeing Dwayne successful and the fact that he had no consideration from the coaching staff influenced Manny to a point where he played the worst hockey of his career. Goalies are like sharks. A stronger shark will take advantage of a weaker and injured shark. Dwayne played very well. He deserve to play more than Manny but the work load was again split pretty evenly. No question in my mind Dwayne should have had the net. But what if Manny had started that first game???

Year three started with no surprise! We knew that the goalies would be Dwayne and Manny. Who would play more games, this is another story.

I believe that the Wild has one of the best tandems in the league. Even better than Theodore and Hackett in Montreal and better than Roy and Aebisher in Colorado. Very close to Turco And Tugnutt in Dallas (who are named the T&T duo).

Should we keep a duo in nets? I certainly believe not. It is not a healthy situation and certainly not good for team spirit. Fans are going to say "the coach says that he wants every player to feel part of the team and the team is having a lot of success this way, so why change something that works?"

This way of thinking is wrong. We should definitly go with one guy and develop him into a solid keeper who's best attribute will be his mental strenght to lead us as far as possible when it's crunch time. Mental strength for a goalie is critical and will make the difference between a win or a loss. Applied in the playoffs, the mental strength is the difference between the great goalie and good goalie.

The way that goalies approach games is simple. Example... If Roy would play against Belfour, than Roy is going to say to himself, "I am much better than Belfour, so we are going to win." Why is Roy thinking like this? Because he had a lot of success during the season and past seasons against Belfour and this team.

And this is something that scares me, the Wild are not taking care of their goalies. The goalie consultant Bob Mason...he does not even have the title of a goalie coach. Every team has at least one goalie coach. Some teams have two goalie coaches. One for the NHL team and the other coach is coaching the goalie in the farm teams and the organization.

It is unacceptable to leave an important and vital position like a goalie without any mental and technical help. There is a way to approach these guys in net. And I will say it becomes an art. Everyone knows that goalies are weird people (usually) and one reason is that no one is behind them on the ice. So the goalies think "I am directly responsible for everything that happens here," and in a sense they are right.

When we make the playoff this year, who is going to be the starter??? One other thing that people do not think of: Players feel the tension and pressure that two goalies have to play with. "Why did the players score more goals for the other guy?" "They break their ass more when the other guy is in net," etc. No player will tell you this, but most would rather have a system with a clear #1 goalie.

Why is there no clear #1

Simple: Money $$$$$$$$$$$$$$lots of MONEY $$$$$$$$$

If Manny finishes the season with numbers like he has (before the 5 goal game) and if he is clearly the number one, he will demand a salary of at least 4.5M-5M a year with a long term contract.

Same thing with Dwayne who will command a salary that is very close to what Manny has right now, 1.5M-2M a year. Why should he make less than Manny if he plays as much as him? You either have a goalie who is going to be commanding a big salary as a #1, or you have 2 guys with low salary who split the duties.

I dont think that Kochan or Gusto will play regularly in the NHL. But in the latest draft we picked two goalies and one of them, Josh Harding, is highly regarded. A hot prospect as we say.

When I look at this situation, one thing that is not acceptable to me is changing a hot goalie. It is bad for the goalie and is also bad for the team. The chemistry between d-man and a goalie is critical and each goalie likes their defensemen to be positioned a certain way, so players have to adapt when there is a goalie change. Keep in mind that a back-up has to play at least once a week when possible to stay fresh.

I am waiting for your opinions and will reply later on. Thanks for the e-mails and as I said, I will reply. Please be patient.

Please let me know if there is anything you would like me to address.

Until then enjoy hockey
The Mask
ihbtm@yahoo.com

The Mask is a new writer for WildOnIce.net who wll be providing hockey insights and knowledge on a weekly basis. His experience and connections make him a valuable addition to our staff. "The Mask" would love feedback, so you can e-mail him at "IHBTM@YAHOO.COM", or leave a comment addressed to him on the message board.