Pickard traded to Leafs
- Thread starter WhatIfGodWasALeaf
- Start date
Zee said:
Well they had to expose him or Varlamov and they decided on Varlamov (even though Vegas almost definitely wouldn't have picked him since they already basically had Fleury and he would have been too expensive of a back-up)
Basically, Colorado is pretty stupid.
Calvin Pickard was Team Canada's starter at the World Championships this year where they won the silver medal. In 7 games he posted a 1.49 GAA and .938 save percentage. Those were the 2nd best numbers in the tournament behind Lundqvist who won the gold with a 1.31 GAA and .946 sv%.
Doesn't exactly mean a heck of a lot but still better than not posting good numbers.
Doesn't exactly mean a heck of a lot but still better than not posting good numbers.
dappleganger
Active member
This is a great move and not surprising. Leafs can now weather the storm if Andersen goes down for a significant time with an injury. Pickard is a good goalie.
dappleganger
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
Agree completely. Bone-head move. Now they have Bernier backing up Varlamov though...
dappleganger
Active member
sickbeast said:
16 points in 44 games as a 21-year-old for the Marlies last year. :-\
sickbeast said:
I'm not even sure he would have been a top-12 forward with the Marlies this season. Maybe he develops into some kind of role player, but that definitely wasn't happening here.
herman
Well-known member
CarltonTheBear said:
They expected more out of Lindberg as an older AHL prospect and he was quickly surpassed by Kapanen and Johnsson and Grundstrom and probably even Dzierkals. He's the emotional equivalent of losing Scott Harrington, and he's not even as good as Scott Harrington.
Well, it looks like the Leafs gave up virtually nothing to acquire an excellent backup goaltender then. Now they have two decent backups. There are far worse problems to have.herman said:
I'm sure they are going to keep an eye out for some defensemen that can help the team also. Things are really falling into place. This team looks amazing this year. They are 4th overall in terms of the Vegas betting odds to win the cup. That's impressive to come from dead last in the league less than two years ago to this.
cujo4ever
Active member
I don't mind giving up Lindberg, but the pick (even though it's a sixth) seems a little strange. Pickard was just on waivers, meaning Vegas was prepared to lose him for nothing.
Clearly Lou wouldn't have included it if Vegas hadn't insisted, but I always hate losing picks.
Clearly Lou wouldn't have included it if Vegas hadn't insisted, but I always hate losing picks.
louisstamos
Active member
Downtown Connor Brown said:
I imagine the number of contracts has a lot to do with this. I think the Leafs are already close to the limit.
Not only does this even out the number of contracts, but if the Leafs claimed him off waivers instead of this then they would have had to send down one or Borgman or Rosen and carried 3 goalies on the NHL roster until they figured out who the back-up actually is. By waiting for him to clear they now have a lot more flexibility because Pickard can go to the Marlies for the time being. That seems worth a pretty meaningless draft pick.
Let's not forget, Vegas wasn't really under any obligation to trade Pickard. They could have kept him as their #3 goalie in the AHL. Especially since they have virtually no goalie insurance right now if Subban falters. I'm actually pretty surprised that they moved him for this return.
Let's not forget, Vegas wasn't really under any obligation to trade Pickard. They could have kept him as their #3 goalie in the AHL. Especially since they have virtually no goalie insurance right now if Subban falters. I'm actually pretty surprised that they moved him for this return.