Comments on: On The Bubble: Kari Lehtonen

By: Jessica

Jessica — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:15:50 +0000

In my opinion, Kari has been one of the shining stars on the team. I think he has heart and the want to be good for Atlanta. I think we have yet to see him hit his stride and that’s saying a lot. I believe the issue is Waddell. I have NO idea why he is still on the payroll. I mean, who is he black mailing to stay on as GM? LOL

I say, sign him to a 3 year.

By: Ms. Blueland

Ms. Blueland — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 07:26:43 +0000

RUN KARI RUN !!!!

By: Rawhide

Rawhide — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:58:44 +0000

Nice work on the graphs, Thrashers Recaps…nicely done and very relevant. It does show how Kari has faired this season as opposed to Moose and Pavs. Thanks for bringing it to the converstation.

But to me, it simply shows that Kari has been the least “in”consistent of the three.

Also, I’m judging Kari based on his stats and performance, not as a comparison to others. The Thrashers have a decision to make regarding him this summer and I think it’ll be made based on whether or not the team still feels he is the #1 guy for the years to come.

Honestly, right now I don’t know how I would decide if I were faced with the question. For the most part, he’s been sharp since returning from his injury. But, that there WAS yeat another injury…and the GAA is still over 3 and the SV% is still closer to .900 than it is .910…I don’t know if a multi-year deal is in the offing.

That, plus the fact that Opie under-whelmed me last fall…and he’s still an RFA this summer…I think he gets a 1-year deal again.

By: Thrashers Recaps

Thrashers Recaps — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 18:48:55 +0000

To see how consistent he’s been, I looked at the standard deviation of Kari’s save percentage for each game this season and compared them to Hedberg and Pavelec. Turns out Kari is about twice as consistent as the other two, and with a higher save percentage and lower GAA. Plots of the data are on my blog.

By: Brendan

Brendan — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:15:32 +0000

I believe Waddell will offer a “comprise contract” of 3-years/$10 million for Kari. If Wadddell just offers a 1-year deal, what does that really accomplish? In 2010, Kari’s situation will be the same as Ilya’s, unless a longer term contract gets done this summer. If the Lehtonen camp says, “We won’t sign ANY deal for less than $10 million,” then I think Waddell would bump that up to 3-years/$11 million. Or offer 4-years/$13.6 million. Or even 4-years/$14 million. I think Kari is making $3.0 millon now. The team can easily afford to give him a modest raise to $3.33 to $3.5 million cap hit, per season. Cap room isn’t the issue for this team.

As for Kari, the hockey professional, I think he still has a ways to go in his development. To be clear, I’m NOT slamming him. I’m saying his best years may still lie ahead. Kari can become an elite goaltender, with better mental focus, a dedicated goalie coach, and continued offseason conditioning. When a netminder shows up to training camp 35-pounds overweight, smiling and chuckling, it’s embarrassing. It’s not a matter for school-girlish giggling. It’s, perhaps, easier to endure as an 18-19 year old. At that point, the goalie is still very much a PROSPECT, not the foundation piece counted on to bring home banners hanging from the rafters. No player should want or intend to show up to training camp out of shape. It reflects poorly on your attitude and commitment to the team, as a professional. The NHL is not a beer league. Kari will not be dying his hair blue again anytime soon. He KNOWS what’s at stake, now. And he KNOWS that he is an injury-plagued goalie. And it’s a tag he won’t shed within the space of a season. Kari, to get HUGE dollars, has to play several injury-free seasons, while still displaying the skills of a true #1 goalie, with the stats to support it.

By: Dwayne Johnson

Dwayne Johnson — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:19:02 +0000

i’d complain about the d too if i were Kari. put Kari in net behind NJ’s d and everyone would be talking about how great Kari is. Look at Clemmensen, do not tell me he is better than Kari. Kari stealing games? almost everyone he wins is a steal

By: Jameson

Jameson — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 06:29:22 +0000

Among other things, I like that “Report this comment” link. It’ll come in handy if we ever hear from those guys from that Canadiens forum, again.

By: Jameson

Jameson — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 06:27:18 +0000

I think the season has probably managed to bring Kari’s price down lower than his actual value, and as Brendan has stated multiple times, trade values for goalies are tremendously low right now, so I don’t think trading him is a good idea. Since I believe we could sign him for less than what he’s actually going to be worth over the next few years this summer, I say we try to tie him up for several years (4-5ish). I also think it would be wise of Don to offer Pavelec an extension that will be a one-way contract at the end of next season to get the competition going between the two, and hopefully we’ll wind up with the goalie tandum with the most value for a couple of years.

By: Rawhide

Rawhide — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 05:01:21 +0000

Ooooh, look at me in shades of gray….and the posts pop through super quick too.

So, what do you guys think of the new blog-o-sphere?

I’m gonna be learning some new trick too…embedding photos, videos and even web polls. I only have the bacic tools right now…but we are gonna be able to do some cool stuff here soon.

By: ben

ben — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:41:40 +0000

Mr. Tiller–

I agree.

W & T–

Me too.