Loving Flower does not mean Losing your Mind

I am kind of known as the local Pens freak at my gym, at my office, on my street, and well just about everywhere.  As such, I cannot tell you how many people ask me daily when the Pens should put Flower back in over Vokoun.  Their facial expressions are priceless when I say, "Either next year, after TWO bad games by Vokoun, or never."  It makes my day.  I know, I am kind of an asshole, but nonetheless, it makes my day.  I  get a lot of heated replies ranging from he is a great goalie, to a great guy, to the Pens would not be here without him, to maybe he is just struggling with adjusting to being a new dad.  Is he a great goalie?  Well he has been to the Finals twice and won the Stanley Cup in 2009, so I would say he is at least an excellent goalie.  Is he a great guy?  I got the chance to bowl with him one night for Make a Wish, and I can confirm from that night and all other accounts Fleury is a GREAT guy.  Would the Pens be here without him?  Well, he sure has been a BIG part of the Penguins's recent successes, and when you look at other teams who have great personnel, but not won a Cup or been to the Finals in recent memory, I would say that it is true that the Pens as a franchise would not be here without the contributions of Marc Andre Fleury.  Is he possibly struggling adjusting to being a new father?  He would not be human if he were not.  The thing is people.....THAT NONE OF THAT IS RELEVANT TO THE CURRENT SITUATION.  We are not in kindygarten guys and dolls.  We are not part of the pussification of America when speaking of big time sports in America.  (Thanks Matt Walker) .  We are not in Little League letting you bat until you hit.  Jordan Staal scored a SHG in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals that likely turned the tide from another 6 game loss at the hands of the Wings, to a glorious third Stanley Cup for the good guys.  When he turned down a great offer from King Ray, he found himself in Carolina, while the Pens got Brandon Sutter, cap relief and two top notch blueliners in return.  All of that is being stated so I can get to my main points.  The first is most of the people caterwauling over Flower sitting while Vokoun has gone 6-1 would be the first to use the phrase, "In Shero we trust."  Well, put your money where your mouth is people.  Remember early June last year, after the hated Flyers destroyed the Penguins, and Fleury posted his third straight sub .900 save percentage post season?  That same Ray Shero went out and pryed an undervalued Vokoun away from the Caps for a seventh round draft pick to do two things for the Pens.  First, to give Fleury some rest during the regular season, as many believed that his post season meltdowns had a lot to do with being over played during the regular season.  Well, Vokoun played in 20 of the team's 48 games, while Fleury played in 33 of those games.  Vokoun was 13-4-0-3 with a 2.45 GAA and .919 save percentage, while Fleury was 23-8-0-1 with a 2.39 GAA and .916 save percentage.  So, Vokoun accomplished goal number one of allowing Fleury to stay fresh for the post season.  Then, after pitching a shutout in game one of the Islanders series, Fleury was pulled in favor of Vokoun for Game 5.  Fleury went 2-2, posting a .834 save percentage and a very bloated 4.63 GAA while looking bewildered at times.  Since then Vokoun has gone 6-1, the Penguins have rather easily handled the Islanders and Senators, while Vokoun is 3rd in GAA at 1.85 and 2nd in save percentage at .941.  What's more is he was 29 seconds and a series of boneheaded plays by his mates away from being 7-0 before losing to Ottawa in double overtime 2-1 in Game 3 of that series.  It is safe to say that thus far, Vokoun has more than delivered on the second part of the reason for his presence, in a BIG way.  So, tell me again what Vokoun has done to deserve a benching in favor of Fleury?  Oh yeah, the pedigree of Fleury some say....well ladies, Vokoun has appeared in 700 regular season NHL games posting a .917 save percentage and a 2.55 GAA, while Fleury has appeared in 467 regular season NHL games posting a .910 save percentage and a 2.66 GAA.  These numbers are very comparable to Vokoun's but Vokoun's are BETTER.  Well, look at his post season pedigree compared to Vokoun's.  Fleury has played in far more post season games, 79 to be exact, and he has a .904 save percentage and a 2.72 GAA.  Conversely, Vokoun has only played in 18 post season games, but he does have a .930 save percentage and 2.22 GAA.  Yes, Fleury has more playoff experience, yes he has two trips to the Finals and a Stanley Cup, Vokoun, until now never got a sniff at either, with his prior post season experience in net being with Nashville, perennial one and done playoff fodder.  But, Fleury's last four post seasons netted him .891, .899, .834, and .891.  His GAA's during that stretch?  2.78, 2.52, 4.63, and 3.40!  Hence the presence of Vokoun in the first place, whose 2M salary, combined with Fleury's 5M salary has the Pens at 7M invested in the net.  That will tell you how important two dummies like Ray Shero and Mario Lemieux thought it was to have a safety net behind Fleury.

 

Folks, again, I really do like the Flower, and his athleticism and ability to make unreal saves is well........ unreal.  That said, as the statistics above would suggest, he also has an ability to let in too many goals that he should stop, especially in the post season.  Vokoun, on the other hand, is not as athletic, but for the most part, stays in position and makes the saves he should make.  And on the rare occasion where he has looked a little shaky in this post season, he has shook it off to stand tall when the team needed him to.  They are to classy to say it, so we will never know for sure, but the eye test suggests that this team is calmer and plays a more steady game with Vokoun's veteran presence in the net.  So, despite all of the postives about Fleury as a player and as a human, I do not see why the Penguins would give the job back to Fleury when a veteran goaltender with slightly better numbers lifetime, has been a calming influence.  One who should be 7-0 in this year's post season, and is among the top players in net statistically while Fleury is usually middle of the pack.  And by the way, it is a BUSINESS!!!  I made the case that despite my deep admiration for Fleury, that this job belongs to Vokoun right now, but let me part with another shot.  This decision is bigger than Vokoun v Fleury folks.  There are twenty eight players who dressed for the Penguins this year who want their name on Lord Stanley's Cup.  There is a coaching and scouting staff with many hours of their time and skin in the game.  Hell, Disco's job was likely in jeopardy if there was another first round exit, as well as those of his staff.   There are stitches, bruises, broken bones, jaws, lost teeth, hours of practice,travel, and film watching devoted to the singular pursuit of the Stanley Cup.  Crosby rushed back with a decimated jaw bone to win the Cup.  Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow waived no trade clauses for a chance to win the Cup, and Iginla pretty much strong armed his way here to pursue that lifelong dream.  So, whomever people like Shero, Bylsma, and 66 think gives the Penguins the best chance of accomplishing that goal should be in net, despite how nice they might be, or their past accomplishments.  And, lest I forget, we fans have skin in the game too.  Do yinz realize how fortunate yinz are to see the second golden age of Penguins hockey?  Do you realize that this ownership group spends to the Cap every year, in order to give us the best possible product?  Did you know that each home playoff game generates seven figures of direct revenues to the Penguins organization?   That deep playoff runs add more dollars in souvenir sales?   If you saw the commerce being done in countless bars you would see how much tax revenues and income for bar owners, staff, and arena workers is generated based on this team making a deep playoff run v golfing after round one. Do you think that more home games would mean it is more likely that these owners can keep spending to the cap so that we continue to enjoy excellent hockey, as well as provide income to thousands of local Pittsburghers?  Yeah, I love Fleury too, but I did not lose my mind.  Play the guy most suited to keep this run alive, and you can love them both.  They are BOTH OUR guys!  Go Pens!

 

PS:  I forgot to touch on the "where does that leave him for next year" mantra.  Well, let's deal with that next year.  The cap is falling, the sky is not.....The body of work that will determine who the Penguins want to keep and who they can keep is still incomplete until this playoff run is over.  The demands of the free agents are as yet unknown, the availability via trade of other players is unknown.  He may yet wind up in the nets and get that monkey off his back, or he may not, but there are too many other variables to worry about next year, when you are 8 wins away from winning the toughest trophy in all of sports.  We are in the equivalent of the Final Four except the one that takes huge balls to be in!  As the Ole 29'er would say......Buckle Up Baby Are You Kidding Me!!