Not sure if this convo has already taken place on here but why did Boston feel the need to deal Kalus for Fernandez? I remember watching him play at the end of the 06-07 season and he seemed to be an NHL ready winger who could score some goals...something we desperately needed at the time. Did he have an attitude problem or did management think we needed Fernandez that bad that Kalus became expendable?
Not sure if this convo has already taken place on here but why did Boston feel the need to deal Kalus for Fernandez? I remember watching him play at the end of the 06-07 season and he seemed to be an NHL ready winger who could score some goals...something we desperately needed at the time. Did he have an attitude problem or did management think we needed Fernandez that bad that Kalus became expendable?
I don't think management thought Tim Thomas was really a #1 goaltender, and frankly, I didn't either. I sure am glad Thomas proved me wrong though!
The word at the time was that Minn wanted Krejci and we didn't want to make that deal so Kalus was traded instead. At the time of the trade there were many people that were upset because Kalus had that scoring touch at the end of the previous year and we didn't have much depth at the left wing as we did at center.
One year later and Krejci is the real deal and everyone projects him as a 2nd line center someday. Kalus didn't last at the NHL level and was demoted to Minn's AHL team.
Seems like the Boston Scouting Dept. (and Colt) knew what they had in Krejci. Plus, maybe Lucic wouldn't have gotten a shot at the NHL if Kalus was blocking his way on the depth chart...
Agree that the Bruins did not feel that Thomas could be #1. But, I believe they miscalculated Minny's situation with Fernandez. The Wild was trying desparately to unload Manny and his 4 million dollar salary. Bruins should have waited them out and gotten Manny for free. Kalus, though he struggled in Houston this year, would be competing for the open LW spot on the Bruins roster this training camp.
Until Fernandez actually plays healthy and meaningful minutes in a Bruin uni, this trade cannot be accurately graded properly. Looks to me as though Kalus is still a ways from being an NHL`er who can hold an everyday spot on the roster in Minny, and Fernandez may be accused of something that is actually a positive, wanting to play so badly he attempted to play without allowing his injury to fully heal. Admirable yes, but smart no. The way the B`s handled his situation (similiar to Bergy) was smart, he was not going to see any action until he was absolutely 100%, and by the time he was, it was crunch time and taking chances on a goalie who hadn`t played nearly enough hockey during the year was too risky. So Bruin trainers/mngt. should be commended.
A healthy Manny is someone that makes me feel less uneasy between the pipes than Thomas does. I love Timmy, but he just gives me heart attacks with his sometimes reckless decisions, scrambling back to cover his arse. He makes things look spectacular and has proven he does belong in the NHL, but I would feel far more comfortable with a healthy Manny between the pipes. He is fundemenatally very sound, plays his angles with a far superior consistency than Thomas does IMO. In a perfect world I would like to see Manny play 50-55 games, with Thomas stepping in and giving him a breather the other 30 or so games. This may not be the popular opinion, but that is just how I feel about it.
Also where is Peter K. now ? Didn't he have a rough time after he was traded ?
That's putting it mildly.
Kalus struggled very badly in the AHL in his first full season after being dealt to MIN.
In 58 Games, he scored 8-10-18 pts.
That's not a typo, 18 pts in only 58 games at the AHL level, after scoring 30 pts in just 43 games with Providence the year before.
Is he a bust? Way too early to say. But I'm sure it's never a great sign when a 21-year-old hockey player's production dramatically drops off his second year against AHL talent.
Not many on here would admit it, but you'd have to call the Fernandez trade at this point equal for both sides. Neither player did squat with their new organization to justify "a steal."
I still think that a helathy Manny Fernandez on his game is better than Tim Thomas.
That is why management made that trade. Don'te get me wrong - I think Thomas is good, but I don't think we can be a legit Stanley Cup threat with Thomas in net....he is too shaky and inconsistent at times. Thomas gives up a lot of shaky goals where I say "How the hell did that go in?". Then again he makes a lot of amazing saves which I believe are the result of poor postioning and fundamental goaltending. That is why guys like Luongo are so good - because their positioning and fundamentals are so good that they don't need to flop around as much as someone like Thomas.
I just don't see Thomas ever carrying us in the playoffs and/or us getting through more than one round with him in the net.
Just think of all the teams that have 2 strong goalies the last few years...
06- Carolina Flipped back and forth between Gerber and Ward all year and throughout the playoffs.
Edmonton used Markannen/Conklin all year then grabbed Roloson, when he went down in Game one, Markannen was there to make a serires of it.
07- Ducks had Bryz and Giggy, Bryz actually played the first 5 games of the playoffs that year while Giggy was injured.
Sens had Emery and he played all the games but they had Gerber in the pipes if anything were to happen to him
08-Wings basicly split the season between Osgood and Hasek and Hasek started the playoffs, but once he faltered, Osgood was there to take the reins.
Pens- Fleury played the whole playoffs and played admirably, but Conklin also went undeafeated for 14? games during the regular season, He was a big part of why they were in a position to succeed last year.
Basicly the point I am making is that having 2 solid goalies in the 1A1B mold is great problem to have.
Yeah Kalus struggled pretty bad in Minny, I wouldn't mind trying to acquire him for a late pick or a no good prospect. He looked pretty solid when he was called up at the end of the season.
We need MFMF to be healthy and return to past glory if we want to make it deep into the playoffs this year. Having a solid goaltending tandem is a strength that any team in the league would love to have, seeing as it's the one position that can single-handily make or break your post season success. If your starting goaltender goes down with an injury, runs into a cold streak, or is just plain gassed, being able to have your backup not skip a beat and play like a world glass goalie is a huge boost to the team. I didn't mind the trade and the time, and have accepted that injuries do happen. MFMF needs to come back into form however to call the trade a win for Boston...if he's injured again, then it's a wash, especially if Kalus has another stinker of a year.
A healthy Manny Fernandez would be a solid asset to the Bruins. I am no Manny Fernandez fan but if he can come in and provide us up to 30-32 solid games this season I'll be happy with him.
Tim Thomas is the #1 in Boston and all we need Fernandez for is to give Tim a breather now and then to protect him and keep him from burning out like he did in 06-07, granted awful team infront of him by the end.
That is also a great situation for an oft-injured goaltender, Manny doesn't have to carry a big load, doesn't have to be overworked and has much less chance of re-injuring his knee. If used properly Manny could be an asset but if hes overrused or if his knees are still shakey then we have a huge liability on our hands. I am hopeing he can stay healthy and provide us a soild season as the backup to Tim Thomas.
Seems like the Boston Scouting Dept. (and Colt) knew what they had in Krejci.
Haha, that's funny Fonz.... I remember bcbruin breaking that Fernandez was coming here for Krejci or Kalus and as much as I loved Kalus' game I kept thinking to myself... geez, please let it be Kalus, please let it be Kalus!
I was a huge Kalus fan when he was here. He played great when he was in Boston (although short time). I was kinda pissed to see him go, but having him here would really only cause more problems. We'd have another NHL capable Forward.
I think we lost the trade long term, but Manny could be a big piece to getting us in the playoffs and past the first round this year.
The deal was made because the B's needed Fernandez, and still do.
And Kalus has shown that he was wildly overrated on this board.
I agree with you. Hopefully fans will cut Manny some slack as it wasn't his fault that he had knee surgery and hadn't played for 10 months before coming to Boston. The scouts had to know of this and if anyone is to blame it is them.
He may be just what the B's need...if he isn't there is always Rask.
Only because to this point MF has not been healthy enough to do anything besides eat up cap space.
Kalus on the other hand has been healthy enough to put up lousy AHL #'s and live on in Bruin's fans memories of his garbage time play abord the sinking ship that was the Dave Lewis' Bruins.
love how people are writing Kalus off after 1 poor AHL season. It's not like he was the last forward cut from the Wild last season at camp...wait...
Kalus went from being a 19 year old on a really good AHL team, to being a 20 year old - just cut from the NHL- to an AHL team that was good..but had no scoring... and was probably bummed...
and the team leader on Houston had 41 points. He went from being able to do what he wanted offensively to having to become MUCH more defensively responsible...and it hurt his overall game.
41...that's horrible. As bad as Kalus' season was, he just turned 21..has two seasons of pro seasons under his belt and has good size, hands and is willing to fight and play physical.
To write him off now would be pretty stupid. The Wild wouldn't take "a no good prospect" for him...****...Pouliot only had 24 points last season.
This next season will be much more telling for Kalus...and considering how weak the forwards are right now, he could make Minny out of camp (fighting with Clutterbuck, Gillies, Pouliot..)
Spin being the operative word. I think to evaluate a trade where one player was hurt, and the other had one subpar season, you would have to be spinning at this point.
And that includes calling the trade 'bad.'
Fernandez returns to prior form and gets healthy, and Kalus continues to play like he did last year, 'good' trade for the Bruins.
Fernandez gets hurt again or sucks, while Kalus has a breakout year in 08-09, 'bad' trade for the Bruins.
Spin being the operative word. I think to evaluate a trade where one player was hurt, and the other had one subpar season, you would have to be spinning at this point.
And that includes calling the trade 'bad.'
Fernandez returns to prior form and gets healthy, and Kalus continues to play like he did last year, 'good' trade for the Bruins.
Fernandez gets hurt again or sucks, while Kalus has a breakout year in 08-09, 'bad' trade for the Bruins.
Anything else = spin.
I would love to have Manny be excellent this year but do not wish bad luck for the young Kalus . I hope they both have a great year.
