The Re-Blooming
of the Flower
Goalies are a Special Breed and should
be treated as such
By Brett Schaffer
Late-bloomers’ are defined as those whose
capabilities are not visible to others until
later than usual. Many tend to ask the question of
whether or not goalies are ‘late bloomers’.
Some people argue that many goaltenders are
drafted with the potential to be an NHL goaltender.
Yet they are usually viewed as ‘raw’ and in need
of a few years in the minors(SPHL,ECHL,AHL) to
fine-tune their skills and get some experience at
the professional level.
More often than not, most of these goaltenders
will fade out and never see an NHL game, even
from the bench…
Rarely do we see a rookie goaltender in the NHL
getting quality starts, and it is for a few variables:
1) An increase in the amount of time,
patience, and effort placed in the
development in goaltenders over the last
two decades.
2) 62 total spots available on NHL Rosters
for goaltenders (soon to be 64; See you soon
Seattle!)
3) ‘Starter Stability’. Many of the teams in
the NHL have a consistently reliable and
stable starter. Of the 17 goalies in the NHL
to have played a minimum 20 games so far
this season, the average age of those
17 goalies is 28.7 years old…closer to 30
than they are 25. Nine out of 17(52.9%) of
those goaltenders are over 30 years old, as
well.
4) Money; Sorry, but at the end of the day,
it’s a business. If a team has
$8,000,000 invested in a goaltender, very
rarely will you see a rookie making 1/100 of
that taking away his starts.
I could dig a bit farther into the statistics of NHL
goaltenders, but almost all signs do in fact point
to goaltenders over 27-28 years old being the best
of the league.
Moving on and now addressing the title of the
article: “The Re-Blooming of the Flower.” I’m
not talking about roses, sunflowers, daffodils, or
tulips; I’m talking about the flower himself, Marc-
Andre Fluery.
Marc-Andre Fleury, 34, the former 1st overall pick
of the 2003 NHL Draft, is now in his 14th NHL
season. He has been to the Stanley Cup Finals 5
times and won it all on 3 occasions.
He has also been drafted in the NHL draft, in the
1st round, twice. (NHL Expansion Draft) After
being the goaltender chosen to remain unprotected
by Pittsburgh, Fleury joined the Las Vegas Golden
Knights at the ripe oooold age of 33.
Since being labeled as the old-dog in comparison
to Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray, it has been a
completely different story for the two goaltenders
since Fleury left almost 2 years ago.
Matt Murray has battled family emergencies,
injuries, and consistency problems over the
course of the 2 years, with many even questioning
his longevity…
On the other hand, Fleury, often nicknamed the
“Flower”, has had a second wind to his career.
He lead Las Vegas in their first season to the
Finals. Fleury carried a playoff record of 12-3
before losing the series against the heavilyfavored
Washington Capitals.
Nonetheless, Fleury lead Vegas on a roller-coaster
inaugural season, and hasn’t looked back since.
‘Flower’ has once again…bloomed. Now at
34 years old, he leads the NHL in wins, and is
on pace to head back to the playoffs and attempt
to reach the NHL Stanley Cup Finals for a 4th
consecutive season. Yes, since turning 30, Fleury
has reached the Finals in all 4 seasons. It is hard
not to argue that the mature goalies of the NHL
are still the most dominant in the league, but one
of those is Fleury.
Fleury will continue to defy father-time for years
to come. The ‘re-blooming’ of his career will likely
catapult him as a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame,
and the debate for being one of the greatest ever.
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