Obligatory, random hockey post now that the NHL playoffs have started, the NHL draft order is set, and the awards are slowly being announced.
Devan Dubnyk earned a nod for the Vezina trophy this year, after basically willing Minnesota into the playoffs. Doubt he'll win it (it's Price's trophy this year), but it's well-deserved recognition.
On the same note, the team that cut him loose for not being good enough, Edmonton, lucked into the first pick in next year's draft... again. Except this year, they don't just get a good player, they get an amazing one. And so, after yet another disappointing finish to the year, Edmonton's in a rebuild, trying to turn their wealth of talent into a successful team. What does this have to do with Dubnyk? Well, once again, the goaltenders in Edmonton are taking the heat and many are calling for better goaltenders to be brought in.
But that was the same story with Dubnyk and he did amazingly well... once he got outside of Edmonton. Scrivens, who is arguably Edmonton's best goaltender right now, did pretty well in LA. So maybe the problem isn't the goaltender, maybe it's the team around the goaltender, whether it's the other players or the coaching staff.
Edmonton lucked into yet another first overall pick, and they've already largely squandered three. To keep from doing that again, I really hope they take a good, hard look at what absolutely needs to get fixed, and what could simply use some improvement. When it comes to goaltending, I think it's the latter. There's no point bringing in another decent goalie, just to have him underperform because the defense around him is terrible, or because the system put in place by the coaches doesn't provide enough support. Edmonton needs better D-men - no point worrying about the goalie until that aspect is at least half-way fixed.
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