What's bothering me about the Niemi situation.

When I look at it carefully, I would not call either of the last two postseason campaigns (under McLellan’s tutelage) a disappointment. The year we lost to Anaheim in the first round isn’t really that big a deal; we had the talent, we just didn’t have the coaching at that time because it wasn’t just McLellan’s first year with the Sharks, it was his first year as a HEAD coach at the NHL level. Plus, we were up against a better conditioned team. Think about it, a rookie McLellan vs a well experienced Carlyle, an aging Nabby against a bright and young Hiller, and other ways Anaheim was somehow better than us that year. As for last year, it wasn’t that disappointing because we simply lost to the better team. Chicago had better defense and goaltending, though I would say our offense was pretty evenly matched with theirs; they too had a more experienced coaching staff. But none the less, with the kind of progress McLellan has made and the hardships he taught the Sharks to overcome (i.e. game 3 of the series vs Colorado), I am more than satisfied with our coaching and have strong faith in him.

As for Niemi, he won’t end up starting nearly as many games as Nabby did last season; he will get some rest very soon. Plus, he is much younger than Nabby, which means regardless of how many starts he has the rest of the regular season, it shouldn’t have that much of an effect of his game during playoff time. When you look at it, over the past few years, the Cup winning goaltender has never started more than about 3/4 of their regular season. Last year, Niemi started just under half of Chicago’s regular season games but was named starter for the playoffs. This year, he will end up with more regular season starts than last year but he won’t start the rest of this regular season; I am sure the coaching staff well understands he will need a rest soon regardless of how long his hot streak continues.

I believe once free agency of summer 2012 rolls around, Nitty will walk as a free agent so a spot can finally be made for Stalock because like many of us, I believe him to be the future of Sharks home-grown goaltending. In fact, I am very excited to see him become a full part of the roster. However, Niemi’s future with us shouldn’t stop Stalock from shining; perhaps they could split the starts just like how Nemo split with Huet during his season with Chicago.

Goalie fatigue is a myth in my opinion. Goalies aren’t skating end to end every shift, and more importantly they’re not getting body checked. I can understand the fatigue level for the players in front of a goalie because of the sheer effort they put in moving all over the ice constantly, on top of taking hits. Bruises need time to heal, even if you can play through them your body will still be that bit slower etc.

Goalies receive none of that physical abuse. The only thing a goalie needs to worry about is the mental game. If you play a lot of games, as most goalies say they want to, if you play poorly then you can doubt yourself which then snowballs into worse play etc.

So the whole “OMG HE’S GOING TO BE TIRED FOR THE PLAYOFFS” shtick is retarded in my eyes. People say oh he needs a night off, blah blah. Even if he doesn’t get the start he still practices with the team. Its not like the backup goalie just sits there the whole time reclined back and relaxing. It is just only during the game itself where he’s inactive.

Now I’m not trying to say that goalies aren’t athletic or need conditioning, obviously they do. Takes a lot of work to be able to move side to side constantly. I’m just saying that giving them 60 minutes off of ice time isn’t going to help them physically.

It is for this reason that teams ride hot goalies. It is for this reason backups playing well can supplant previous defined starters. It is based off how you play. You switch goalies to ease mental pressure off their backs as well as giving them the sideline change of perspective, which can help them notice things about how their team plays under pressure from a different point of view. On top of the simple fact of letting the backups play so that they don’t get rusty themselves in the higher pressure of a game situation. Etc.

But when a goalie can take it mentally, and is good enough to be that starter, you play him as much as he wants to play. That is why Brodeur is one of the best goalies in the world. That is why we played Nabby the way we did.

It wasn’t just some magical switch that came on during playoff time that he suddenly was “tired” and then didn’t play that well. Our playoff woes lay totally on the team as a whole. When we under perform in the playoffs, for the most part is it goal production.

There is a reason why people say playoff hockey is different from the regular season, and it is because teams adapt to their competition’s style, and the players themselves have enormous motivation to empty their tank every night and perform. Players are more willing to sacrifice the body to block shots. Etc.

Our woes have been that historically we haven’t risen to the level necessary combined with injuries and being slow/unable to adapt to how teams change their style to play us long term. Not goalie fatigue.