McKenna’s Mailbag: Questions on Juuse Saros, Eddie The Eagle and more!
#AskMcKenna
What areas in Juuse Saros’ game do you see that make him one of the top goalies in NHL when he’s one of the shortest goalies in today’s NHL? Does it come down to his box control and awareness of angles to maximize coverage or something beyond that?
You touched on a few things that make Saros so good. Box control is really just a fancy term for being square to the shot and filling space. Saros is outstanding at it.
Why? Because he’s a tremendous skater, his movements are precise and he understands the geometry of goaltending as well as anyone. Saros will make micro-adjustments through rotations and quick shuffles that put him on angle for the shot.
At 5-foot-11, Saros might be small by today’s standard. The average height of an NHL goalie is now over 6-foot-2. But I think context is important. Plenty of goalies have previously found success in the NHL at that size. It’s an uphill battle nowadays, but Saros is showing that you don’t have to be a monster to stop pucks.
But you do have to be able to skate, make smart reads, and stay in control. How many times do you see Saros on his back or belly? Not many. That’s because his knees are usually underneath him. He’s balanced. And his game has all the details necessary to win a Vezina Trophy.
#ASKMCKENNA I know you’re a huge race fan, who is your pick for the @indycar championship this year? The season is only 5 weeks away.
— Kurt Hardley (@HardleyKurt) January 13, 2022With all the recent addition of Gavin Ward – a former goaltender – to the engineering department, I think Arrow McLaren SP is going to be a handful this season. My money’s on Pato O’Ward to claim his first IndyCar championship.
@MikeMcKenna56 Hey Mike! I'm a big fan of seeing tandems that are actual partners. As a kid I always heard things like Ed Belfour was tough on back ups or other guys wouldn't even talk to their partner. Any guys that stand out as awesome partners in all your years? #askmckenna
— Dr. Steve Vadgers 🇨🇦 & 🇺🇲 (@drvadgers1980) January 13, 2022By all accounts, The Eagle wasn’t the easiest goalie partner to get along with. Back in the Dallas years, they had to put Marty Turco in one corner of the locker room and Belfour in the other. I don’t think it was ever that acrimonious. It was more just Eddie protecting his turf. Thankfully those two get along today, which is nice to see.
In my career I can only really think of one goalie partner that I didn’t enjoy working with. He was arrogant and entitled. But we actually got along okay. I just didn’t appreciate his outlook on the game and how it seemed like the world owed him something. He’s grown up a fair amount since then which is great to see.
As for great goalie partners, there were so many! Kevin Reiter, Kevin Ackley, Tim Hall, Marc Magliarditi, Curtis McElhinney, Jake Allen, Sam Brittain, Landon Bow, Kari Lehtonen, Craig Anderson. Honestly I could go on and on. I was very fortunate to play with some amazing people, with very different personalities. And that’s what made it fun.
People have a hard time believing goalie partners can truly be friends and root for one another. I get it. Jobs are on the line. But I always looked at it this way: if my goalie partner was successful, so was our team. And that took pressure off me when it was my turn to hop in the cage. I didn’t have to win every game and be perfect every time out. I was better for it.
Sure I wanted to play every game. I wanted the crease to be mine. But I also wanted to see my friends succeed and if they were a prospect, eventually play in the NHL. Nothing made me happier than seeing a former goalie partner play his first NHL game.
Tuuka Rask looked great in his first start, despite no tuneup games. Want to #AskMcKenna if he'll still need time to stabilize or being a vet just lets him go straight into mid season form? Are there things you look for in terms of "not being in mid season form?"
— Biff plays hockey (@Biffplayshockey) January 14, 2022I agree, Rask was excellent this past Thursday against the Flyers. That’s not easy to do after a nearly seven-month long recovery surgery to repair a torn labrum.
He stopped 25 of 27 shots and the Bruins won the game 3-2. And I think that’s important – it wasn’t a blowout. Rask was tested physically and mentally. He passed the exam.
It may have only been one game, but Rask looked like his old self. His movements were pretty clean and he was tracking the puck well. He has so much experience that he can rely on.
The biggest question mark for me when any goalie comes back after surgery doesn’t relate to the athlete’s body. It’s his or her mind. The actual mechanics of goaltending are so ingrained in our muscle memory that it’s pretty easy to get back in the rhythm.
About midway through my career, I had a bad season with the AHL’s Albany Devils. I went home and put my gear away, not knowing if I’d get another contract. The equipment sat in the garage for three months. When I got back on the ice, I was shocked. My body immediately knew what to do. It was refreshing. I had a renewed hunger for the game.
But what isn’t easy is the mental side. Tracking the puck. Managing screens and traffic. Reading the puck off the blade. Those take a while. For me, it usually took two or three weeks before training camp to really get that aspect of my game dialed in. Rask had that time. He’d been skating and practicing with the Bruins.
I really look to penalty kills and defensive-zone play to gauge a goaltender’s comfort level. If I can see the goaltender is working to position and being assertive with their edgework, it’s a good sign. If they’re fighting around traffic it’s another bonus. But more than anything, it’s how the goaltender handles shots. Rebounds off the hands and upper body – that shows me a goaltender that’s not truly comfortable.
Good goaltenders make the position look boring. Everything hits them and sticks. I saw a lot of that out of Rask.