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Blog Post

Hartford Wolf Pack

THOMAS WOLFE PROVEN RIGHT 

Mitch Beck, 14 years ago 5 1 min read  

nyr In 1940, Thomas Wolfe wrote a famous novel that people to this day use as a popular expression. The phrase is, “You can’t go home again.”  In the year 2009, former Wolf Pack goaltender Steven Valiquette will put that theory to the test. The now former backup to Henrik Lundqvist has cleared waivers and will now guard the steel cage for the Hartford Wolf Pack most likely for the rest of the season.

Chad Johnson has been recalled by the Rangers to play in his place…at least for the time being.

There is a positive to this for Pack fans. Valiquette is a good NHL quality netminder. He is also HIGHLY motivated to prove to the NHL that is where he belongs so it’s safe to expect him to push himself hard and play a solid between the 4’x6’.

Expect Valiquette to start at least two, if not all three of the Pack’s games this weekend. The team plays Friday night in Manchester against the Monarchs and we will be there for both Pennsylvania games as Saturday the Pack visit Wilkes-Barre to challenge the Penguins on Saturday and then in Hershey against the Bears on Sunday.

Tags #AHL #Chad Johnson #New York Rangers #NHL #Steve Valiquette
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Mitch Beck
Mitch Beck was a standup comedian and radio personality for over 25 years. His passion for hockey started with Team USA in 1980 when they defeated the Soviets at Lake Placid. He is now working in the hockey industry full-time as a coach and administrator. Mitch has been reporting on the New York Rangers, and exclusively on the Hartford Wolf Pack / Connecticut Whale since 2005.

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5 Comments

  1. rcm

    Valiquette 32 years of age. Last year I thought Valiquette played very well.This year he had some good games but was no competition for King Hank. The King now looks vulnerable,especially with high shots over the glove side. Since he cleared waivers,the rest of the NHL is looking elsewhere. Where is his value? I think he may be another Kevin Weeks unless Valley is AHL goaltender of the year.

    Zaba-26 yrs of age. I saw the stats on his November games. They were good. But he got off to a bad start in October. So did Johnson. Zaba’s youth should give him more upside potential . Zaba ,as I remember ,was very good last year.They should use him more.

    I think this was a Ben Allaire move. But pushed by Torts. Torts does a good job in pushing the envelope. I expect to see Zaba up before Valiquette.

    14 years ago Reply
  2. Mitch Beck

    Rcm,

    Zaba is not off to a good start this season. He lost his starting job to Johnson early on and got hurt. He spent sometime in Charlotte and was ok, but not spectacular in either of the games he’s been in since.

    I’m not a coach so I can’t tell you who will be where first. Zabs is a talented goaltender…so for that matter is Miika Wiikman who people should not exactly take out of the mix.

    Who moved what, or pushed who where, I couldn’t tell you and frankly it doesn’t matter. It is what it is. Ultimately I think this move helps the Pack because frankly I think that once he gets his confidence and his game back that Valiquette will prove to be a better goaltender for the Pack than Johnson.

    Here’s a scenario that nobody is mentioning. Since it’s highly unlikely that Johnson is going to play, and the chances of Valli getting back thorugh waivers is almost non-existent (remember he only gets $750K. If A team claims him the Rangers are on the hook for half. How likely do you think it is that an NHL team would take a ckup netminder and pay $375K for him or even less by the time that happens…can anyone say Toronto?). So let’s assume the Rangers go out and get a backup goalie. That would meant hte Pack wuld then have Zaba, Johnson and Valiquette in Hartford. I think it’s a safe bet that in such an occurance that Zaba could wind up in Charlotte with Wiikman and that BOTH of last years goalies for the Pack would be in Charlotte.

    It’s an interesting scenario to say the least.

    14 years ago Reply
  3. J

    Mitch, the thought of two AHL quality goaltenders languishing in Charlotte is not plausible. Both Zaba and Wiikman need playing time to stay sharp, so if the big club picks up another backup and Vally stays in Hartford, then you’re shortchanging three very talented netminders…Zaba and Wiikman sharing time in an inferior league, and Johnson and Vally sharing time in the AHL and thus not allowing either of them to improve. The Rangers have clearly shot themselves in the foot with this move. Obviously it’s great for their organization to have so much goaltending talent within it, but it seems to me that none of the goaltenders can actually benefit and mature from this situation. Some of them have to go, for sake of their development as players and for the sake of the organization’s future.

    14 years ago Reply
  4. Mitch Beck

    A traffic jam of goaltenders on the roster. Teams in need of goaltending depth all over the place and the Rangers in need of scoring help.

    Hmmm…

    I’m guessing that there could be some talking going on somewhere don’t you think?

    14 years ago Reply
    1. J

      Given conversations I’ve had with certain people, I’d bet my life on it.

      14 years ago Reply

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