Reimer or Scrivens: going down the stretch, who’s your man?

I’ll keep it simple today (not that we ever get too complicated around here…). As the Leafs face their most crucial stretch of the 2012-’13 season—and maybe the most important series of games they have played since the spring of 2004—who needs to be in goal to give this team their best chance to win and advance to the playoffs?

It’s your call today.  For the sake of expediency and focused discussion, let’s look at this as though we have three basic options (well, we, as fans, have zero options; Carlyle holds all the trump cards in this debate) and those are:

Option 1) Assuming that the Leafs will/should pick one guy to run with and choose one of Scrivens and Reimer—and you feel Reimer is the guy who needs to hold down the fort down the stretch.

Option 2) Same as “Option 1” but for you, Scrivens is the goalie we take to the bank.

Option 3) You want the Leafs to do what Carlyle has done through much of this season—go with the goalie with the “hot hand” or at least is winning games, until that guy loses one or doesn't play well...

Those of you who follow VLM a fair bit will know I’m a Reimer guy.  Yes, I see all the flaws but I also like his fight-back ability and his overall make-up.  I believe he is our best shot at success.  I’d like him to be in our net at playoff time.  I believe he can and will make some big stops for us.

So yes, I’d like there to be a clear delineation: that is, that he’s “number one” and while Scrivens will get his games through the rest of the season, Reimer to me, should be “the guy”.  If we lose, we lose.  It’s not the end of the world, as much as I do believe, as I’ve stated here, that there are lots of reasons why it’s important that we at least advance to the playoffs this spring.

I don’t dislike Scrivens.  Not at all.  I just feel that, based on what I see and what I believe is the best way to go for the team, that he is best suited at this point to being a back-up at the NHL level.  For me, he’s not a “number one” or even a “1A”.  He’s a nice back-up—someone who can win some games for us.

(A historical note:  both these young goalies are still early enough in their career that we can rightly say they still have "potential".  Maybe they can co-exist down the road and share the net.  The Leafs tried that approach with two talented young goaltenders, Ken Wregget and Allan Bester, back in the '80s but it didn't really work for either guy - or the team.  Back when I was a kid, in the mid-'60s, two Hall-of-Famers actually shared the Leaf net for the first time during the 1964-'645 NHL season (and did so for three full seasons).  Terry Sawchuk had been picked up from the Red Wings, and he played 36 games during the then 70-game schedule in '64-'65, while incumbent Johnny Bower played 34 Leaf games.  That season, they led the league in goals-against.  In those days, the goalie that led in that statistical category won the prestigious "Vezina" Trophy.  It had always gone to just one goalie (whoever played the most games for the team that led the league in goals against).  But Sawchuk (seen above right in 1950s action with the Red Wings), who narrowly played the majority of the games that season, refused to accept the trophy unless Bower had his name on it, too.  That was a tremendous gesture on the part of the former Detroit great.  The success of the Leafs' legendary duo also spawned the modern-day "two-goalie" system.)

So I’ve said it:  Reimer should be the guy.  Is that fair to Scrivens?  I don't know.  But at some point you have to make decisions.  Just like Carlyle finally decided to go with Holzer (temporarily?) instead of Kostka. Just like Gardiner is stuck in the minors.  Just like Brown and Steckel got the short straw and were traded away—despite being hard working, dedicated Maple Leafs in their time here.

Tough decisions are always “part of the game” and I think it’s time to make it clear Reimer is number one.  I’m not saying Carlyle has to “say” it publicly (that could end up being like a lot like NFL coaches who declare who their “starting “ quarterback is amid much fanfare and then two games later, poor performance or an injury dictate another course of action…).  There’s no urgency to make a loud declaration.  But I do think Reimer needs to get the majority of the starts at this point.

Let’s see what we have.  I want to make the playoffs.  Now is the time.  It’s still very much there for us.  Yes, the Leafs have lost four in a row, but they competed well in Boston, came back against the Penguins to steal a point when Malkin was still in Pittsburgh's lineup last weekend and were full measure for their lead against Pittsburgh this past Thursday at the ACC.  To me, they are playing no worse now while losing than they were when they were winning games before.  It’s a question of outcome, not always lesser performance, in my eyes. (It's just like I often say about Kessel.  He plays much the same every night.  Some nights the puck goes in.  When it does, we say he played well.  When it doesn't, we tend to say he's in a "slump"...)

I won’t go through all the flaws in the other rosters (I have a hard enough time keeping up with the issues on our roster), but c’mon, the East is clearly not made up of great teams.  80% of them are pretty darn mediocre. They all run hot and cold, and two teams that would normally be a shoe-in to make the spring dance—the Flyers and Rangers—have their own issues, including, at least for the moment, behind the bench, it would seem.

But I’d like to hear from you.  Do you have a preference in goal?  That’s my key question of the day.  (I’m not suggesting a trade for a goaltender is or should be on the table, but go with that if you honestly feel that’s still the best “option” out there for the Leafs).

Let’s talk.