Originally Posted by Sam Blazer on Jan 31, 2017 11:33
When you think of the elite goalies in the league, a few names constantly pop up: Henrik Lundqvist, Tuukka Rask, Carey Price. Surprisingly amongst others, Thomas Greiss may end up being a name that deserves his name on those types of lists. While Greiss has mostly served as a back up his entire career, he has finally been given an opportunity to be the main man in Brooklyn.
How does he respond? By ensuring that the team doesn’t flail aimlessly after firing their coach. The Islanders had enough faith in his ability, they rewarded him with a three-year $10 million dollar deal. The question remains, Is he worth it?
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Greiss has been a journeyman of sorts jumping from team to team despite having a pretty good save percentage. Starting off in Germany then the San Jose Sharks, his development took longer than most. Landing with the New York Islanders was the perfect situation for him. He did a great job for them in the playoffs last year, masking a lot of their problems. This year he lost out to presumed start Jaroslav Halak. Eventually, the Isles soured on Halak and Greiss was given the keys to the starting job.
While he is by no stretch the reason the Islanders aren’t competitive this year, it doesn’t help that they haven’t had a handle on the goaltending position until just recently. Greiss is going to earn a decent $3.3 million per season, despite never starting 40 games in a single season. He doesn’t represent the surest option in goal, but if his sample size is an indication, he’s up for the challenge.
At 31 years of age, you wouldn’t think of Greiss as just blossoming, instead, you might think of him as an old hand in the league. Considering his small workload, blossom seems like just the right word.
The Islanders haven’t been good and for better or worse, are putting their faith in him. Considering their recent unsureness in goal, it doesn’t seem like the worst idea to invest in Greiss. The ship has some holes in it and the Islanders are trying to patch it up as quickly as possible. Greiss is a strong and steady patch that will stick for the next couple of years. They need consistency and that is exactly what he brings.
