Michal Neuvirth
Theme: “Comeback is a good word, man.”
-- Mickey Rourke
Until goaltender Michal Neuvirth finished 4-5-2 with the
Washington Capitals in the 2012-2013 season, he had not finished under .500 for a season since he was
6-7-0 with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2008-2009. That was his only sub-.500 season as a goalie
at any level in his career, going back to Canadian junior hockey… again, until last
season.
It was a season that started with hope. Despite his being injured late in the
2011-2012 season and yielding his starting goaltending job to Braden Holtby for
the playoffs, the expectation was that he would battle Holtby for the starting
job out of the gate in the 2012-2013 season.
Nice thought, except the gate did not open on time. The Great Lockout of 2012-2013 meant no
training camp for evaluation, no Opening Night start. By the time the league got around to opening
night in January, the die was cast.
Braden Holtby was the number one goalie, and Neuvirth, who might have
thought he had fought off his principal goaltending challenge when Semyon
Varlamov was traded to Colorado in July 2011, was on the bench for opening night of the 2012-2013 season.
Not that Neuvirth did not get a look early. In his first two games of the season, Holtby…what
is the technical term here? Oh, yeah…stunk. After allowing ten goals on 73 shots in his
first two games (a .863 save percentage), Holtby was shown the bench, and
Neuvirth took over with a chance to grab the job as number one goalie by the
throat.
It grabbed him, and not by the throat. Maybe a bit lower. In five consecutive starts he was 1-3-1,
2.98, .899. It was hardly the stuff to
inspire confidence that he was the guy.
Holtby returned for two more games and, well, was not very good (1-1-0, 4.00,
,860). So…back to Neuvirth. He got two more games. Well, one and a half. He lost a 3-2 decision to the Toronto Maple
Leafs then was pulled in the 33rd minute of a 5-2- loss to
Pittsburgh after allowing two goals on 11 shots.
Through his first seven appearances he was 1-4-1 (one
no-decision), 3.05, .889. That pretty much settled things. Neuvirth was not going to be the number one
goalie in 2013. In fact, he would not
make another appearance for another month, getting mop-up duty in relief of
Holtby in a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on March 10th.
He did play respectably after that, getting five more
appearances down the stretch in which he was 3-1-1, 2.39, .932. The pecking order was set, though. Holtby played superbly down the stretch, and
Neuvirth proved a capable backup, but a backup, nonetheless.
Fearless’ Take…
Neuvirth has had a career that does not say “spectacular” as
much as is says, “steely.” Until last
season he had experienced only one stretch of one season in which he had a
sub-.900 save percentage (15 games with Oshawa in Canadian junior hockey in
2007-2008, .898). He had only the one
sub-.500 year in South Carolina. He has
a 34-15 record in the post season in the AHL and NHL with a 2.05 GAA, .924 save
percentage and three shutouts. Elite as
a career ceiling might be a stretch, but his combination of technical soundness
and a competitive streak hidden under a placid demeanor suggests that 2013 was
something of an aberration in his career development. Keep in mind, he still has only 130 games of
NHL experience under his belt.
Cheerless’ Take…
If you look at the 2009-2010 season – Neuvirth’s rookie
season – and the goalies in that class, it’s pretty impressive. Jimmy Howard, Tuukka Rask, Jonathan Bernier,
Corey Crawford, Cory Schneider. Neuvirth
played in more games than Schneider, Crawford, and Bernier. He had a better goals against average than
Schneider and Crawford. He had a better
save percentage than Crawford and was only one point behind Schneider. But that 2.75 goals against average and .914
save percentage doesn’t look a lot different than his career numbers (2.66,
.910). He has not made the progress we’d
expect since then, and last season was a step back.
The Big Question… Can Neuvirth settle into a role as a
backup in 2013-2014?
Neuvirth was the backup for the Caps last season, for all
intents and purposes. He just did not
know that going into the season, he being in a competition with Braden Holtby
for the number one spot. This season, it’s
different. Absent injury or the utter
collapse of his game, Holtby will be the starter this season, and Neuvirth will be the backup. Everyone knows that going
in. Neuvirth has endured situations in
which he was not the clear cut number one goalie, but it has been a while since
his role as backup was this clearly defined.
If he cannot accept the role (and there are probably few NHL goaltenders
his age who would “accept” such a role in their minds), can he adapt to it?
Even last season, Neuvirth’s appearances were not quite as intermittent
of the sort one might expect in a backup goaltender. Seven of his 13 appearances came in a
nine-game span early in the year. Then
he played in three of four games in mid-March.
This year, with the league returning to an 82-game schedule, he stands
to get somewhere between 25 and 35 appearances.
There will be slumps along the way that Holtby is likely to have to deal
with, meaning Neuvirth might get more than a game in any given week. But those instances, quite frankly, are not
to be hoped for.
So, the question is still out there… can Neuvirth settle
into a role as a backup for 2013-2014?
There is little in his history to suggest a clear answer to that, but
his ability to do just that – to give the Caps quality minutes when Holtby
needs a breather – will be an important element on whether the Caps fight for a
divisional title or struggle on the playoff bubble.
In the end…
There is a disturbing subtext to Michal Neuvirth’s numbers
last season. Against teams failing to
make the playoffs he was 3-0-1, 2.21, .927.
On the other hand, against playoff teams he was 1-5-1, 3.01, .900. That one win came in April against a Montreal
Canadiens team that stumbled to a 4-6-0 finish.
He is going to have to step up his production against stiffer
competition in what is likely a tougher division in which the Caps play this
season. His history says that he has it
in him to rise to that challenge. The
difference this season is that he has to do it on an intermittent basis. If he can thrive in that role, it would
represent a comeback of sorts, and that is, as we have seen, a good word.
Projection: 30 games, 13-9-4, 2.61, .913
Photo: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America
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