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Saturday, January 17, 2009

Shrewd move by Howson


The Jackets claimed 5'10" 180 pound 29 year old goaltender Wade Dubielewicz today.

It was a curious move considering the Islanders had just signed him after he and his KHL team agreed to part ways (oddly enough Freddy Norrena took his place on that team) but did not put a claim in on waivers. Any team that plays in Europe must pass through waivers before coming back to the NHL.

Howson and the Jackets must have received some news that Pascal Leclaire is out for the season and basically swooped in and scooped him up from right under New York's nose.

The Islanders are certainly kicking themselves (and cussing Howson) for not putting a claim in -- they had the first opion to do so. Certainly they beleived nobody would want this guy so why bother.

Here is the run down on Dubielewicz:

ASSETS:
Is a great student of the game and works very hard in practice. Plays his angles well and lets the puck hit him on most occasions.
FLAWS: Must prove he can stop top NHL shooters on a consistent basis. Has limited physical talent, so he must to continue to work extra hard at his craft.
CAREER POTENTIAL: No. 3 goaltender.

Dubielewicz only has 37 NHL starts over parts of 4 NHL seasons. His best year was in 2006-2007 when he started 18 games, won 9 of them and helped carry the Islanders into a playoff birth.

If you recall the Jackets could have claimed Curtis Sanfore while he would cost a little more dough (he's signed for 650k this year) he does have 108 starts with 37w, 37l & 11 ties.

Not sure what Dubielewicz has over Sanford other than saving a few bucks. Perhaps it was just more of a timing thing as when Sanford was on waivers the status of Leclaire was still unknown.

It was a shrewd move by Howson as even though he played by rules, he certainly didn't make any friends within the Islander's organization today.

I wouldn't count on Dubielewicz doing a whole lot but if he can give Mase a rest on the occassional night, stay healthy and perform better than Lelcaire or Norrena...other than potentially burning some bridges here, it should be a solid low risk move by Howson although I think I'd rather have Sanford all things considered.

Howson has been active lately.

1. Pineault to Chicago for Blunden
2. Wilson and a 6th for Jason Williams
3. Roster claim for Dubielewicz

I still think there is a bigger move to be had here but that probably won't come until the deadline.

-LTL

4 comments:

Rob Mixer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rick said...

Puck Daddy is saying that Dubie is the better goalie than Sanford. Maybe this is why:

He holds the AHL records for most shutouts (15) and wins (81) in a career, and highest save percentage (.946) and goals against average (1.38) in a season (during the 2003–04 AHL season), passing the records of Rick DiPietro. Dubielewicz won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the top rookie in the AHL for 2003–04.

All in all, this goes back to Howson not tipping his hand until he's ready to do so. On the plus side of this move, I think Dubie fits that "blue collar" mold that Hitch keeps talking about. Nothing flashy about this deal. But really, has Howson done anything real flashy? Bottom line, I like this deal.

Unknown said...

You know the ultimate slap in the face for NYI? Scott Howson offers to trade Dubielewicz back to them! Hahaha. Crafty move by the wise GM. LTL, any comments on the B.S. of last night or does just thinking of it make you blow your top?

JAL said...

What about the piece in the Dispatch this morning, indicating that the Isles will play an exhibition game in Kansas City next year? A town with an empty arena when the Isles are having trouble getting a new arena of their own? THAT may be the ultimate slap in the face to the Islander fans.

--JAL
A Shot From The Point