Sinclair's Strange Season

[solas 1,951]

Season 47 has been simultaneously great and terrible for Callum Sinclair.  In his sixth season with HC Davos Dynamo, a season marred with what almost seemed like a forced rebuild.  Incoming GM Spencer Flammer was left with a team without star players Mason Richardson and Bismarck Koenig, who had left in free agency to Riga and Helsinki respectively.  Davos was unable to make any major moves in the offense, and after a short stint at first in the European Conference it was clear that a core of Valmount, McJustice, Komarov, and Sinclair wasn’t enough to compete for the cup.  Helsinki and Riga were already proven contenders and locks for the playoffs, and Stockholm was surging thanks to the incredible performances of Lord Karnage and Ariel Weinstein.  And so Davos’ rebuild began.  Freedom McJustice and Oskars Harumpf were traded away at the deadline, and after failing to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since Season 42, the Dynamo will look to start a new chapter of the franchise with the third overall pick in the upcoming Season 48 draft.

 

But amidst all the trading, Callum Sinclair, the supposed franchise goaltender, the man who was once considered by some fans to be the “next Daisuke Kanou”, remained in Davos.  He also had a career year.  In the past, it seemed as if he was only showing glimpses of potential; seemingly every year he would start out strong then fizzle out.  But this season, despite playing on a weaker team and dropping below thirty wins for the first time in five seasons, Sinclair put up the best numbers in his career.  He eclipsed a .920 save percentage for the first time with a .922 and putting up a career-high 2.16 GAA and 10 shutouts.  This wasn’t enough to put him above Blake Campbell, Ariel Weinstein, or Greg Clegane in the pecking order for top goaltender, but it’s certainly a sign of improvement.

 

However, all this doesn't just mean that Season 47 was strange for Sinclair.  It also raises questions over the American goaltender’s future.  With Davos looking towards a rebuild, it seems likely that Sinclair could be traded in the offseason.  But even then, where would he go?  There are very few openings for a starting goaltender in the league.  However, those teams looking for a netminder have other options outside of Sinclair - Riga's Hans Wingate, a two-time Shaw Trophy winner is an upcoming free agent, and both Jakab Holik and Dmitri Dadonov provide younger options in the draft. Where will Sinclair land? Will he continue to improve? Only time will tell.

 

(I know this was a bit long for a Fan 590...I was just bored over the weekend and I like writing about myself.)

 

[Victor 10,940]

Surprised about the career best in sv%, I know I just wrote about how bad goaltending numbers are but thought you finished better after that one really good start to the season a few seasons back.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

still cant believe you were Turd Ferguson 

[Victor 10,940]

2 minutes ago, StevenStamkos91 said:

still cant believe you were Turd Ferguson 

still can't believe Turd Ferguson had it in him to make good players.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

1 minute ago, Victor said:

still can't believe Turd Ferguson had it in him to make good players.

i still cant believe you did VHL trivia all season long 

[Victor 10,940]

Just now, StevenStamkos91 said:

i still cant believe you did VHL trivia all season long 

Still can't believe you're still active at the end of your rookie season.

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

Just now, Victor said:

Still can't believe you're still active at the end of your rookie season.

 

 

[solas 1,951]

2 hours ago, Victor said:

Surprised about the career best in sv%, I know I just wrote about how bad goaltending numbers are but thought you finished better after that one really good start to the season a few seasons back.

Yeah, I've kind of had really good starts and fell off for the last two or so seasons.  I think Davos might have started off the season against some weaker opponents - plus the backup rule set in and I only ended up playing against better teams towards the end of the season.  Last season I had a .917 and in S45 I had a .911 sv%.

I have spreadsheets where I've kept track of Sinclair and Janssen's career stats, so I've really found it interesting to see how my players progress over their careers.

[eaglesfan036 4,603]

too many goalies to go around unfortunately