Phoenix, Carolina swap goalies

Same NHL team that drafted Dave LeNeveu. They must like Cornell goaltenders.

[www.tsn.ca]

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I guess Patrick DesRochers is no longer the Coyotes' goaltender of the future.

I hope the Coyotes are satisfied with Sean Burke, Brian Boucher, and Jean-Marc Pelletier playing in goal over the next two and a half seasons so that they are pleased with Dave LeNeveu's development at Cornell and do not entice him to play professional hockey prior to April 2005.

I also hope the Coyotes give Jean-Marc Pelletier a bona fide opportunity to play at the NHL level.

I don't know what his defense is like in Lowell, but an .898 save% isn't going to earn him a promotion. He has played better than that in the past, so I'm hoping he gets back to being himself. Desrochers was having a better year and is younger, so I am not sure what Phoenix was thinking. But I'm no scout, so I don't pretend that my opinion should be taken seriously. Even half-seriously.

Good luck, JMP.

BRA,

I am concerned that Phoenix was thinking lets swap minor league goalies and pick up a draft choice. IMHO I would not interpret this as Phoenix having any plans for JMP at the NHL level.

neil shapiro wrote:

I am concerned that Phoenix was thinking lets swap minor league goalies and pick up a draft choice. IMHO I would not interpret this as Phoenix having any plans for JMP at the NHL level.

My take on the trade as well.

I didn't catch the conditional draft pick until you mentioned it, Neil. Now that you've pointed it out, I agree with you.

well they brought him up...
[sports.yahoo.com]
jmp called up today to be #3

I can't read the minds of anyone in the Pheonix Coyote organization, but I hypothesize that the Coyotes promoted Jean-Marc so he could work with goaltending coach Benoit Allaire. Last year, Jean-Marc went 21-12-4 with a 2.57 GAA and a .921 save percentage. This year, Jean-Marc is 6-10-0 with a 3.55 GAA and an .898 save percentage. Perhaps the Coyote scouts concluded that Jean-Marc's numbers were down because of a correctable mechanical flaw. If that's the case, then it would make sense that the Coyote organization would consider it a worthwhile investment to pay Jean-Marc an NHL salary (assuming he has a two-way contract) in order for Allaire to improve Jean-Marc's mechanics or goaltending style. (I recognize that terms like "mechanical flaw" and "mechanics" are terms used for baseball pitchers rather than hockey goalies. I don't know the pertinent hockey lexicon for this concept.)

This is all speculation on my part, so take these comments with a grain of salt.

Jean-Marc played goalie for Phoenix this past weekend with Burke out for a few weeks, and Boucher nursing a sore knee.

Phoenix lost 2-0

[sports.yahoo.com]

I also noticed that Phoenix just called up another goalie, I hope its not to replace Pelletier.

Zac Bierk backed up Jean-Marc on Saturday. Bierk is the brother of Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach.

It's ironic that hours after the Coyotes promoted Jean-Marc, Brian Boucher bruised his knee in warmups and Sean Burke sprained his knee in the game.

Boucher is day to day. Phoenix's next game is on Wednesday.

Jean-Marc is backing up Zac Bierk tonight in Chicago.

...which featured 2 first-time goalies and a 0-0 final. Does not bode well for JMP

After backing up Zac Bierk for two games, Jean-Marc started tonight's game in Nashville. He stopped 19 of 23 shots, and the Coyotes lost 4-3 in overtime.

Apparently they play pond hockey in Nashville:
[sports.yahoo.com]

Defenseman Karlis Skrastins carried from his own zone into the low slot. His backhander caromed off a log and deflected to the left faceoff circle. Walker collected the puck and sent it under the stick of goaltender Jean-Marc Pelletier for Nashville's second straight overtime winner.