This report card is a joint effort by Beachie, Sandie, Paul, SlamDunktheFunk and DDC. Stats courtesy of hockey-reference.com and NHL.com
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Final Grade: D
Midseason Grade: C+
Last Year: A
Position: Goalie
Vitals: 6'2" / 180 / 30 / Shoots L
Drafted by Calgary 3rd round of 1999 draft and Chicago, 3rd round (73rd) of 2001 draft.
Joined Avalanche: Signed as a free agent, July 1, 2009
MHH Nicknames: Andy, Mr. Anderson
Avs with Anderson in the starting lineup: 15-15-3 (.500 pt%), 2.81 GF 3.27 GA
Ice Time: 33 games started, 13 games as backup
Career Highlights: Anderson is now two wins away from 100 in his career
Report: To me, this pretty much boils down to the following. Anderson played 110 games with the Avalanche (including playoffs). Those splits are as follows:
1st 55 games 32-17-5 2.39 .923 6 SO
2nd 55 games 21-27-5 3.27 .901 2 SO
So, which one was the anomaly - the brilliant first half of his tenure or the terrible second half of his tenure? Well, his career stats are almost right in the middle of that: 2.78 / .913, which leads us to think that the correct answer may be "both". Yeah, he wasn't playing behind the greatest defense of all time, but it wasn't exactly keystone cops back there either. Simply put, Andy was just not very good this year. Was it a fluke...or a closer indication to his talent level than we thought?
Fun Fact: There have been 17 Anderson's to play in the NHL. We think.
The Craig Anderson Drinking Game: Invite some ice girls over Drunk potential: Who cares?
What We Said Last Year: Could Andy have done anything more this season? I don't know that he could have. He accomplished all he could, and more, with what he was dealt. In his inaugural season as a starter he was his team's best and most consistent player and he was the team's MVP. That being said, I feel like we have to leave some minuscule room for some improvement. Maybe a Vezina nomination next year? "A" is for Andy!
2010 Cap Hit: $1,812,500
2011 Status: Signed a 4-year deal for $3,187,500 per year with Ottawa
Outlook for Next Season: There are all sorts of conspiracy theories about Anderson's rapid descent and quick departure. He was upset about the contract talks, he was playing badly on purpose to get dealt, someone was...yeah, we're not reprinting that last one. None of that really matters. By all accounts, the yearly salary wasn't an issue for either side, but Anderson wanted the security of more years and the Avalanche balked. In the end, the "why" doesn't really matter. What does matter is that $12 million is a lot to guarantee a 30-year old goalie with one really good season as a starter under his belt. He may just be the next Tim Thomas...and he may not be. That was one hell of a year, Mr Anderson, and we'll always look back fondly on that 51-save shutout in the playoffs. And conspiracy nuts in Colorado will be posting wild shit about you for years, especially if you continue to tear the roof off in Ottawa. We're going to have to see that to believe it, though. Right now, we feel that it was a good move for GM Greg Sherman to stick to his guns on that extension.
Next Up: Ray Macias