Grading The Rangers: Martin Biron
By Editorial Staff
As a GM of a hockey team would construct his ideal team from the goal out, Blue Line Station has taken the same approach to our player evaluations. We continue with Blue Line Station’s extensive coverage of grading the New York Rangers 2010-2011 season by finishing up the goaltending & analyzing backup goalie Martin Biron.
In the offseason prior to this year, the Rangers looked to address their backup goalie situation by adding a reliable, veteran presence that would allow Henrik Lundqvist to rest between 15-20 starts. Management felt that by giving Lundqvist some rest at times during the season would positively effect his overall performance and be fresher for a playoff run if the opportunity presented itself. When free agency started July 1st, it didn’t take Glen Sather & Co. long to get their goalie as within minutes they had identified the 12-year veteran Martin Biron as the guy they wanted. Biron inked a 2 year, $1.75 million dollar deal with the Rangers and things looked promising with the Rangers now having a formidable backup for the first time since Glen Healy was the understudy to Mike Richter.
Let’s take a look at how Martin Biron did for the 2010-2011 season:
What We Expected
Marty Biron came to the Rangers with a reputation as a good team guy and a solid resume to boast. Biron had played for the Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and one season with the New York Islanders prior to this season. With those qualities, Biron seemed like a player who would be a good influence in the locker room and on the bench supporting his teammates. However, his prior seasons he was the No. 1 guy and coming to the Rangers with Henrik Lundqvist as the mainstay in net meant Biron would be playing second fiddle. Some players might not have signed up for that deal: not getting a chance to be the main guy. How did Biron handle it? With class. Biron relished the opportunity to play for a young, up-and-coming team, behind one of the NHL’s best goalies, and to work with renowned goalie coached Benoit Allaire.
Biron’s season with the Islanders was one he would like to forget. A young team struggling to go anywhere, combined with the injury to goalie Rick DiPietro and the resurgence of goalie Dwayne Roloson meant Marty Biron was part of a goalie carousel to put it nicely. And Biron struggled, going 9-14-4 with a 3.27 GAA and a .896 SV %. Not the season he wanted however his one-year deal allowed him to be a free agent and to move on elsewhere.
It was reasonable to have some doubts about Marty Biron coming to New York. Sure, his less than stellar numbers are mostly due to having a poor defensive team in front of him when he played. But, there was no way to know for sure how Biron would respond to being a backup on Broadway. What gave you hope was his refreshing attitude towards understanding his new role and the fact he would be playing behind a much better defensive team. Realistically, expectations for Biron were around 15-20 starts and to keep the team in the games he started.
How He Did
Considering his season was cut short due to a broken collarbone in practice, Marty Biron’s season was nothing short of spectacular. In 17 games, Biron went 8-6-0 and set career highs with a 2.13 GAA and a .923 SV %. The last time Biron had a GAA that low was a 2.14 in the 1998-1999 season with the Buffalo Sabres. What’s even more remarkable about Biron’s season was his consistency. Only once (10/27/10 against Atlanta) did Biron give up more than 3 goals (5 goals in that game) and only gave up 3 goals 4 times. His best month was November, amassing this line: 4-1-0 1.83 GAA .930 SV %. Even when the Rangers lost with Biron in net, he still gave them a chance to win with a 2.53 GAA and .909 SV %. Interesting stat for Biron; he went undefeated against the Northwest conference in 3 games.
Stats aside, Marty Biron did exactly what he was brought in to do; give Henrik Lundqvist a breather and play a solid game when he was called upon. What’s more, he was able to win some big games for the Rangers against Buffalo & St. Louis early in the season and stole a win from the Washington Capitals in a shootout.
Final Grade: A
You couldn’t ask for more out of your backup than what Marty Biron did for New York this season. If Biron doesn’t break his collarbone who knows what type of season he could’ve ended up with hence why I didn’t give him an A+. If Biron is around in the last 3 months, I have no doubt the Rangers would have finished in a better position in the standings. Spotting Lundqvist even a couple of times in that 27 consecutive game stretch to end the regular season could have made a world of difference. But, we will never know what could have been.
Going Forward
Aside from making a rule for shooters in practice to keep the puck low, there isn’t any reason to think Marty Biron can’t replicate this past season’s success next year. His collarbone injury will be fully healed and I’m sure a part of him will be very eager to get in training camp to show the Rangers he hasn’t missed a beat. Plus, he will be in his contract year and that’s always an extra incentive to play better.