Overcooked Veggie?
Look away, Broccoli Brandon.
Utah has a Veggie problem right now. For the moment, I’d avoid the salad bar (I usually do anyways).
As it stands, Veggie has been straight up — and I don’t say this lightly — average. And yet, I almost have the same taste in my mouth as if I’ve actually tried to consume a vegetable. Yuck.
Last night’s crushing defeat to Anaheim left Utah fans with a shameful image in their heads. It looked like this:
Um, yeah. That’s not good.
Vejmelka comes out of his crease by about a million feet (or a few thousand metres for our Canadian readers) to cut down the angle on Bennett Sennecke. Simple pass to Olen Zellweger and it’s in. Anaheim wins. Utah loses a point. Heartbreaker considering the game was in hand until 5 seconds before the regulation buzzer when Troy Terry scored to force OT.
Yes, Karel Vejmelka is extremely athletic, something that bails him out of poor positioning from time to time, but he doesn’t have Go-Go Gadget arms or legs. OBJ couldn’t reach back for that one.
At least the boys’ moms got treated to bonus hockey, I suppose.
But surely the flight to San Jose wasn’t nearly as fun as it should have been. Thank god for moms. They get you through hard things.
I love my mom. I love my sister too. And she loves Veggie. But here’s the hard truth, and I have to be honest with you all: he’s been a big disappointment this season. You don’t need a photo of a wide-open net in overtime to know it.
This Season’s Numbers: From MVP Veggie to Just “OK”
Numbers paint a picture too.
Let’s say this first of all: Vejmelka hasn’t been horrible. He just hasn’t been what we were hoping for. Management probably feels that way too, considering they inked him to a five-year, $4.75M AAV extension last spring. That’s legit No. 1 goaltender money. A good comparison point: Seattle netminder Joey Daccord, who, like Vejmelka, is also annoyingly tall and sexy and has a similar contract at five years, $5M AAV.
Why did Veggie get the extension? Frankly, there was no way he wasn’t going to. He earned it, as he did the team’s first MVP honors. With a crazy workload that included 26 consecutive starts, a season GAA of 2.58 and a SV% of .904, he was the story of the Utah Hockey Club’s inaugural season, no question. The “Veggie” cheers probably still echoed throughout the Delta Center all summer, even over the sounds of round-the-clock construction.
Utah paid for an MVP. However, this year they’ve gotten an “eh, he’s OK” goaltender. With an 8-4-1 record, a middle-of-the-pack 2.84 GAA and a SV% of .883 (ranking 42nd among goalies), Vejmelka is having a dip. It’s a deep dip considering how high he rose last season. It becomes even more glaring when you factor in the fat deal he has now.
That other stupid sexy goaltender, Daccord? He’s been outplaying Veggie by a considerable margin. The defender of the deep, Daccord has posted a 4-1-1 record with a 2.56 GAA and a SV% of .911. He’s even pitched a shutout for the Kraken this season as well, all while launching a YouTube channel. Some guys have everything.
Every investment has its lows. I’m still waiting for my Blockbuster stock to moon. Like that, I’m hoping Vejmelka comes around soon. Utah could be in trouble if he doesn’t.
