Nashville general manager David Poile raised a few eyebrows last fall when he gave Pekka Rinne a seven-year, $49 million contract extension.

Not that the Vezina Trophy finalist isn’t worth big bucks, but history has shown that long-term contracts for puck-stoppers don’t always work out. That’s the subject of a compelling Sports Illustrated piece by Michael Farber, who questioned the Predators’ GM about his generosity.

“Every time you sign a player, there’s a risk,” says Poile. “Say you have a great hitter, a terrific third baseman who might lead the league in home runs. But if you don’t have pitching, where are you? Goaltending is pitching.”

Nobody knows that better than Doug Armstrong, GM of the Blues, who inked Jaroslav Halak to a four-year, $15 million contract in 2010.

That seemed to be a good idea at the time, but now we see that Brian Elliott—making a paltry $600,000 a year—has become top banana in goal.

“There’s no question goal’s the toughest position to get a handle on,” explains Armstrong. “It starts with the draft. With a defenseman or forward, if he doesn’t ultimately meet 80 percent of expectations, he can still do other things on the team. If a goalie doesn’t meet expectations, he goes from the ice to the bench. You’re either right or wrong.”