Mathieu Garon Rises to the Top in Edmonton; Dwayne Roloson Sent to Oilers' Bench

Halfway through the season and the Oilers have made Matthieu Garon their starter—at least for the time being. 

Garon had descent numbers BEFORE he came to Alberta, but when I saw Edmonton had signed him in the summer; I couldn't have cared less. 

I just figured Kevin Lowe was trying to make himself look good by signing someone—before we got Souray. 

Fans thought Dwayne Roloson would be the one leading the march towards a playoff spot, but how wrong we were. 

Now, Roloson has been relegated to backup duties while Garon steals the show—and more often than not, two crucial points a team like Edmonton relies upon so desperately. 

But come to think of it, was Roloson ever a real starting goalie?

On March 8, 2006, with his team in the middle of a tight playoff race and without a bona fide number-one goalie—and with the likes of Curtis Joseph and Martin Biron available—Lowe chose to go with Dwayne Roloson, a career backup having a career year with Minnesota, as the starting goalie for the Oilers to rely upon for the rest of the season. 

And Kevin struck gold, as we all know—the Oilers squeaked into the playoffs at the 11th hour, shocked the President Trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings in six games, pulled another upset by beating Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks, and eventually came within 60 minutes of hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. 

Much of this was due to the play of Roloson, who had several spectacular games that propelled the Oilers to this height of success.

But he was never the team's true number-one goalie.  Sure, he filled the role last season—but there was never a five-year plan for this guy when we acquired him.  He was a reliable, 36-year-old career backup, whose best playing days were far behind him. 

Roloson did a damn good job hiding this from the folks in Oil country, what with the spectacular saves during the '06 playoffs, and showing up night after night last season, allowing the team to win even after the loss of Ryan Smyth. 

But the has magic run out, and Roloson will most likely retire the way he played his entire career—sitting on the bench.

Fans in Edmonton are now seeing another career backup enjoy success, as Matthieu Garon has been the driving force behind the playoff hunt in Edmonton.  He's been their most consistent player by far, and is the backbone of the team's success in shootouts, stopping 21 of 23 shots thus far. 

And unlike Roloson, the Oilers have the ability to plan for the future around Garon, as he is still relatively young and has several good playing seasons ahead of him .  He certainly is not a franchise goalie by any means, but with the young team the Oilers have, having Garon as the nucleus wouldn't be such a bad idea—and that's something we could not do with Dwayne Roloson. 

Garon will most likely start the rest of this season and is the odds-on favourite to get the job next year as well, as the Oilers wait for Jeff Drouin-Deslariers to develop in Springfield.

Garon was only expected to play a minor role with the team this season, but instead has taken the team and the league by storm as well.  He's been one of the most consistent pl

ayers on a young squad with little experience, and has produced enough 30-save games to erase any doubt that he won't be starting for the next couple seasons. 

Meanwhile, Dwayne Roloson has lost the lustre he once had, and is now sitting on the bench with no real shot of starting again in the NHL.  The team acquired him as a backup, he was a backup even when he was the number-one goalie the past two seasons, and he will retire as a backup as well. 

I'm just shocked it took Oiler fans that long to realize it.