It is fairly easy to say that carrying three goaltenders is an untenable situation for the New York Islanders, that it has never worked, and that a GM would have to be self-destructive to even attempt it. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks even told a whimsical tale about how Swedish goaltending pioneer Goran Hogosta finally got into a game with the Islanders of Smith, Resch, Arbour and Torrey.
Hogosta pitched a shutout (in his nine minutes of play) and Arbour remarked that apparently he now had three number one goalies. What Mr. Brooks is trying to tell you is that hockey minds as brilliant as Arbour and Torrey would never have allowed themselves to get stuck in one of these endless three goalie swamps.