Ultimately, goaltending is an art not a science. There are any number of great goaltenders who came out of nowhere. Tim Thomas was in Europe at age 30. Hasek was a 9th round pick. Kipper was a 5th rounder.
Stockpiling NHL-ready goalie depth is the right move in a scenario where your established number 1 for the past decade is not coming back. It's irresponsible to hitch your wagon to any one guy, because none of them have done anything to earn that sort of trust.
So bring in a bunch of wildcards with potential, let them fight it out, and let the results speak for themselves. They aren't going to challenge for anything but another top pick next year anyway, so the time is right for a full fledged competition to take place. It's sort of one of the biggest reasons people like sports.
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”All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.”
Rowan Roy W-M - February 15, 2024
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