With the team in full rebuild mode, he needs to retire.
Call this season an "off" season, because historically he has been an elite goaltender, but do you risk a $6M cap hit on what could be another "off" season, as he has no will to play for a losing club anymore? That cap space can turn into 2 or 3 young guys looking to break out in the NHL. Or 1 top UFA in his prime.
Aside from the cap hit, he'd also be eating up minutes, which doesn't help the development of our future. Rammo and Berra need to be given a shot, what's the worst that can happen? We finish 5 spots lower then we did this year?
As a fan, I fully expect another losing season, but at the same time, I expect to see the team start moving in the right direction, and having Kipper in net is not.
MacDonald showed this year that he can backstop this team just as well as a declining Kipper, posting just as many wins, in fewer games, with a lower GAA and higher SV%.
if Rammo and Berra are both given 20 starts, that should be more than enough to see which one is ready, or if both are. If one prevails, he stays and plays 1A/1B with macD, if both prevail, MacD is moved. If both fail miserably, MacD carries the load, and we draft high again.
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