Quote:
Originally Posted by mac_82
It's going to be an interesting summer for goalies. Lots of teams could shuffle around starters. But with the Flames not being in contention any time soon I hope they stay away. Ramo, Berra, and MacDonald are just stop gaps anyways.
Apologies for the list, it was put together hastily.
Free Agents
Backstrom
Thomas
Nabokov
Smith
Emery
Khudobin
Khabibulin
Trade Bait / Buy Out
Miller
Bernier
Bryzgalov
Halak
Luongo
Teams in need of #1 G
Minnesota
Phoenix
NYI
Philly?
New Jeresey?
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Flames are in need of a #1 or at least some insurance if Ramo doesn't work out...not attacking him, but I wonder if he'll adjust nicely back to NHL ice and competition.
I imagine:
Backstrom - Back to Minnesota
Thomas - Retires
Smith - Back to Phoenix
Khabibulin - Retires.
Out of the UFA crop, that leaves
Nabokov
Emery
Khudobin
I'm not sure I'd trust any of those as starters (Emery might be, but he's way too fragile to lean on). Nabakov is also closer to 1A/1B quality at this point according to the Islander fans I talk to.
With that in mind, the trade category becomes a bit interesting. I'm not sure I'd make trades with large pieces moving, but signing bought out players for cheap might make sense. Out of those, I only imagine Bryzgalov will be bought out, whereas the Canucks will trade Luongo, Miller sounds toxic, and Bernier/Halak will command huge returns. That being said, that makes the UFA crop:
#1 goalies: Bryzgalov
1A/1B goalies: Nabokov/Emery
Small Sample Size: Khudobin
With teams needing #1 goalies:
NYI
Philadelphia
New Jersey (If Brodeur retires)
Calgary
With Bryzgalov the best UFA, that would put the Flames in a bidding war with the Islanders and possibly Devils. The Islanders could go the route of trade though since they have the spare assets to move for a Bernier or Halak type of player. That, combined with Wang's pay nothing plan, could easily drop them out of fighting for Bryzgalov. That leaves New Jersey as the only real competition for him (and it's a conditional reason for them to be in the market to begin with...I don't imagine they'll vary from their goaltending disaster until after it starts), so it could be a clean pick up. But rarely is this type of prediction the case - if I gets the sense that he's getting a lot of competition for Bryzgalov and can't win, however, I move to Nabakov.
So I guess where this is headed is...:
- I'd go right now and convene with the goaltending staff and see what they think of Ramo. If they see him as a 1A/1B goaltender, I'd drive hard for Bryzgalov for a short term contract (as I don't see McDonald as more than a career backup) and try to get a Bryzgalov/Ramo pairing for a while. If Bryzgalov is demanding long term, then signing attempts change to acquiring Miler or signing Nabakov.
- If they see Ramo as a quality starter, then I'd stay put.
- If Ramo is an NHL backup, I'd push to sign Bryzgalov first. If that fails, then a trade for Bernier, as much as I think it'll be a disaster, would be attempted.