Quote:
Originally Posted by Esoteric
Why would Tampa Bay be interested in trading their top goaltending prospect for another backup because of an injury?
They won't be moving Vasilevskiy. Not a chance.
Gudļevskis will probably play as a backup (AKA the guy from Latvia that stopped 55/57 shots when Canada played them in Sochi).
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I don't think anyone has suggested that they would trade Vasilevskiy, but they will need to replace him.
Right now, the only other goalies they have under contract are Adam Wilcox, who just left College and has played a total of 3 professional games; and Gudlevskis, who had the 41st best GAA and 46th best SV% in the AHL last season (out of 50 AHL goalies).
Claiming a guy like Ortio might make a lot of sense for them. Once Vasilevskiy returns, they can either put the guy they claimed back on waivers and have his original team reclaim him (or any other team could grab him), and they wouldn't have to pay him for any longer than the time he was in Tampa. If the guy they claim steps in and looks good, they have the luxury of Vasilevskiy being waiver exempt this season, so they could send him down and keep the new guy.
If they sign or trade for a replacement, they'd have to pay that guy for the full season no matter what happens when Vasilevskiy returns.