Goalie Carousel - After the Frenzy

[powderjunkie]

Starting a new thread to put this novel at the top. Come at me thread police.

Did a review top to bottom on capfriendly and tried to keep this concise wherever possible. I can't claim to know very much about teams' goalie prospects aside from the few that I've heard about.

Formatting might be a little ugly, but here is my subjective view of teams who might still like to make changes in net:
Buyer (ie. looking to upgrade)
Seller (ie. want a cheaper replacement)
Wildcard (a change could make sense, but it's not desperate)

PACIFIC
ANA – Need a backup for Gibson and could take some salary. Roster is set, could take nearly 6M.

ARI - bit of a wildcard; Kuemper (30) 2x4.5, Raanta (31) 2x4.25. Would like to be younger/cheaper…

CGY – would probably like to exchange Rittich for a cheaper veteran who is more stable/consistent

EDM – LOL. It’s a mess.

LAK – Quick (34) 3x5.8 doesn’t actually have any trade protections. Nothing seems imminent in their system? Cal Peterson (25) 2x850k has good numbers in 19 games on the bad Kings

SJS – Apparently set for this year w/ Jones and Dubnyk (1x2.1667 RS).

VAN – Set for now.

VGK – Lehner & Fleury (35) 2x7M 10 team NTC. They do have Dansk (26) 1x700k; only 5 games NHL experience, but seems to have had decent numbers…they could conceivably take a skater back for Fleury and sign another cheap veteran G…

CENTRAL
CHI – Delia (26) 2x1M – 18 nhl gp, Subban (25) 2x 850k – 66 nhl gp. Beyond that capfriendly only shows a 25 and 26 yo w/ no NHL experience. Caproom unclear (Shaw and Seabrook injuries from last year?)

COL – Grubauer (28) 1x3.33, Fracouz (30) 2x2. Would like to upgrade.

DAL – Bishop (33) 3x4.916 10 Team no trade list, Khudobin (34) 3x3.33. Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that they were paying Niemi/Lehtonen too much money in the mid 30s? 21 yo Oettinger was picked 26OA in 2017 (appeared [probably briefly] twice in these playoffs?). Also a 5th rd 22 yo; nothing else on capfriendly. 6.6M in cap room and need 3 F’s (including Gurianov and Hintz as RFAs)

MIN – Talbot (33) 3x3.66, Stalock (33) 2x785k, Kahkonen (24) 2x725k then RFA. IMO they are tanking this year. Kahkonen has solid AHL numbers and seemed fine in his 5 NHL games this year. Stalock seems like a competent backup and could be a pretty hot commodity in this market. Roster is pretty much set with 2.7M in space available

NAS –Rinne (35) 1x5 – 10 team trade-to list, Saros (25) 1x1.5 then RFA. Askarov; otherwise nothing remarkable in their system; Ingram (23) 3rd rd pick has good AHL numbers. 13M in space and need 3 Fs (including Kunin RFA)

STL – Binnington (27) 1x4.4, Husso (25) 2x750k – no NHL experience. Hofer (20; 4th rd 2018) looked good at WJC? Over the cap and need at least a depth D. Want a better backup but can’t afford it…

WIN – Set.

METRO
CAR – Mrazek (28) 1x3.125, Reimer (32) 1x.3.4. Want to be better. Ideally younger and healthier. System seems thin and unremarkable. 5M in space to sign two cheap RFAs and another depth F. Lots of space next year; only need to re-sign Svechnikov and replace UFAs.

CBJ – Elvis M (26) 2x4, Korpisalo (26) 2x2.8. 13.6M in room for Dubois and 3 cheap(ish) RFAs. Lots of possibilities.

NJD – Set for now.. Crawford (33) 2x3.9, Blackwood (23) RFA.

NYI – Set. Ideally they might want to get cheaper than Varlamov’s 3x5M, but he has full NTC until next year (16 team).

NYR – Georgiev (24) 2x2.425, Shesterkin (24) 1x925k. 11M in space for Strome and Lemieux. Bonus cushion penalty 3.95M listed on capfriendly?

PHI – set for now with Hart and Elliott.

PIT - Jarry (25) 3x3.5, DeSmith (29) 2x1.25. DeSmith actually has pretty good NHL numbers in 50gp, so they are probably set.

WAS – Set w/ Samsonov and Hank.

ATLANTIC
BOS – Rask (33) 1x7, Halak (35) 1x2.25 (plus a 1.25M bonus if he plays 10 games, which could carry over the cap to next year if necessary). 4 guys in their system under 24; Vladar might be close? They’d probably like to get younger and cheaper, but it’s not urgent.

BUF – Ullmark (27) RFA, Hutton (34) 1x2.75. They think/hope that Ullmark might be a delayed bloomer like Markstrom. Hutton hasn’t replicated his good numbers from NAS/STL in BUF. Luukkonen (21) is also highly touted. Roster seems pretty well set with just enough cap to re-sign several RFAs, but they seem poised to make more changes, and could use an upgrade for Hutton.

DET - Greiss (34) 2x3.6, Bernier (32) 1x3M. Bernier’s numbers actually look pretty solid on such a bad team. A few late rd Euros in their system. Also Pickard (28) who has really struggled the last 3 seasons in limited NHL games.

FLA – Bobrovsky. Dreidger (26) 1x850k had really good numbers in his 12 games last season.

MTL – Set for now.

OTT – Murray. Nilsson (30) 1x2.6, Hogberg (25) 1x700k RFA had very similar numbers last year…I’m sure Eugene would love to dump Nilsson if he could.

TBL – Vasilevskey. McElhinney (37) 1x1.3. I’m sure TBL would love to save half a million here if they could…

TOR – Andersen (31) 1x5, Campbell (28) 2x1.65. Also Dell (31) 1x800k. A 21 and 22 yo in their system who are impossible to assess in the hype-machine.


Remaining UFAs (courtesy Scorpion’s thread):
Ryan Miller (ANA) // Goaltender // Age 40 // 9-6-4, .907
Craig Anderson (OTT) // Goaltender // Age 39 // 11-17-2, .902
Jimmy Howard (DET) // Goaltender // Age 36 // 2-23-2, .882

And a bunch of AHL guys with NHL experience (Condon, Sparks, Hammond, Hutchinson, etc.)


Not a lot of cap room to make moves, but I think we'll see a few of the guys I've highlighted in colours move around.

[GreenLantern2814]

Chicago can’t possibly expect to go into the year with D’Elia and Malcolm Subban.

I’m in no rush to trade Rittich, but he’s instantly the best goalie on their roster.

[Mass_nerder]

Big Save Dave for Kane.
Done.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Chicago can’t possibly expect to go into the year with D’Elia and Malcolm Subban.

I’m in no rush to trade Rittich, but he’s instantly the best goalie on their roster.

Thats exactly Stan Bowmans plan though. He very publicly stated this.

Its why Toews spoke out against it.

[Heavy Jack]

Amazing list powderjunkie the only thing I’d like to point out is Nashville has a pretty special prospect in Askarov at 11th overall this year though admittedly still a long road as it is for any goalie prospect.

[powderjunkie]

This is an interesting logic puzzle. There are very few straight across moves (with + as necessary) that work considering how close most teams are to the cap.

I wonder if we see a few 3 way deals.

Only ANA (maybe CHI, STL) can take on a goalie without having to send one back out. (STL would need to send a contract...Bozak+Husso for Bernier might make sense, but Bozak has a 10 team NTC).

Only OTT and MIN can trade away a goalie w/o taking one back (or signing an old guy)...


I wish I had a big bulletin board with pins and red yarn.

[dino7c]

I'm not so sure the Flames want to move Rittich

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I'm not so sure the Flames want to move Rittich

Neither am I. I think I can agree with the OP that they would be happy spending less money on a backup, but I also am quite convinced that they will not get a better goalie from the market (certainly not a more "stable/consistent" goalie) than what they already have. The Flames need someone to play 30 games, and Rittich provides a great option for that.

[shadowlord]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I'm not so sure the Flames want to move Rittich

Well, they can't protect 2 goalies in the expansion draft, so they may want to get try and something back for Rittich instead of risk losing him for nothing via expansion, or as a UFA.

He's not proven-starting goaltender material yet, but with a decent cap-hit, he's better than a league-minimum backup goalie.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by shadowlord

Well, they can't protect 2 goalies in the expansion draft, so they may want to get try and something back for Rittich instead of risk losing him for nothing via expansion, or as a UFA.

He's not proven-starting goaltender material yet, but with a decent cap-hit, he's better than a league-minimum backup goalie.

For what Rittich might return in a trade I would guess that the Flames view his contribution in season as more valuable and worthwhile. The team will win more games than they would with one of the remaining UFA goalies on the market, and that in itself is pretty important.

[shadowlord]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

For what Rittich might return in a trade I would guess that the Flames view his contribution in season as more valuable and worthwhile. The team will win more games than they would with one of the remaining UFA goalies on the market, and that in itself is pretty important.

That is true, but it might be a trade in which we trade Rittich and his cap hit for someone who could bolster our forward core. Maybe a young player still on their ELC.

In isolation, trading Rittich might make the team worse over the remaining UFA goalies, but with Markstrom as an established #1 and starting more games, along with the potential returns on the trade, it might offset Rittich's loss.

I'm just spitballin' options.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Due respect to OP, I am not sure what lens things are being seen through

Teams need 2 goalies. You aren’t guaranteed any kind of upgrade on Rittich for equal or less cap hit.

Arizona is fine slightly overpaying a tandem unless they want to introduce more risk

Vancouver - set for now, with 37 games .906 Demko and ‘is he washed up / how does he play for a sub 100 point team?’ Holtby?

Not sure how Calgary is a seller here. Do we really hate our own team that much?

[savemedrzaius]

What's Rittich’s caphit? I doubt any team is interested in him.

[Heavy Jack]

1 year left at 2.75; I could see a couple teams interested

[Funkhouser]

Don’t forget Adin Hill in AZ who I believe is waiver eligible now and has shown great performance in his limited NHL appearances to-date. I suspect he will be picked off waivers quickly if they try to pass him (he would also be a great and affordable backup if we have to unload Rittich)

[kyuss275]

Originally Posted by Funkhouser

Don’t forget Adin Hill in AZ who I believe is waiver eligible now and has shown great performance in his limited NHL appearances to-date. I suspect he will be picked off waivers quickly if they try to pass him (he would also be a great and affordable backup if we have to unload Rittich)

After OEL put the brakes on being able to trade him, I think Arizona has no choice but to trade 1 of their goalies. I read the mandate from ownership was to have a payroll around $69 million. They got some work to do to get to that. The initial ask for Kuemper was quite high. I have no doubt that they will soften their stance on that asking price . I think you’ll see Hill as the backup by the time the season starts.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by dino7c

I'm not so sure the Flames want to move Rittich

I don't disagree, and I didn't intend this as a 'trade Rittich' thread (I really like him), though I think it is worthy of discussion for a few reasons:

1. He is probably easier to move than Ryan. Otherwise it's very difficult to make changes to our forward group (barring a trade involving core pieces)

2. Does BSD have the temperament to be more of a 'backup' as opposed to a platoon goalie? I'd rather keep him than over-work Markstrom, so I'd only want to trade him if we could also replace the position. I'm a big proponent that ~57 games is an ideal workload for a starter in a regular regular season.


Then again, losing Rittich to Seattle would be a pretty great outcome (compared to losing someone else). Whether he's selected or not, it's unlikely BSD is on this roster next year.


Rittich for Bernier (1M) retained. Saves us 750k and gives an experienced goalie who has done it all (backup in LA, 55+ starter in TOR, platooned the last few years). DET gets a 28 yo who could be more a part of their future.

[delayedreflex]

Originally Posted by shadowlord

Well, they can't protect 2 goalies in the expansion draft, so they may want to get try and something back for Rittich instead of risk losing him for nothing via expansion, or as a UFA.

He's not proven-starting goaltender material yet, but with a decent cap-hit, he's better than a league-minimum backup goalie.

On the other hand, I wouldn't mind Rittich getting picked in the expansion vs Bennett, Mangiapane, Dube, Tanev, Gio, or Kylington in the likely event that one of them end up exposed. You'd have to compare what sort of asset you can get in a trade vs the value of just accepting that a decent player will get picked when you have too many people you want to protect - I'm not convinced that trying to get under 7F/3D/1G or 4F/4D/1G "good" protectable players is better than loading up on as many good players as you can and just accepting that a good one will get picked.