When the Dallas Stars traded a fourth-round pick for the negotiating rights to Ben Bishop yesterday, they made it clear that their is to be a change in goaltending in Texas. The duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi hasn’t fared well enough, and missing the playoffs again in the primes of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn is unacceptable. Bishop still needs a new contract, but all signs point to the two sides already having some common ground. 
So the Stars now face another decision, what do to with Lehtonen and Niemi. Their respective cap-hits of $5.9MM and $4.5MM are both extremely high for a backup, making each of them a target for buyout or trade. While they have just one year remaining on their deals, if Dallas wants to be in contention for other free agents this summer, moving both and acquiring a cheaper backup for Bishop would be the best outcome. Let’s look at some of the ways the Stars could rid themselves of one or both goaltenders.
Trade
While neither goaltender is worth the salary he currently earns, there may be options around the league of teams willing to eat the contract for a year in order to bring in another asset. If Dallas is willing to retain some of the salary, it would open up even more of these options. Teams like Vancouver, New Jersey or even Los Angeles could take on a reduced-price goaltender along with a pick to rid Dallas of the headache. Remember that the Stars can retain up to 50% of the contract, and could technically do it with both goaltenders if they found suitors.
Though this option will definitely be explored, it still seems unlikely that the Stars will find a team willing to do it. Most potential trade partners will realize the bind that Dallas is in, and may demand too high a price just to take on the contract. It’s doubtful the Stars will want to damage their future any further when other exit plans exist.
Expansion
Perhaps the longest of shots, the Stars could use Vegas as a landing spot for one of the two goaltenders. It’s clear that the Golden Knights would not want to select either of them in the draft over some of the other available Dallas players, but like a rebuilding club could accept an asset as incentive to pick one. The biggest sticking point here is the amount of excellent goaltending options available in the draft, and whether or not Vegas sees this opportunity as more valuable than taking another one of them.
Buyouts
Should the Stars decide that a buyout is the only option, the terms would look like this (via CapFriendly).
Lehtonen:
2017-18 – Cap hit $2.57MM, Savings $3.33MM
2018-19 – Cap hit $1.67MM, Savings -$1.67MM
Niemi:
2017-18 – Cap hit $1.5MM, Savings $3.0MM
2018-19 – Cap hit $1.5MM, Savings -$1.5MM
While neither of these options are perfect, as they mean you’re paying them for an extra season it does give them immediate relief while not sacrificing an additional asset. It’s the most likely outcome of the three, with Niemi being the leading candidate for it. The first buyout window opens on June 15th, meaning that the Stars will have a couple of days to decide what to do before their expansion draft protection lists are due. Should they be unable to find a taker for one of the contracts, they might just have to bite the bullet and pay one of their current goaltenders not to play for their team.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Love the Bishop trade and can defiently make Dallas a contender. I say try to keep one of Lehtonen or Niemi and trade the other to a goalie needy team like Vancouver
To Vancouver with a 2nd rounder would be ok
I think more like a third or later
Vancouver is goalie needy? Guess you know nothing about Vancouver… No way they have any interest in those goalies, they have better internal options and they aren’t worth their contract. an asset would have to be attached, and nothing less than a 2nd.
Doubt any team will take either unless Dallas pays half of their salaries-Even then I wouldn’t do it.