The Devils haven’t ruled out the possibility of adding another goaltender this summer, reports Ryan Novozinsky of the Newark Star-Ledger. At the moment, youngster Akira Schmid appears set to be the playing partner for Vitek Vanecek but as Schmid is just 23 and is waiver-exempt, the organization could opt to send him back to the AHL where he’d get more game action. Such a move wouldn’t necessarily be made following the acquisition of a new starter either; there are some veterans still out there that could hold down a number two role at least for a little while next season, a list headlined by Martin Jones and Jaroslav Halak. Adding one of those netminders may not be the most appealing on paper but would allow Schmid to see more regular action with Utica which might be the better long-term play from a development perspective.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Late last season, the Blue Jackets experimented with lining up Patrik Laine at center, a move that was short-lived as he suffered a season-ending triceps strain later that week. However, he told NHL.com’s Craig Merz that he’s open to moving down the middle once again next season. Columbus has added Adam Fantilli and Dmitry Voronkov this summer while youngsters Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson are also young centers. But if they want to ease those players in on the wing, moving Laine to center for at least a little while next season could be a reasonable approach to take.
- Panthers forward Ryan Lomberg missed nearly a month of the playoffs due to a broken thumb, eventually returning to the lineup before the injury had healed. The 28-year-old told David Wilson of the Miami Herald that the thumb has now fully recovered, meaning he’ll be ready to go for training camp. Lomberg had career highs in goals (12), points (20), and hits (145) last season and is poised to be an important part of Florida’s bottom six next season.
Schmid had a shutout in his first game 7 ever! Let the kid run with it and keep Vanecek as insurance incase he stumbles. But schmid is good, the team is good, I bet they cruise into the playoffs with the Schmid/Vanecek tandem. Keep the money for something else.
Schmid had a nice run, but it was a short run. They may want to give him more time to percolate in the A before actually feeding him to the wolves of the NHL. If they can find a way to add a more impactful #1G before then to help mentor him it probably serves him better. Goalies generally do better with some stewing in the minors before being fed to the big league guys. Doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t be able to handle it, but usually a goalie does better being over ripened than tossed to the fire early.
Yeah, I’m prejudiced, myself: I believe that the way to success is to put the best players on the ice. No one has ever successfully explained to me the logic of a contending team playing poorer players just because better, younger ones are waiver-eligible. I would much rather Schmid got his seasoning playing 30 games in Newark than 50 games in Utica.
I have to agree with Nha Trang. Let the best players play. @wreckage I don’t see how sending him down to ‘percolate’ is going to boost his confidence which I think is a big part of development. Sending him down so He can spend the year thinking “hmm ok I was good enough when the season was on the line in game 7 last year, I got a shutout which is the best result possible, but now I’m not good enough to play on the team?” To me that’s seems riskier than him having some hiccups along the way. But I’m only a fantasy manager…. Ha!
Schmid has never played more than 38 games in any single regular season.
I like Laine, but as a C I am not sold. The position takes a lot more full time effort and commitment than I have seen from him in the past. By no means is he a PLD with his effort, but it leaves something to be desired.