Jesse Granger of The Athletic wrote an article the other day about the lack of impact options available in the goaltending market this summer. Granger highlights recent extensions to Adin Hill, Karel Vejmelka, Logan Thompson and Kevin Lankinen to back up his hypothesis. This season, 12 NHL goaltenders have signed contract extensions totalling just shy of $438MM.
The teams on the hunt for goaltending this summer will be hard-pressed to find a suitable target as supply will most certainly fall short of demand. There will be goalies available, but the free-agent market will be a mix of veteran backups and reclamation projects. Topping the list will be New Jersey’s Jake Allen and Carolina’s Frederik Andersen, and while both men are certainly capable NHL goaltenders, they aren’t likely to move the needle for a team that is in search of a netminder. Although Allen is making a case at the moment as he is on a heater with the Devils and has been exceptional this season with a goals saved above expected of 20.3 (as per Money Puck).
While this isn’t great news for teams looking to be buyers, it does create an opportunity for teams that will be looking to sell low on expensive veterans. The most obvious candidate for a move is Tristan Jarry of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 29-year-old has returned to the NHL after a stretch in the minors and has played well in five games for the Penguins. While a small sample size is unlikely to make teams forget about Jarry’s long-term play over the past two years, a solid stretch to end the year could entice a team to roll the dice on a former two-time NHL All-Star. Jarry has three years remaining on his contract with an AAV of $5.375MM, and with the cap going up, there may be a team so desperate to improve in the net that they pull the trigger and hope Jarry re-captures his game.
Another such name is Philipp Grubauer of the Seattle Kraken. Like Jarry, Grubauer is on an expensive long-term deal and spent part of this season in the AHL. Grubauer has two years remaining on his contract at $5.9MM per season, but at 33 years old he would certainly be a bigger risk than Jarry. Over the past four seasons, Grubauer has posted -55.8 goals saved above expected with the Kraken (as per Money Puck), while Jarry has posted +8.1 goals saved above expected (as per Money Puck).
Then, of course, there is John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks, who has had his name in trade rumors for what feels like forever. The 31-year-old has been good this season for the Ducks, and it’s hard to imagine he makes it another summer in Anaheim. The Ducks have an opportunity to move on while Gibson’s value is at the highest it’s been in a few seasons, and with so few alternatives, they should be able to net an asset or two.
At what point does a team dig into AHL ranks for goalies that are blocked by NHL Goalies who will be there awhile? It is too much to expect them to come in and be top starter but finding talent via Free agency seems tapped out at least for this year.
It always seems like calling up an AHL guy is a reasonable answer, but the talent-level goalies play against is such a big step up once you reach the NHL. For instance: Boston has two guys in Providence (Brandon Bussi & Michael DiPietro) who are really good AHL goalies, but have never sniffed an NHL net for the Bruins.
I could see guys like Kahkonnen and Georgiev getting contracts bigger than they really deserve.
Yeah in the KHL.
NJ have been searching for solid stable goalie ever since brodeur’s tenure ended
I think this offseason the Flyers trade for Gibson. Ersson is clearly the number 2 option in a tandem and I think the Flyers want to compete more next year. They have goalie prospects in the pipeline, but they are probably 3 years away if not more from being ready for the NHL.
Binnington could be on the market as well this summer.
you’d think that the way Hofer has played, the Blues will be interested to find out what each of them could bring back and trade one of them for the right price.
Thin? More like Anorexic.
After watching (and being frustrated by) Grubauer for the past 4 years, I think he really does still have the chops, but he needs that stout, clinical D in front of him. He’ll come up with the amazing saves when you need them most, but if you’re counting on him to constantly be the 3rd D or 6th skater, he’s just not that guy. There’s some value in that because while it might seem obvious that a goalie would be reliably great behind a strongly defensive team, that’s not always the case. Colorado is a good control example. And one wonders about goalies on the Islanders, Wild, Kings, Caps, VGK.. are they an actual tier above the rest? There isn’t irrefutable evidence. Seattle has some flashy D, but it’s far from the likes of those other teams in terms of, well, defense.