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Anton Khudobin

Central Notes: Stastny, Lambert, Khudobin

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With Nazem Kadri now off the market, Paul Stastny is the top center of note that’s still available.  Sportsnet’s Ken Wiebe reports that while a reunion with the Jets hasn’t been ruled out yet, it’s unlikely he returns to Winnipeg next season.  The 36-year-old is coming off a bit of a bounce-back year in 2021-22 where he scored 21 goals along with recording 24 assists in 71 games while winning over 56% of his faceoffs.  The Jets certainly have the cap space to bring him back but Wiebe believes he’ll ultimately take less than his market value with an eye on going to a contender in the hopes of competing for a Stanley Cup title.  Speculatively, he fits as a short-term replacement for Kadri in Colorado, a team where Stastny spent the first eight years of his career so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him linked to them over the coming days.

More from the Central:

  • Still with the Jets, prospect Brad Lambert’s absence from Friday’s World Junior semifinal against Sweden raised some eyebrows. Head coach Antti Pennanen confirmed to reporters including Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (Twitter link) postgame that the 18-year-old first-rounder isn’t injured but was rather a healthy scratch.  Lambert, the 31st pick last month, has been a bit of a polarizing prospect over the last year and has somewhat surprisingly had a limited role in this tournament so far, averaging only 12:24 per game.
  • After undergoing hip surgery back in March, goaltender Anton Khudobin is expected to be ready to participate in training camp, Mike Heika notes on the Stars’ team website. Last year was a tough one for the 36-year-old as he posted a 3.63 GAA and a .879 SV% in nine appearances with Dallas, eventually resulting in him clearing waivers.  He has one year left on his contract at $3.33MM and while they would prefer to move that deal out, he’ll also serve as insurance with the team still needing to re-sign RFA goaltender Jake Oettinger.

Anton Khudobin Undergoes Surgery

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March 15: The team has now officially announced the surgery, which was a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair. It took place yesterday and Khudobin was given a six-month recovery timeline.

March 14: Veteran goaltender Anton Khudobin last played in a competitive game on January 29, when he suited up for the Texas Stars. He was brought up to the NHL a few days later under emergency conditions but hasn’t played since being returned to the minor leagues the next night. Saad Yousuf of The Athletic wrote today that an update on Khudobin was expected in the next few days, but his colleague Pierre LeBrun may have beaten the team to it. LeBrun tweets that Khudobin is undergoing hip surgery today, with an official update coming tomorrow.

If it is a surgery that ends Khudobin’s season, the Dallas Stars have suddenly gone from an organization overflowing in NHL-caliber netminders to one that could have a lack of depth at the position. Braden Holtby is now dealing with a lower-body injury, forcing the team to recall 22-year-old undrafted free agent signing Adam Scheel to backup starter Jake Oettinger. Scheel has never played in the NHL and has split this season between the AHL and ECHL.

With Khudobin out of the picture, LeBrun suggests that Holtby–even when healthy–might end up off the trade market as the Stars continue to fight for the playoffs. The team is just one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card spot, but have played four fewer games than them to this point. Moving Holtby would leave the team in a very vulnerable position, putting the entire postseason hopes on Oettinger (albeit capable) shoulders.

For Khudobin specifically, one has to wonder whether hip surgery will spell the end of his playing career. The 35-year-old netminder has one season left on the three-year contract extension he signed in 2020 and carries a $3.3MM cap hit, but had been pushed mostly to the minor leagues this season. In nine appearances with Dallas he has posted an .879 save percentage and now likely faces a long rehab. The Stars already went through a situation like this with Ben Bishop this season, with the veteran trying to work his way back only to end up calling it a career following one appearance in the minor leagues. Hopefully, Khudobin doesn’t suffer the same fate, but it’s hard to see a way that he makes another considerable impact for the Stars moving forward.

Central Notes: Khudobin, Wild, Coyotes Goaltending

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Earlier this season, Dallas was shopping goaltender Anton Khudobin and after they found no takers, they waived him and sent him to AHL Texas to try to get him back to his form from previous seasons.  Now, while they could certainly benefit from shedding his $3.33MM cap hit that runs through 2022-23, GM Jim Nill indicated in an interview with Mike Heika of the Stars’ team site that they may elect to hold onto the netminder as injury insurance.  If the Stars were willing to take a similarly-priced player back in a swap of bad contracts, it’s quite possible that they’d have been able to find a taker.  Now, it appears that the 35-year-old will stick around and be a high-priced insurance policy in the minors.

More from the Central Division:

  • Wild winger Marcus Foligno is expected to return to Minnesota’s lineup on Tuesday against Winnipeg, notes Michael Russo of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 30-year-old has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, his first real blemish on an impressive season that has already seen him reach a career high in points with 27 in 39 games.  Meanwhile, Russo adds in a separate tweet that the team is hopeful that defenseman Mathew Dumba will be able to play on Saturday after being placed on IR earlier today.
  • Coyotes goaltender Scott Wedgewood was injured in practice today and did not accompany the team on their road trip to Vancouver, relays Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link). The veteran has done relatively well since joining Arizona, posting a .903 SV% in 18 games after being claimed on waivers early in the season.  Ivan Prosvetov will be recalled from AHL Tucson with Carter Hutton not quite ready to return although he did skate before practice.

Trade Rumors: Chiarot, Oilers, Coyotes, DeBrusk

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While the Marc-Andre Fleury-Washington Capitals connection was the highlight of the most recent “32 Thoughts” column from Sportnset’s Elliotte Friedman, the insider had plenty else to say about the burgeoning trade market. Though just a small note, the inclusion most likely to come to fruition is Friedman’s report that several teams are pursuing Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ben Chiarot. Chiarot’s name has been out there among trade candidate all season and it isn’t going away. As the top impending free agent on the NHL’s worst team, Chiarot is a near lock to be dealt. Friedman reports that the Calgary Flames, Florida Panthers, and St. Louis Blues are among the teams confirmed to have interest in Chiarot, but Friedman also keys in on another possibility: the Toronto Maple Leafs. The rumblings out of Toronto suggest that the Leafs are targeting a defenseman at the trade deadline and they may very well need one to escape the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division. Friedman notes that the club kicked the tires on Chiarot when he was a free agent and could be a top contender to land him this time around.

  • Another report that is hardly outside the box is Friedman’s suggestion that the Edmonton Oilers have looked into just about every goalie that could potentially be traded this season. Among the list of names are some who have already been linked to Edmonton, such as Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo and Dallas’ Braden Holtby and Anton Khudobin, but other interesting targets include Philadelphia’s Martin Jones and Washington’s Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek. However, the key piece of Friedman’s report is that the Oilers may end up empty-handed if they aren’t willing to improve their offer. Friedman hears from potential trade partners that Edmonton is not willing to move their first-round pick and increasingly hesitant to move their second-rounder as well. Without a third- or fourth-round selection this year, the Oilers are seemingly only peddling late-round picks, with top prospects likely off the board as well. That won’t get it done in a sellers’ market.
  • One goalie who likely won’t wind up in Edmonton is Arizona’s Karel Vejmelka. Though there have been few bright spots in the Coyotes’ dismal season, Vejmelka’s play has given fans in the desert some hope. The 25-year-old rookie, an unheralded import from the top level in Czechia, has performed well this season. By league standards, his .901 save percentage and 3.40 GAA may not seem like much to be excited about, but as a first-year NHLer playing behind one of the worst rosters in the league, the keeper has held his own in 25 appearances. Rather than quickly flip Vejmelka to another team, the ’Yotes seem insistent on extending the goaltender instead, including him as a core piece in their rebuild.
  • Still in Arizona, where rumors circle the struggling squad, Friedman reports that young forward Lawson Crouse is unlikely to be traded despite recent speculation. The hulking power forward is not without his flaws, but with 10 goals and 20 points in 40 games, Crouse is well on his way to a career year. Although the Coyotes have shown their willingness to move on from high-potential players for the right price by placing Jakob Chychrun on the block, Friedman states that they have begun telling suitors that they would prefer to keep Crouse.
  • Elsewhere, The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa writes that the market for Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk is in fact as cold as it seems. There was a flurry of speculation when DeBrusk first requested a trade, but it has quieted down significantly since Boston’s play improved in the new year. This isn’t because the Bruins aren’t listening though. Instead, Shinzawa reports that teams seem hesitant to make the commitment to DeBrusk, at least at the Bruins’ asking price. While his play has improved of late, it is still far off his performance earlier in his career and not up to the level that his $4.41MM qualify offer demands. The challenge for the Bruins is to find a team willing to pay the asking price that either is willing to qualify or otherwise negotiate an extension with DeBrusk or conversely a team that sees him as a rental, as recent rumors have suggested the New York Rangers might. Neither the Bruins nor DeBrusk want to extend their relationship, but it may be easier said than done to find the right deal.

Goalie Notes: Oilers, Stars, Fleury, Allen

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It’s no secret that the Edmonton Oilers are in pursuit of a goaltender. While the team possesses some truly elite offensive talent, their severe struggle with preventing goals has overshadowed their ability to score. The result is a 26th-ranked 3.42 goals against per game that has directly contributed to the team’s 2-11-2 record in their past 15 games, including a seven-game winless streak. While this does not fall entirely on the netminders, the Oilers have not received much help from the group. Current starter Mikko Koskinen has an .895 save percentage and 3.33 GAA. The current backup, young Stuart Skinner, has outplayed Koskinen but not to a level that has forced the Oilers’ hand. For now, they seem hesitant to place any more responsibility on the 23-year-old. Expected starter Mike Smith has missed all but six games this season due to injuries that have kept his health status in flux all year. Even when healthy, Smith has not performed; he has an .898 save percentage and 3.76 GAA in his handful of outings. Yet, if there was any internal solution to the Oilers’ net woes, it was a return for Smith. So with the report today out of Edmonton that Smith is back on the injured reserve (with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins moving to LTIR), the situation has become even more dire. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday that the Oilers were exploring all options, including Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo. However, with the news of Smith remaining sidelined combined with a current four-game losing streak adding to their nearly two-month long slump, “exploring” might just not be enough any more.

  • Discussing Edmonton’s other trade options in net, LeBrun mentioned the Dallas Stars as a potential partner – namely with third-string Anton Khudobin as the likely target. The veteran keeper cleared waivers earlier this season amidst struggles that even surpass those of Koskinen and Smith. However, Khudobin is just two years removed from leading the league with a .930 save percentage and taking the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019-20, which briefly made him a hero in Dallas. While his numbers dropped off last season, they were well ahead of his current pace. Performance does not seem to actually be the main concern the Oilers have when it comes to Khudobin. Instead, his $3.33MM cap hit and additional year of term makes Edmonton hesitant to pull the trigger, especially considering their current cap crunch and the legitimate question of whether Khudobin is an upgrade to Koskinen. As LeBrun puts it, Khudobin is “less appealing” than other options. However, with Smith seeming less and less likely to be a dependable option this season and desperately in need of points, can the Oilers afford to be picky? If they can acquire Khudobin cheaply and quickly, they may have to do so. LeBrun points out that impending free agent Braden Holtby, who is enjoying a strong campaign, is the superior option on the Stars, but the team may not be willing to move him and will be much more costly to acquire, especially with the Oilers in such obvious need.
  • One potential target mentioned by LeBrun but considered unlikely for the Oilers has all but confirmed that he will not be moving. Star veteran Marc-Andre Fleury of the Chicago Blackhawks is in the final year of his contract and having yet another solid season. This should have made him a prime rental target for any team with a need in net, especially considering that Fleury only has limited trade protection. However, the Blackhawks have stated that they will only move the respected vet if that is what he desired and it seems as though Fleury is happy where he is for now. Fleury told NHL.com’s Tracey Meyers that he is only interested in getting Chicago to the playoffs this season and is not looking to move. This might not be a realistic goal with the Blackhawks .094 percentage points back of the final wild card spot in the West with five teams ahead of them in the race. However, Fleury has earned the right to make that call. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner was just traded this summer and may not be keen to go through that process again so soon, especially at 37 years old and possibly at the end of his career. If the three-time Stanley Cup winner wants to stay loyal to his team rather than make another run, so be it.
  • Another option off the table for the Oilers is Montreal’s Jake Allen. Edmonton needs immediate help and Allen can’t provide it. After leaving a game last week due to injury, the Canadiens have announced that Allen is out approximately eight weeks with an undisclosed lower-body ailment. The Oilers’ struggles this season pale in comparison to the Habs’, who find themselves with the worst record in the NHL after playing in the Stanley Cup Final just last year. Everyone is available for the right price in Montreal, including Allen even though he has performed admirably in Carey Price’s absence over the past two seasons. Allen is signed at a reasonable $2.875MM through next season and maybe another team will still be interested despite the substantial injury. The Oilers, however, will have to look elsewhere.

Dallas Stars Make Several Roster Moves

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The Dallas Stars had a busy morning, starting with the placement of Alexander Radulov in the COVID protocol. He joins Denis Gurianov and Braden Holtby on the sideline, leaving the team with a few empty holes on the roster. To fill those holes, they’ve recalled Anton Khudobin and Rhett Gardner from the Texas Stars, while also activating Tanner Kero from injured reserve.

It’s been a while now since Radulov was really a dominant force for the Stars but the 35-year-old has reached a new low in terms of importance on the Dallas roster. He has just one goal in 31 games (12 points) and has seen his ice time drop even further in recent days. In fact, since returning to the ice on January 6, he has averaged fewer than 13 minutes and has generated just a single shot on goal through three games. Losing him, while certainly not a positive thing, won’t have the same impact it would have once had.

Jake Oettinger is expected to start tonight for the Stars in Holtby’s place, but the recall is a nice boost for fan-favorite Khudobin, who had been stashed in the minor leagues recently. Through four games for the Texas Stars, the veteran netminder had a 1-3 record with an .898 save percentage. He’ll serve as backup until Holtby is healthy enough to return.

The Stars are in action tonight against the Seattle Kraken before heading to Florida for a back-to-back against the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning starting Friday. All three of those games are likely to be played without Radulov, should he be facing the usual five-day minimum isolation period. Two members of the team’s support staff have also been placed in the protocol.

Anton Khudobin Clears Waivers

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Dec 14: Khudobin has cleared waivers and will be assigned to the AHL, according to Saad Yousuf of The Athletic.

Dec 13: The Dallas Stars looked like they were going to have four healthy NHL goaltenders, but after Ben Bishop’s comeback bid ended in further injury, that logjam seemed to be relieved. Still, the team has decided that there needs to be room for Jake Oettinger in the NHL, and has placed Anton Khudobin on waivers.

It’s a surprising fall from grace for a goaltender that just over a year ago was helping lead the Stars to the Stanley Cup Finals, appearing in 25 games for Dallas during the 2020 playoffs. Khudobin was signed to a new three-year, $10MM contract after that performance but could now find himself on the way out of town before the second season is even complete.

That $3.33MM cap hit will likely scare off plenty of teams around the league, especially because the 35-year-old netminder has an .873 save percentage in seven appearances this season. But for some–perhaps the Buffalo Sabres, who have been linked to the goaltender in trade rumors recently–Khudobin’s long history of success could be enough to swallow the rest of his contract. After all, this is a veteran that has a .916 save percentage in 257 career appearances. In fact, this is the first time in his career that Khudobin has posted a save percentage under .900 or a goals-against average over 2.72, a career that spans 13 years.

There’s also a chance that clearing waivers would improve Khudobin’s trade value for the Stars, as any acquiring team would then have the ability to stash him in the minor leagues. Of course, that only buries $1.125MM of his cap hit and the fact that he’s still signed for next season makes it more difficult for contenders.

If it’s the end of his run in Dallas, it’ll go down as his most impressive stop so far. Whether he can replicate it elsewhere still remains to be seen.

Dallas Stars Shopping Anton Khudobin

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The Dallas Stars have a goaltending tandem they trust – and it doesn’t include veteran Anton Khudobin. Free agent addition Braden Holtby leads the team with ten appearances and has looked like his old self, posting a .927 save percentage and 2.30 GAA. Yet it is young Jake Oettinger who has been making headlines, recording a stunning .951 save percentage and 1.41 GAA in six games. In contrast, Khudobin is playing the worst hockey of his NHL career with an .837 save percentage and 3.73 GAA in seven appearances. While the Stars have been hot of late, currently riding a six-game winning streak, Khudobin has not played since November 18.

With Holtby and Oettinger having earned the NHL jobs and (though easy to forget) former starter Ben Bishop still trying to work his way back from a long-term knee injury, Khudobin has become expendable. However, despite his struggles, the Stars will not simply just waive the respected veteran, at least not yet. Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek reports that the team is actively shopping Khudobin in hopes of finding a trade partner.

While the Stars surely will not receive nearly the package they might have commanded for Khudobin just a couple years ago when he led the NHL with a .930 save percentage, the Stars still have incentive to search for a trade rather than keeping him for depth. The first is obvious; Khudobin may still have some value around the league. In fact, Marek states definitively that the Buffalo Sabres have expressed interest in the experienced netminder and there are certainly other teams that could also use help in net. With confidence in their current options, there is no reason for Dallas to pass up potential trade capital. However, Khudobin’s contract is another factor that the Stars need to manage. Simply waiving and demoting Khudobin only saves the team $1.075MM of the goaltender’s $3.33MM cap hit. That contract also carries an additional year. Dallas needs the space that could be opened up from moving Khudobin’s contract in its entirety, which means they will work to find a team with enough need in net to trade for the veteran. The next step would be to waive Khudobin and hope he is claimed; even if he is unclaimed the Stars will continue to shop Khudobin, who will have some extra transactional versatility should he clear.

One way or another, it seems like the Stars have come to the conclusion that they can benefit more from being rid of Khudobin than continuing to keep him around. At some point, it is likely that the veteran keeper will find a new home this season.

 

Snapshots: Wheeler, Khudobin, De Haan

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The Winnipeg Jets could get quite the emotional boost tonight, as captain Blake Wheeler is expected to play in his 1,000th career NHL game Sunday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Winnipeg is just 4-5-1 in their last ten games and has fallen out of playoff position in the Western Conference, but they’re carrying some momentum after a chaotic 8-4 win against the New Jersey Devils on Friday. The Leafs, however, enter the game without the services of Mitch Marner for a second straight game and are on the second half of a back-to-back. Saturday night saw them erase a 3-0 second-period deficit against the Minnesota Wild but only took home one point with a 4-3 shootout loss. It’s an important game for the Jets and Wheeler, who’s yet to score a goal this season and has just 10 assists in 18 games. It’s a slow start for the normally consistent Wheeler, who’s had at least 15 goals in every season of his 14-year career. He enters his 1,000th game with 279 goals and 538 assists for 817 points.

Some more snapshots from around the NHL on this Sunday morning:

  • Coming in at No. 5 on The Fourth Period’s Trade Watch List 2021-22 is Dallas Stars goalie Anton Khudobin. Over the weekend, multiple reports appeared suggesting the Stars were actively trying to find a trade partner for the 35-year-old Khudobin. With just a 3-3-1 record and .873 save percentage on the year, he’s quickly becoming the odd man out in a crowded goalie situation in the Lone Star state. Offseason addition Braden Holtby is having somewhat of a renaissance season with a .927 save percentage in 10 starts, while up-and-comer Jake Oettinger has yet to lose this season and has a .951 save percentage in five starts. Oettinger began the season in the AHL but it’s becoming apparent that after a promising rookie campaign last year, he’s simply too good for a third-string role. Khudobin has two seasons left on his contract with a $3.33MM cap hit and has a four-team no-trade list in effect this season, per CapFriendly.
  • Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Calvin de Haan also finds himself on that same Trade Watch List. Listed at No. 7, de Haan has no points in 21 games this season but has been solid defensively on a Blackhawks team that sits in the bottom-ten in the league in goals against. The 30-year-old has oft appeared in trade rumors, and as he’s in the final year of his contract with a $4.55MM cap hit, those won’t be quieting down anytime soon.

Pittsburgh Penguins Content With Tristan Jarry As Starter

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Heading into the off-season, the Pittsburgh Penguins seemed destined to bring in a new goaltender. GM Ron Hextall more than hinted at his desire to add an established veteran to the mix alongside young Tristan Jarry, whose play suffered this past season. Yet, the status quo remains in the Pittsburgh net with Jarry and injury-prone backup Casey DeSmith. 

The root of this unexpected lack of change at the goalie position lies in the salary cap. Even with the departures of Jared McCann and Brandon Tanev, the Penguins are still right up against the upper limit. To this point, high-priced trade chips Jason Zucker, Marcus Pettersson, and Mike Matheson have yet to move, which leaves the team with little wiggle room in the free agent market. With what small space they had, the team opted to replace Tanev and McCann with Brock McGinn and Danton Heinen rather than address the goaltender position.

If and when the team is able to clear some space, perhaps adding a goalie will return to the forefront of their off-season objectives. The free agent market has largely been left bare, but the team could target a trade option such as Dallas’ Ben Bishop or Anton Khudobin, while Joonas Korpisalo, Alexandar Georgiev, and Malcolm Subban are other options believed to be available.

However, the team appears to no longer feel that they absolutely must add a goaltender before next season. Speaking with NHL.com’s Wes Crosby, Hextall stated that he believes Jarry is “going to bounce back” to starter quality for the Penguins this season. The 26-year-old did post a .921 save percentage and 2.43 GAA just a year ago, but those numbers fell to .909 and 2.75 this season. Most jarring was Jarry’s poor performance in the playoffs, in which he looked totally outmatched. Yet, Hextall – a former goalie himself – is confident that Jarry can return to form even without competition from a veteran addition. It seems he trusts DeSmith, who should be recovered from off-season surgery in time for the new campaign, as the backup again as well. This newfound confidence could be a product of the lacking talent available elsewhere or perhaps even some optimism for highly-regarded college free agent addition Filip Lindberg. Whatever the reason, the front office has changed their tune and Penguins fans have to hope that it all works out for the team as their championship window begins to close.

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