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Assessing This Season’s Goaltending Market

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The goaltending market this summer was unusual, as there were very few available NHL-caliber netminders. The typical backup goalie carousel kept turning, but teams seeking starting netminders didn’t have many options. That’s not to say teams didn’t make moves; Anaheim and Detroit finally completed a long-anticipated trade involving John Gibson, and Pittsburgh sent Alex Nedeljkovic to the San Jose Sharks. Goaltending is almost always an interesting position, and as the season progresses, that interest only grows—especially among ambitious teams vying for a deep playoff run that may lack the netminding to get there. There’s also the added concern among general managers about mid-season goaltending trades, which reflects the volatility of the position. Several teams could benefit from an upgrade in net, yet there aren’t many options available on the trade market. So, the questions remain: who needs a goalie, and who can they target?

You can’t start an article about goaltending without mentioning the Edmonton Oilers, who have experienced instability between the pipes for much of Connor McDavid’s time with the team. Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard haven’t been terrible for the Oilers, but they’ve been perfectly average when you analyze their numbers closely. During the 2023-24 season, both Pickard and Skinner performed slightly above average in goals saved above expected (according to MoneyPuck), while last season they were a bit below average in both the regular season and playoffs. Skinner’s goals saved above expected were exactly 0.0 in the playoffs, which is acceptable, but when Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky posts a +11.9, it makes a significant difference.

The Carolina Hurricanes could also benefit from upgrading their goaltending, but their goaltending hasn’t been bad enough to cost them a series. Carolina has adequate goaltending from Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov, who both performed above average during the regular season by posting positive goals saved above expected. Still, their save percentages fell below the .900 mark in the playoffs when Andersen was average, and Kochetkov struggled, posting a .855 SV% and a 3.60 GAA in four games. The issue for Carolina isn’t that they’ve experienced poor goaltending in the playoffs; it’s that their goalies haven’t been able to steal a series for them, which could be part of the reason they keep faltering in the Conference Finals.

Finally, we have the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that has been searching for its current (and future) goaltender for about 25 years. The Flyers’ goaltending hasn’t enjoyed much stability over the past two decades, aside from a few runs by various journeymen netminders. Last year, the Flyers posted the worst team save percentage in the NHL at .879 and are hoping that the addition of backup Dan Vladar can help turn things around, along with Samuel Ersson, who faced a lot last season and ended up with a -19.9 goals saved above expected (according to MoneyPuck). The Flyers aren’t quite ready to come out of a rebuild just yet, but a dependable starting netminder should be on their radar if they want to turn things around and start competing quickly.

With Edmonton, Carolina, and Philadelphia all needing goaltending upgrades, where can they realistically turn to make a move? That’s the challenge for these teams because there isn’t much of a trade market out there for goalies who could be considered upgrades, except for Philadelphia, where there are probably a few options. Carolina and Edmonton are both likely feeling the pressure to improve their goaltending after their recent playoff runs came to an end. While Edmonton would need to work some salary cap magic to upgrade in net, Carolina has plenty of space to make an addition and could do so at any point this season. So, what options are available to them?

The brief answer is that not much is available, and the available goaltenders come with significant risks, along with some potential benefits. The first goalie to consider is Elvis Merzļikins of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The 31-year-old was once a promising young starter but hasn’t been dependable for several years now and was especially poor last season. He has faced numerous tragedies in Columbus, which have undoubtedly affected him over the past few years. Last year, the Riga, Latvia native played 53 games and posted a -8.2 goals saved above expected, along with a .892 SV% and a 3.18 GAA. Simply put, Merzlikins was outperformed by his peers and wasn’t reliable for the Blue Jackets. Given his age and contract situation (two years left at $5.4MM per season), he probably isn’t an ideal choice for Edmonton, Carolina, or Philadelphia.

Tristan Jarry could have been claimed by any team last season for free after he was placed on waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins. No team took a chance on the 30-year-old, and now he is back in Pittsburgh, aiming to re-establish himself as a full-time starter. There is no doubt about his talent — he is a highly skilled goaltender, but he has a history of falling apart at the worst possible moments. This has been a criticism of Jarry for years, and one reason he re-signed with the Penguins in 2023 is that neither team found a better fit, making it the best option for both sides. Ultimately, Jarry’s performance over the last two years has been underwhelming, and he may need a fresh start. Edmonton and Carolina should not be the teams to offer it. They are too close to contending for a Stanley Cup, and Jarry has shown throughout his career that he isn’t the guy to have in net when the games matter most.

Now, on the opposite end of the spectrum is arguably one of the most clutch goaltenders in today’s NHL, Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues. Binnington demonstrated in the 4-Nations Face-Off that he can still come through in big moments and shouldn’t be dismissed yet. The former Stanley Cup champion posted decent numbers last season in 56 games, recording a +5.6 goals saved above expected (according to MoneyPuck), along with a .900 SV% and a 2.69 GAA. At 32 years old, Binnington still has a few productive seasons in him and could be the goalie to backstop a team like Carolina or Edmonton to a Stanley Cup. Binnington was taken off the trade market last season when St. Louis entered the playoff hunt, but could be reinserted if the Blues start slowly.

Finally, we come to a dark horse option: Joonas Korpisalo. Korpisalo was signed as a free agent by the Ottawa Senators two years ago to be a starter, but was traded and relegated to backup last year. His cap hit is $3MM for the next three seasons, which should not be a significant obstacle to move, but the question of whether he can be a dependable starter remains substantial. Korpisalo had periods in Columbus and Los Angeles where he appeared to be a reliable NHL starter, but his time in Ottawa was disappointing. He did bounce back with Boston last year but still posted below-average numbers in 27 games, with a -1.7 goals saved above expected and a .893 SV%. The cost to acquire him would be low, and he might not be a bad risk for Edmonton or Carolina to try alongside one of their existing netminders as part of a platoon. However, he should not be acquired to be the primary goaltender for a Stanley Cup contender.

Another option for teams is free agent Carter Hart, who is eligible to return on December 1st. Hart has stated he won’t return to Philadelphia and would prefer to sign with an American team, which likely rules out the Oilers and Flyers but still leaves open the possibility of going to Carolina if they offer him a contract.

Midseason goaltender trades aren’t common, but they do happen and sometimes work out. Colorado made two goaltending swaps last season, and aside from a forgettable Game 7 third period, they were likely pleased with the results of those moves. It will be interesting to see if Carolina, Edmonton, and Philadelphia decide to make a goaltending swap midseason to improve their chances of reaching their goals.

Photos by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Connor Ingram Clears Waivers

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Sep. 26: Ingram cleared waivers and will be assigned to Tucson, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports. A trade can still be worked on – in fact, it might be easier for the Mammoth to swing a deal now that the acquiring team knows they won’t immediately lose him on the wire.

Sep. 25: No trade has materialized up until this point, which has led the Mammoth to officially place Ingram on waivers today, the team said. They’ll now wait for the next 24 hours to see if another club submits a claim or if they’ll need to reassign him to AHL Tucson.

Sep. 17: Goaltender Connor Ingram will not attend the Mammoth’s training camp as the team works to find him a new home, general manager Bill Armstrong told reporters today, including Cole Bagley of KSL Sports. If a trade doesn’t materialize, the team intends to place him on waivers later in the preseason.

Ingram, 28, entered last season as Utah’s No. 1 netminder. He’d broken through as a starter with the Coyotes the year prior, amassing a strong 23-21-3 record, .907 SV%, and 2.91 GAA behind a heavily understaffed defense that finished out of the playoff picture. He also tied for the league lead with six shutouts and saved 8.3 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, although that didn’t land him any Vezina Trophy consideration.

That momentum did not carry through as the Coyotes’ hockey operations assets were transferred to the new Utah Mammoth (née Hockey Club) franchise. While Ingram played 12 of Utah’s first 15 games and had a 6-3-3 record, that was due to their offense giving him good goal support. He only managed a .879 SV% out of the gate, and the starting job was returned to Karel Vejmelka by mid-November. After being benched for more than a week, he sustained an upper-body injury in his first start back that ended up keeping him out of the lineup for nearly two months.

Initially, it looked like the break was a blessing in disguise for Ingram. He had a .967 SV% and only allowed one goal in a conditioning appearance for AHL Tucson and had a good run in his first few games back in Utah’s lineup. He made eight appearances between his return in January and the 4 Nations break, posting a 4-3-1 record with an improved .905 SV%. He then allowed four goals on 25 shots in his first game after the break, which would be his final game of the season and last for Utah. Two weeks later, he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program after his mother passed due to breast cancer.

Ingram was cleared by the program last month, so he’s legally eligible to play and report to training camp. His lack of presence for the Mammoth isn’t due to his underwhelming on-ice performance last year; rather, he’s simply looking for a fresh start mentally. “Both sides are on the same page and will be working cohesively towards a positive outcome in order to provide Ingram with a fresh start on a new team that better suits his needs,” Bagley wrote.

Utah will still have two experienced NHL netminders on their roster to open the season. With Ingram’s status uncertain at the beginning of free agency, the team signed Vitek Vanecek to a one-year, $1.5MM deal. Today’s news means he’s essentially guaranteed to start the season as the backup to Vejmelka, who managed a .904 SV% and a 26-22-8 record in a career-high 55 starts and 58 appearances last year.

Ingram has one year left on his contract at a $1.95MM cap hit, although it’s worth noting his actual salary is higher than that at $2.15MM and could deter teams from submitting a claim for him on waivers. If he clears and agrees to accept an AHL assignment, Utah would still carry an $800K cap hit while he’s in the minors.

Maple Leafs’ Marshall Rifai Needs Wrist Surgery

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Maple Leafs depth defenseman Marshall Rifai will miss some significant time after sustaining a wrist injury in last night’s exhibition win over the Canadiens. Head coach Craig Berube told reporters today, including Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun, that he requires surgery with no specific return timeline.

Speculatively, it’s a right wrist issue for Rifai. He was held out for the second and third periods of the game and took a hard hit into the glass from Montreal forward Joshua Roy midway through the first (video via Michael Mazzei of The Leafs Nation).

Rifai only had a slim chance at breaking camp with Toronto, which has avoided any other notable injuries on defense, but that’s now gone. Their top six group is set in stone, which meant Rifai was in competition with more experienced names like Henry Thrun, Philippe Myers, and Dakota Mermis for a press-box role. All of those three are waiver-eligible, and at least one – likely two – will need to hit the wire with a surplus of NHL forwards on the Leafs’ roster. With them only expected to carry one extra blueliner, the odds were far from being in Rifai’s favor.

Nonetheless, he’s a depth talent the organization likes to have around. The 27-year-old was an undrafted free agent signed out of Harvard in 2022 and has been a frequent standout in training camp, although he only has two regular-season appearances to his name, coming back in 2023-24. He was recalled a handful of times last season but never got into game action. He’s beginning a two-year, league-minimum, one-way extension that he signed at the beginning of last season, so he’s at least in line for an NHL-caliber payday despite most of his playing action coming in the minors.

Since he’s signed to a one-way deal, the 6’2″ lefty is not SOIR/non-roster eligible. He’ll need to begin the year on regular injured reserve, meaning his $775K cap hit will count against the Leafs’ books unless he misses enough time (10 games/24 days) to be eligible for long-term injured reserve. After being cleared to play, he can then be placed on waivers and reassigned to AHL Toronto if he clears.

Canadiens’ David Reinbacher Suffers Broken Hand

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Top Canadiens defense prospect David Reinbacher sustained a broken metacarpal bone in his hand in last night’s exhibition loss to the Maple Leafs and will miss the next four weeks, according to a team announcement.

The 2023 No. 5 overall pick has now sustained a significant injury in back-to-back preseasons, both in games against Toronto. Last year, it was a left knee injury that ate up more than half his season. He didn’t make his debut for AHL Laval until February, with his injury essentially removing any chance he had of making his NHL debut.

The shorter return timeline this time around means it won’t be as developmentally disruptive for Reinbacher, but it does zero his chances of breaking camp with the club. The righty faced an uphill battle anyway with Alexandre Carrier and Noah Dobson ahead of him on the depth chart and Lane Hutson shifting to his offside on a pairing with Kaiden Guhle, but he’s looked strong in limited AHL action thus far and might have been worth a look. Instead, he’ll start the year on season-opening IR with a $0 cap hit since he didn’t appear in an NHL game last year until he’s cleared to play and can be reassigned to Laval – unless there’s an unexpected opening on the NHL roster in late October.

Reinbacher’s injury troubles mean he only has 21 AHL games to his name over the past two seasons. He’s got a 4-6–10 scoring line in them with a +11 rating, though, and he added six points in 13 Calder Cup Playoff games last season.

In the interim, the Canadiens will be down their only realistic right-shot recall option. They’re extremely thin organizationally on that side. Aside from Carrier and Dobson, career AHLer Nathan Clurman is the only healthy natural righty under contract.

Predators Reassign Cameron Reid, Release Scott Harrington

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The Predators have trimmed their training camp roster by two this morning, saying goodbye to a pair of semi-notable defensemen. The club announced they’ve reassigned first-round pick Cameron Reid to OHL Kitchener and released Scott Harrington from his professional tryout.

Reid, 18, was the No. 21 overall pick in June’s draft and was never expected to challenge for an NHL job on his first try. That’s not to detract from the mobile lefty’s skills – more than a few public rankings had him going in the teens, but at “just” 6’0″, he slipped in a draft where teams prioritized height on the blue line. He was the fifth defenseman off the board and had a well-rounded showing for Kitchener last year, posting a 14-40–54 scoring line in 67 appearances with 44 PIMs and a +39 rating. He also won a gold medal with Canada at the under-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup at the beginning of the season.

Reid was in Nashville’s camp by virtue of his presence on their reserve list. They’ve yet to sign him to an entry-level contract, so he’s not eligible to play in a regular-season contest yet anyway. He’ll return to Kitchener for a third junior season before getting a longer look at an opening night slot next fall.

Harrington was brought into camp for veteran depth to help them meet exhibition game minimums early on in the preseason schedule, but he ended up not making an appearance. The team did not say whether he had been assigned to their AHL affiliate’s camp. Considering he hasn’t signed a contract or tryout agreement with Milwaukee, it’s fair to assume this is a true departure from the organization and he’ll need to look elsewhere to play in 2025-26.

The 32-year-old’s resume boasts over 250 games of NHL experience, although none since the 2022-23 season. He spent last year on an AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he had five points and a -5 rating in 49 appearances.

Maple Leafs Sign James Reimer To PTO

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The Maple Leafs have signed veteran netminder James Reimer to a professional tryout, per a club announcement.

If it results in a contract, it could end up being a bookend to the 37-year-old’s NHL career. Reimer was a fourth-round pick by the Leafs back in 2006 and broke into the NHL with them four years later. He spent nearly six full seasons with the Leafs, spending a good chunk of that time in tandem with Jonathan Bernier, before being dealt to the Sharks at the 2016 trade deadline to kick off the journeyman portion of his career. His first go-around with Toronto saw him post an 85-76-23 record, .914 SV%, 2.83 GAA, and 11 shutouts in 207 appearances. He guided the club to its only playoff appearance of the Phil Kessel era and was excellent in a seven-game loss to the Bruins in the first round in 2013, logging a .923 SV% in that series.

He rejoins the organization now as much-needed depth after the club announced earlier this week that Joseph Woll had taken a personal leave and would be out indefinitely. Behind Woll’s tandem partner, Anthony Stolarz, the Leafs had only six games of NHL experience in their goaltending pipeline – all belonging to third-stringer Dennis Hildeby last season. Reimer’s 525 career games are more than twice the combined total of every available Toronto goalie at the moment.

Of course, Reimer is no longer the serviceable 30-to-40-start netminder he was for the Leafs a decade ago. He’s a fine backup option now, but hasn’t posted an above-average save percentage in each of the last three seasons. He made 21 starts and three relief appearances last year between the Ducks and Sabres, spending a good portion of the season as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s No. 2 in Buffalo. He compiled a 10-10-2 record with a .896 SV% and 3.04 GAA with one shutout. While those are below-average numbers on the surface, he ended up with a whopping 8.0 goals saved above expected thanks to some porous Sabres defensive performances in front of him, according to MoneyPuck. That ranked 25th in the league last year.

That latter number means he could be an intriguing stopgap for a Leafs squad that squeezed the best out of Stolarz and Woll last season. If Woll ends up missing extended time, he could be lined up to get more than the 1-in-4 workload he’s seen over the past couple of years with Stolarz untested past the 30-game range in a season.

Penguins’ Joel Blomqvist Out At Least Four Weeks

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Penguins goaltender Joel Blomqvist will be out “for a minimum” of four weeks as he deals with a lower-body injury, the team announced. As a player on a two-way contract who played less than 50 NHL games last year, he’s eligible for season-opening injured reserve with a prorated cap hit.

The injury bug continues to bite the Pens, who have already lost forwards Kevin Hayes and Rutger McGroarty for the beginning of the regular season. It’s especially tough news for Blomqvist, who was hoping to work his way into a potential three-goalie rotation on the NHL roster or force the club to expose either Tristan Jarry or Arturs Silovs to waivers in what stands as a wide-open crease in Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old has been viewed as the organization’s top goalie prospect for the last couple of years, but after making 15 NHL appearances last year, he’s no longer considered a prospect by most public rankings.

It’s unclear if Blomqvist sustained the injury in his lone preseason outing, which came back on Monday against the Canadiens. He went a perfect 11-for-11 before leaving the game as scheduled during the first TV timeout past the halfway point of regulation.

The injury greatly diminishes his hopes of sticking on the NHL roster when he’s ready to return. A roster spot wasn’t a given anyway – he’s still waiver-exempt, a status he could maintain through 2026-27 if he doesn’t play an additional 45 games by then. He also wasn’t particularly impressive in his first taste of big-league action last season. He made 12 starts and three relief appearances along the way as both Jarry and veteran backup Alex Nedeljkovic, now with San Jose, both struggled ahead of him. He logged a 4-9-1 record with a .885 SV% and 3.81 GAA. He allowed 4.7 goals above expected based on the shot quality he faced, according to MoneyPuck – the same amount Jarry allowed in more than twice as many appearances. Blomqvist’s -0.365 GSAx/60 was 11th-worst in the league among goalies with at least 15 appearances.

Nonetheless, the 6’2″ Finn has been one of the AHL’s more impressive young goalies since arriving in North America full-time in 2023. In 65 career minor-league appearances with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Blomqvist has a 2.38 GAA, .918 SV%, two shutouts, and a 33-21-10 record. He was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team and Second All-Star Team following the 2023-24 campaign.

There’s still ceiling in his game, but he’ll need to wait to show it as he enters the final season of his entry-level deal. The pending restricted free agent will carry a cap hit equal to the number of games he dressed for last season – not just the ones he played – divided by 82 and multiplied by his $866,667 cap hit.

Lightning Not Concerned About Andrei Vasilevskiy’s Availability For Regular Season

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There’s been something of a hullabaloo in Tampa Bay regarding the status – or lack of – surrounding star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. He’s not practicing today, marking a week since he was last on the ice with the club and four days since head coach Jon Cooper said he was being held out for “player management.”

Yesterday, Cooper told Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times that “there’s every expectation Vasilevskiy will have enough time and game action to be ready for the regular-season opener Oct. 9 against Ottawa,” although he’s not expected to practice with the team again until Monday. The team has still been silent on what kind of injury he’s dealing with, or if he’s even dealing with an injury-related issue at all.

Vasilevskiy has rarely missed significant time in his 11-year career. The 31-year-old only has three absences of 10 or more games on record: 12 games due to blood clots while he was breaking into the league back in 2015-16, 14 games due to a foot fracture early in the 2018-19 season, and the first 20 games of the 2023-24 season after it became apparent during training camp he needed back surgery.

Nonetheless, Cooper’s comments earlier this week indicated the Lightning are at least beginning to develop concern about Vasilevskiy shouldering his usual workload in 2025-26. He’s started 60-plus games in three of the last four years – an extreme rarity in today’s NHL. Since Vasilevskiy took over as Tampa’s starter in the 2016-17 season, only Connor Hellebuyck (532) has more starts than Vasilevskiy’s 496.

Performance isn’t a huge concern. Vasilevskiy is coming off one of the more quietly dominant seasons of his career – and an important one for his legacy after his numbers dipped following his return from surgery in 2023-24. He rightfully finished second in Vezina Trophy voting after racking up a .921 SV% and 2.18 GAA, both his best marks in four years, in 63 starts – one short of his career-high.

Depth is, though. If the Bolts are intent on bringing Vasilevskiy back to the 55-start range, that would mean close to 30 appearances for seldom-used backup Jonas Johansson. The 30-year-old Swede has been one of the more consistently below-average names in the league since first breaking onto an NHL roster with the Sabres in 2019-20, logging a career .890 SV% and 3.30 GAA. That works out to 31.6 goals allowed above average over the course of his 70-start, 80-game career. When required to step in for Vasilevskiy during his back surgery recovery two years ago, he managed a 12-7-5 record in his 26 appearances but only had a .890 SV% and 3.37 GAA, working out to -8.9 goals saved above expected, according to MoneyPuck.

Injury Notes: Dobson, Reinbacher, Guhle, Rifai, Anderson

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Things are not going well for the Montreal Canadiens’ defense in their preseason contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs this evening. After failing to appear on the bench for the third period of tonight’s game, the Canadiens announced that recently acquired Noah Dobson will not return, without specifying any injuries.

Shortly after, Senior Editor of RG Media, Marco D’Amico, shared that defenseman David Reinbacher had also gone to the dressing room with an apparent injury. Each of these injuries comes on the heels of Sportsnet’s Eric Engels report from earlier, that defenseman Kaiden Guhle was held out of tonight’s contest for maintenance purposes.

In all fairness, there were no specific injuries alluded to in any of the updates, and teams are quicker to pull players in preseason due to precautionary reasons. Still, it is cause for some concern as Montreal ramps up for the 2025-26 campaign. Despite earning a playoff spot last season, the Canadiens learned there’s little wiggle room in postseason eligibility in the Atlantic Division. Fortunately, even if there are mild injury concerns to start the new season, the Canadiens only have two matchups against postseason teams from a year ago in October.

Additional injury notes:

  • On the flip side of tonight’s contest, the Maple Leafs are also dealing with injury concerns on their blue line. During the game, Toronto announced that Marshall Rifai was removed due to an upper-body injury. Unlike his opponent counterparts, it was unlikely that Rifai would have cracked the Maple Leafs’ opening night roster regardless of availability. The Beaconsfield, Quebec native spent all of last year with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, scoring three goals and 13 points in 67 contests.
  • Moving to another Original Six organization, any chance for the Chicago Blackhawks to gauge forward Joey Anderson’s potential for a depth role has passed. Earlier today, Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio reported that Anderson underwent a procedure for a chronic issue, which will cost him the rest of the preseason. Despite playing in 18 games for the Blackhawks last year, Anderson had long odds of making Chicago’s opening night roster, spending much of last season as an assistant captain with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs.

Capitals’ Clay Stevenson Possible Waiver Claim Candidate

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Kevin Weekes of ESPN noted earlier today that the Washington Capitals may be in danger of losing goaltender Clay Stevenson on waivers, as he has impressed in camp so far. 

Coming out of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, Stevenson went undrafted, ending up at Dartmouth College, where he posted a standout .922 save percentage and a 2.70 GAA in 2021-22. Such performance caught the eye of the Capitals, who signed him to an entry-level deal. Stevenson spent the next season mostly in the ECHL with the South Carolina Stingrays before graduating to the AHL’s Hershey Bears, where he split duty with Hunter Shepard, winning the Calder Cup in 2024. 

The Alberta native made his NHL debut last April against Pittsburgh, a 5-2 defeat, despite making 33 saves. Having made a great impression in camp so far, and with a logjam in net as the Capitals have Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson set to hold things down, Stevenson has caught the eye of some teams, being just 26, with an impressive frame at 6’4″. 

Perhaps Stevenson could be of interest to two contenders who have missing pieces between the pipes, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights. Both teams are thought to be searching for stability in the net and have been linked to Carter Hart as well. Given Frederik Andersen’s ongoing health issues and Pyotr Kochetkov’s overall inconsistency, the Hurricanes are evaluating many options.

Cayden Primeau stands as an intriguing in-house choice for Carolina, having flashed potential in the past with the Canadiens, and was acquired for just a 7th-round pick in June. Nonetheless, perhaps the Hurricanes could take a flyer on the Capitals’ netminder as the latest in their revolving door of depth goalies.

Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are no strangers to seeking goaltenders either, as they also face uncertainty, being thin behind Adin Hill. Akira Schmid, acquired from New Jersey, looked great in a small sample size last season (just 5 games), but Stevenson could have appeal as their latest under-the-radar pick-up. 

Wherever any case, Stevenson is a name to watch as roster cuts loom.

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