Antti Niemi

Pittsburgh Penguins Recall DeSmith, Place Rowney On IR

October 23, 2017 at 4:05 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

Apparently the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t want to wait to see if Antti Niemi cleared waivers or not. The team has recalled goaltender Casey DeSmith, and placed Carter Rowney on injured reserve to make room. Niemi was placed on waivers today after allowing seven goals on 32 shots.

DeSmith, 26, has slowly worked his way to the NHL through every level. Starting undrafted out of the USHL, he attended the University of New Hampshire where he dominated, helping to turn the program around and recording three straight years with a save percentage of at least .920. After being arrested for domestic assault in 2014, DeSmith was suspended for his entire senior year at UNH, and would go unsigned by any NHL team.

He’d sign a minor league deal with the Penguins in 2015, and started to work his way up through the organization. Recording solid numbers in two seasons, he earned a two-year, two-way NHL contract this summer and has been outstanding with a .965 save percentage through three games. While it’s unlikely that he’ll make a ton of starts for Pittsburgh, the team is tied for the most back-to-back matchups this season, and will need a backup goaltender to step in from time to time. If DeSmith falters, Tristan Jarry is waiting in the wings to take his place.

Eric Fehr, Antti Niemi Highlight Monday Waivers

October 23, 2017 at 11:05 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 3 Comments

Four players have been placed on the waiver wire today according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. They are as follows:

Eric Fehr (TOR)
Antti Niemi (PIT)
Jordan Schroeder (CBJ)
Colin McDonald (PHI)

Fehr had been rotating with Dominic Moore as the fourth-line center for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but could end up in the minor leagues for the time being. While Toronto added Roman Polak and demoted Calle Rosen, Fehr’s waiver status could allow them to recall the latter as soon as tomorrow. The team already has Josh Leivo sitting on the sidelines as a depth forward, unable to get into a game.

The Maple Leafs acquired Fehr last year from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a deal for Frank Corrado, earning them a fourth-round pick for taking on his salary. The veteran forward earns $2MM this season, but hasn’t shown enough to stay in the lineup on a nightly basis. While he did have a role on the team as a penalty killer, Moore can accomplish that with just as much success for just $1MM. If the Maple Leafs do send him to the minor leagues, they’ll save $1.025MM in cap space (prorated for the remainder of the season). That price tag likely will scare off any potential claims.

Niemi, 34, has been a terrible experiment for the Pittsburgh Penguins so far this season, recording a .797 save percentage through his three games. Stopping just 63 of 79 shots, the former Stanley Cup champion hasn’t been able to find his game after the team took a chance on him this summer. Bought out by the Dallas Stars, Niemi signed a one-year $700K contract with the Penguins but likely won’t start another game for them this season.

There is a chance that the Vegas Golden Knights could claim Niemi, as they are currently operating with two AHL goaltenders in Oscar Dansk and Maxime Lagace. While Niemi doesn’t offer much of an upgrade in performance, he could allow them to continue to start one of the two in the AHL for the time being. Still, it doesn’t seem like he’s destined to play much in the NHL this year as even Vegas would only be using him as a stop-gap until Marc-Andre Fleury or Malcolm Subban could return.

Schreoder was signed this summer to a two-year deal with the Blue Jackets, but was never expected to play the full season in Columbus. A prototypical 13th forward, Schroeder has never suited up for more than 37 NHL games in a single season (though also not fewer than 25 in the last five). Schroeder was on a conditioning stint with the Cleveland Monsters and will likely continue to play for them after clearing tomorrow.

McDonald has a similar story to Schroeder, playing as a depth forward for several teams over his career. Bouncing up and down between the minor leagues is no new thing for him, as he’s only played one full season at the NHL level in his ten year professional career. The 33-year old was on season-opening injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury in training camp, and will likely be assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Morning Notes: Niemi, Subban, McIntyre, O’Gara

October 22, 2017 at 9:27 am CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

While the Pittsburgh Penguins tackled one area of need yesterday evening when they traded winger Scott Wilson and their 2018 third-round pick to Detroit for center Riley Sheahan and a 2018 fifth-round pick, Penguins brass might not be able to take a break as a new weakness was exposed last night in their 7-1 loss Saturday to the Tampa Bay Lightning — goaltending.

The team went with backup Antti Niemi, who they signed after he was bought out by the Dallas Stars in June. It was his third appearance for Pittsburgh and he now has allowed 16 goals (only seven of those came last night) and has a 7.49 GAA and a .797 save percentage. The team may be forced to look for a new backup goaltender, according to Adam Gretz of NBC Sports.

The difference between Niemi’s starts and that of starter Matt Murray are night and day. Niemi’s only other start was a 10-1 loss, hence his high goals against. The team plays much better when Murray is in goal as the team is 5-0-1 and the Penguins have outscored their opponents 24-17 in those games. Gretz does suggest it can’t all be Niemi’s fault. Both of his starts came on the second night of back-to-back games when players were more tired and the team they played were rested.

However, despite those excuses, some blame has to fall on Niemi, who has legitimately struggled. The team isn’t used to having issues at that position as they have had the past luxury of having Marc-Andre Fleury as a backup. Now, they might have to look elsewhere if they want that aspect of their team to improve. The scribe suggests they will give Niemi more time to adjust, but also suggests the team has 2013 second-round pick Tristan Jarry sitting in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. He has struggled a bit too, although it’s a bit early, as he has a 3.96 GAA and a .883 save percentage in three games there.

John Shannon of Sportsnet tweets that Vegas Golden Knights’ backup goaltender Malcolm Subban, who had to leave Saturday night’s game due to an apparent leg injury, will have an MRI today to determine the severity of the injury. According to Shannon, a team source said the Subban will be “probably out weeks.” Subban, who has started the last three games after their starter, Fleury, went on IR last week with concussion-related issues, has a 2.06 GAA and a .936 save percentage in his three starts. Oscar Dansk filled in for Subban in the third and immediately allowed the game-tying goal to St. Louis’ Alex Pietrangelo, but then settled down and made 10 consecutive saves after that to claim the overtime victory, the Golden Knights’ sixth win of the season. Dansk had just been called up on Thursday to replace emergency backup Maxime Lagace, who was sent to the AHL Chicago Wolves to get playing time.
The Boston Bruins have assigned goaltender Zane McIntyre and defenseman Rob O’Gara to Providence of the AHL, the team announced. Both were recent call-ups to fill in for injured players and now, with the Bruins not playing until Thursday, the team sent them down. McIntyre was called up after Tuukka Rask reportedly was injured during practice Thursday. The 25-year-old did not get into a game with Boston. He has performed well in Providence, having accrued a 2.35 GAA and a .914 save percentage in three games. O’Gara was recalled yesterday and filled in for injured defenseman Kevan Miller. NBC Sports Joe Haggerty tweeted that O’Gara played a solid games for Boston. O’Gara had an assist in three games with Providence before his call up. CapFriendly tweets that with the two demotions, the team is $863,333 under the ACSL (the new upper limit), which allows them to accrue valuable cap space against that amount.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Dallas Stars

September 3, 2017 at 8:50 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 1 Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Dallas Stars

Current Cap Hit: $75,196,355 (over the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Devin Shore (One year remaining, $870K)
D Julius Honka (Two years remaining, $863K)

Potential Bonuses

Honka: $500K

Total: $500K

Despite a disappointing season a year ago, the Dallas Stars did have some young players who showed some promise. Shore was one of those players. A second-round pick in 2010, the 23-year-old had a decent first year with the Stars, scoring 13 goals and adding 20 assists and playing in all 82 contests. What Shore did not get much of was ice time, as he averaged just 14:08 on the ice. That may change this year as there are many who believe he could be a top-six forward right now. Honka is another player who got a little bit of time with the Stars last year. The 21-year-old defender, their first-round pick from 2014, has already fared well with the AHL’s Texas Stars. He scored seven goals and added 24 assists in 50 games with them and got 16 games with Dallas at the end of the year and picked up five points. He is a likely candidate to make the team this year.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Kari Lehtonen ($5.9MM, UFA)
D Dan Hamhuis ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Antoine Roussel ($2MM, UFA)
D Jamie Oleksiak ($965K, RFA)
D Patrik Nemeth ($945K, RFA)
D Greg Pateryn ($800K, UFA)
D Stephen Johns ($725K, RFA)
F Curtis McKenzie ($700K, UFA)
F Brian Flynn ($700K, UFA)
F Mattias Janmark ($700K, RFA)
F Adam Cracknell ($675K, UFA)

That’s a long list, but the team really has few major worries about re-signing free agents next season. Lehtonen was a buyout candidate this offseason after the team had too many goaltenders. Instead, they held onto him to be their backup, but at $5.9MM, that’s an expensive backup who played 59 games and had a save percentage of .902. The team will rejoice at their salary cap savings next season. As for Hamhuis, the 34-year-old blueliner will need to have a big year if he wants another contract.

The 27-year-old Roussel is a different story. Everything depends on how he plays, but Dallas would like to see more offense than 12 goals from him to go with his 115 penalty minutes he picked up last year. The same holds true for Oleksiak, although he will be a restricted free agent, but the 24-year-old defenseman must show he can win a full-time job. He only managed 41 games last year. Johns, however, will likely be retained next year. He managed to get into 61 games last year and currently expected to make the team.

Two Years Remaining

F Jason Spezza ($7.5MM, UFA)
F Tyler Seguin ($5.75MM, UFA)
D Marc Methot ($4.9MM, UFA)
D Esa Lindell ($2.2MM, RFA)
F Brett Ritchie ($1.75MM, RFA)

This will be where the Stars must make some key decisions. Seguin will be their top target as re-signing their star will be essential. The 25-year-old center forced his way out of Boston and landed in Dallas where is career really took off. He has put up 133 goals in four seasons and even though he had a bit of a down year last year (26 goals), everyone did. He should move back to center this year under coach Ken Hitchcock and is expected to have a big year, despite having shoulder surgery. He is expected back for training camp.

Spezza, on the other hand, will be 36 when his contract expires and his numbers have been declining for the last few years. At $7.5MM, there are many better ways to improve this team than his 15 goals and 35 assists. No one is quite sure what Methot will do in Dallas. Acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights after the expansion draft, Methot is a very good defensive player, but injuries have stood in his way – often freak injuries like the finger slash. He has never once in his career played an 82-game season and he’s 32. He played 68 games last year, so the stars are hoping for a big season from him despite his expensive price tag.

Lindell was signed to a two-year extension just this offseason. The 23-year-old got into 73 games in his first full season with the Stars. He had a quiet, but solid season for Dallas and should be part of their long-term future. Ritchie is also a commodity the Stars will want to lock up in two years. His first full season produced 16 goals. Along with his 6-foot-3 size and his speed, he is a candidate for a breakout season this year.

Three Years Remaining

F Martin Hanzal ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Radek Faksa ($2.2MM, RFA)
F Tyler Pitlick ($1MM, RFA)

After the team will be forced to pay up for players like Seguin, Lindell and Ritchie, the team won’t have as much to spend one year later. Hanzal, who just signed a three-year deal with Dallas this offseason, is already 30 years old. Will he be worth bringing back in three years? It will depend on his success over the next three years, but if they can get 20 goals like he put up this last year between Arizona and Minnesota, perhaps they would. Faksa will be a restricted free agent, but like Ritchie, could be in line for a big season this year. The 23-year-old had 12 goals and 33 points this past year and is already praised for his defensive play. Once his offensive skills catch up, he should put up good numbers. Pitlick is more of an unknown. Signed from Edmonton this summer, the 25-year-old had eight goals in 31 games, but has never been able to crack the Oilers’ lineup. He hopes to get that chance this year.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Jamie Benn ($9.5MM through 2024-25)
F Alexander Radulov ($6.25MM through 2021-22)
G Ben Bishop ($4.92MM through 2022-23)
D John Klingberg ($4.25MM through 2021-22)

The team has only a handful of long-term contracts, starting with Benn, who had a 41-goal season in the 2015-16 season and was rewarded with an eight-year extension at $9.5MM. Unfortunately, he put up only 26 goals last year, the first year in the deal. However, there is the general belief that the 28-year-old will bounce back and put up another big season like he had the three years before. Expect those numbers to also go up with this year’s big free agent acquisition in Radulov. The former Canadiens wing came over from the KHL last year and put up an 18-goal season and is likely to team up with Benn this season. The 31-year-old is expected to put up big numbers, but will he be worth the contract when he is in his mid-thirties?

Bishop is another one of the team’s big acquisitions after the Stars acquired him from the Los Angeles Kings and signed him to a six year deal for 4.92MM per year. He dominated for many years with the Tampa Bay Lightning, but became expendable to the Lightning and later to the Kings who traded for him at the deadline this year. But despite a slightly down year, Bishop should be able to produce with his 2.32 career GAA. Klingberg is also a key piece to the Stars puzzle. The 25-year-old blueliner has been the team’s star on defense, putting up 13 goals and 49 points last season. His deal almost looks like a bargain at $4.25MM.

Buyouts

Antti Niemi ($1.5MM for 2017-18 and $1.5MM for 2018-19)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Klingberg
Worst Value: Radulov

Looking Ahead

After a extremely disappointing season that saw them go from a team that reached the second round of the playoffs to a team that placed sixth in the Central Divison, the Stars went out and spent some money. They picked up Hanzal, Radulov and traded and signed Bishop all for big money. They have quite a bit of youth that are mixed in to their veteran players and if those players emerge, the Stars should be able to easily get back into the playoff mix. Obviously, the need to make sure they retain Seguin, but with an influx of defenseman like Klingberg, Lindell, Honka and 2017 third-overall pick Miro Heiskanen, the team should be ready to move on from some of their veteran defenders. The team also has high hopes they can eventually bring back 2014 first-rounder Valeri Nichushkin, who left the organization a year ago to play in the KHL. All in all, the Stars should be in good shape for the future.

Which Goalie Will Have The Best Season On A New Team?

July 30, 2017 at 4:52 pm CDT | by Seth Lawrence 3 Comments

This unrestricted free agency period saw quite a number of goaltenders shuffle around the league. Even before July 1st, we saw a couple transactions which landed starters in new locations. Scott Darling was moved from Chicago to Carolina. Mike Smith was traded from Arizona to Calgary. Los Angeles was forced to deal Ben Bishop to Dallas or lose him for nothing in expansion. Antti Raanta was shipped from the New York Rangers to Arizona. And Vegas got a former 1st-overall and veteran keeper in Marc-Andre Fleury after all was said and done. Then, on July 1st, Brian Elliott signed with the Philadelphia Flyers to run a tandem with Michal Neuvirth, while former Flyer Steve Mason signed the biggest goalie deal of the off-season ($4.1 MM AAV) to play net for Winnipeg.

In terms of backups, former ’Pegger Ondrej Pavelec signed on to play a meaningful role for the Rangers behind the aging Henrik Lundqvist. Jonathan Bernier may have been the biggest loser of the day – after winning 21 of his 33 games in Anaheim, he will settle for playing second fiddle in Colorado behind Semyon Varlamov. Antti Niemi signed on to back up Matt Murray after being bought out from Dallas, and at the tender age of 37, Ryan Miller will slot behind John Gibson in Anaheim.

With all this movement, it’s sometimes difficult to keep track. Goaltending is ultimately the foundation for any team’s success, regular season or playoffs. Each of these names has seen struggles, but also past success. Which will rally to the occasion, and which will fall short of living up to their contracts and expectations? Who posts the best save percentage? The most wins? And will any of the backups usurp the starting tenders?

Please vote on our poll below, and comment with your thoughts!

Mobile users click here to vote!

Dead Space: Bought-Out, Buried, And Retained Salaries For Every Team

July 24, 2017 at 7:13 pm CDT | by Seth Lawrence 3 Comments

It’s something that often goes unnoticed, but with the cap showing minimal growth the last few years, teams are starting to feel the crunch more than ever. Buyouts have become more common, especially with players with under three remaining years on their contracts. And it’s not just the big name busts that have seen the ax lately – we’ve seen lesser names at lesser money take the fall for their respective teams, then needing to scramble for work elsewhere in the league. Additionally, salary retention in trades has become a more utilized tactic as of late. Teams with “unmovable” contracts have offered to retain part of a poor contract in order to entice a team into giving them some relief.

All this said, some teams have been better with foresight than others. Some teams have shown a track record of being entirely unable of handing out poor contracts over the past five or so seasons. Considering many teams showed some progress in being more frugal this off-season, it seems a wise time to review the dead space every team has accumulated, either due to poor management decisions or poor luck.

Colorado Avalanche – $4.83 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after current year – Francois Beauchemin buyout; Cody McLeod retained

Arizona Coyotes – $4.61 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2020-21 – Mike Smith retained; Mike Ribeiro, Antoine Vermette buyouts

Columbus Blue Jackets – $4.025 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2020-21 – Fedor Tyutin, Jared Boll, Scott Hartnell buyouts

Carolina Hurricanes – $3.71 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2020-21 – Eddie Lack retained; Alexander Semin, James Wisniewski buyouts

Toronto Maple Leafs – $3.28 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2021-22 – Tim Gleason, Jared Cowen buyouts; Phil Kessel retained

Nashville Predators – $2.83 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2018-19 – Viktor Stalberg, Eric Nystrom, Barret Jackman buyouts

Boston Bruins – $2.73 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved 2019-20 – Dennis Seidenberg, Jimmy Hayes buyouts

New York Rangers – $2.61 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2022-23 – Dan Girardi buyout

Minnesota Wild – $2.5 MM in 2017-17, issues resolved after current year – Thomas Vanek buyout

Los Angeles Kings – $2.4 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2023-24 – Matt Greene buyout; Mike Richards termination/recapture

Edmonton Oilers – $2.33 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2020-21 – Lauri Korpikoski, Benoit Pouliot buyouts

Anaheim Ducks – $2.21 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2023-24 – Mark Fistric, Simon Despres buyouts; Patrick Maroon retained

Vancouver Canucks – $2.13 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2021-22 – Roberto Luongo, Jannik Hansen retained; Chris Higgins buyout

New Jersey Devils – $2.09 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2023-24 – Mike Cammalleri, Devante Smith-Pelly buyouts; Ilya Kovalchuk recapture

Tampa Bay Lightning – $1.83 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2019-20 – Matt Carle buyout

Calgary Flames – $1.82 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2018-19 – Mason Raymond, Lance Bouma, Ryan Murphy buyouts

Detroit Red Wings – $1.67 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2020-21 – Stephen Weiss buyout

Dallas Stars – $1.5 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2018-19- Antti Niemi buyout

Philadelphia Flyers – $1.5 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after current year – R.J. Umberger buyout

Winnipeg Jets – $1.46 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2018-19 – Mark Stuart buyout

Florida Panthers – $1.33 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after 2018-19 – Jussi Jokinen buyout

Las Vegas Golden Knights – $1.1 MM in 2017-18, issues resolved after current year – Alexei Emelin retained

Ottawa Senators – $350,000 in 2017-18, issues resolved after current year – Andrew Hammond buried

Buffalo Sabres – Minimal in 2017-18, increased issues ($791,00) resolved after 2022-23 – Cody Hodgson buyout

Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens – No dead cap space

After compiling the list, it became clear that utilizing these options isn’t a complete hindrance to competing in the NHL. In fact, most clubs have between $1 MM and $3 MM in dead space. That said, of the teams that have not needed to utilize the buyout or retention options, there has been a great deal of success. And among the five worst offenders, the Leafs, Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Avalanche, and Coyotes, none has moved past the first-round in multiple years. It’s hard to draw massive conclusions without taking the context of each individual situation into account, but there is something to be said for making every dollar of cap space count. Perhaps this is merely a byproduct of past success rather than an indicator of future success, but considering how amenable many managers have become to the option, it bears consideration.

(All totals courtesy of the fantastic CapFriendly.com)

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Goalie Antti Niemi

July 1, 2017 at 12:10 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 2 Comments

Antti Niemi will look to turn his career around as the recently bough-out goalie will move from expensive split starter, making $4.5MM with the Dallas Stars, to cheap veteran backup, making just $700K for the reigning Stanley Cup champs, according to a team release. The Penguins lacked an experienced substitute for Marc-Andre Fleury, which the desperately need for the talented, but oft-injured Matt Murray, and they hope Niemi can fit the bill and improve upon his ghastly .892 save percentage in 2016-17.

Niemi is an interesting story, as an undrafted goaltender who took the Blackhawks to a Stanley Cup as a rookie, only to go to San Jose and struggle to get his team deep in the playoffs. Now, bought out by the Stars he’ll try to get back to the Finals with the team whose won the last two.

For the Penguins, watching Fleury go was hard not just because of his strong ties to the team and community, but also because of the stellar goaltending he’s given them for so long. Niemi is coming off a year in which he registered an .892 save percentage, and though some of that might be due to the weak team in Dallas, it’ll have to bounce back or he’ll find himself out of the league. That number isn’t acceptable by any NHL goaltender, much less one on a team hoping to compete.

Dallas Stars To Place Antti Niemi On Waivers, Buyout To Follow

June 26, 2017 at 11:02 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

Unable to find a trade partner around the league, the Dallas Stars have decided to place Antti Niemi on waivers for the purpose of a buyout, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. Niemi will be the fifth player to be bought out during the current window which closes on June 30th, following Simon Despres, Matt Greene, Francois Beauchemin and Dan Girardi. With just one-year remaining on his contract, his buyout will cause a cap hit as follows:

2017-18: $1.5MM
2018-19: $1.5MM

After acquiring Ben Bishop and signing him long term, it was clear that one of the Stars’ current goaltenders—Niemi or Kari Lehtonen—would be on their way out. Even with the buyout, the Stars will still be paying more than $10MM next season on active goaltenders, with Lehtonen still earning $5.9MM this year. He’s expected to fill the backup role for Bishop, while Niemi will be free to sign wherever he can around the league.

A former Stanley Cup champion—as a rookie, no less—with the Chicago Blackhawks, Niemi has seen his play fall off a cliff in recent years. Once a lock for somewhere around a .915-.920 save percentage, the 33-year old goaltender registered just an .892 mark this past season and couldn’t wrestle the job away from a similarly struggling Lehtonen. The end may be near for him as he enters his mid-thirties, but there could still be teams around the league who value his playoff experience enough to bring him in as a cheap veteran backup.

There are several backup vacancies around the league since the expansion draft, and though some may fill the spots internally Niemi will be discussed as a possible option. He’ll likely have to take close to the minimum though, as he showed very little in terms of NHL-caliber goaltending last season. A short term deal to try and prove he can still play in this league is likely the only chance he’ll have.

Should Vegas Corner Goalie Market?

June 19, 2017 at 6:07 pm CDT | by Seth Lawrence 10 Comments

With the recent trade of Mike Smith to Calgary, the market for starting goaltenders is dwindling even further. An interesting dynamic for the Vegas Golden Knights as they choose their team will be whether they opt to select every quality goalie out there in order to flip them to other teams. There are quite a few available – Marc-Andre Fleury of Pittsburgh, Eddie Lack (and Cam Ward) of Carolina, Calvin Pickard of Colorado, Antti Raanta of New York, Petr Mrazek of Detroit, Roberto Luongo of Florida, Jaroslav Halak of the Islanders, Michal Neuvirth of Philadelphia, Peter Budaj of Tampa Bay, and Philipp Grubauer of Washington, with a few interesting prospects also exposed. As we’ve seen in the past few seasons, dealing a goaltender for anything remotely resembling fair value can be an enormous challenge. The salary cap has really warped the value of a solid starting goaltender in a way that has not been totally beneficial to the players.

One down season and a tender’s value goes down quite heavily. The top ten goalies in the league always seem to find a home on the rare occasion they hit unrestricted free agency, but that has been a rare occurrence. Many might point to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final when they isolate a particular moment that the highly-paid goaltender became an oddity. In that Final, Michael Leighton, third-string for Philadelphia, faced off against the very pedestrian Antti Niemi, who was then sacrificed for cap reasons. With the whole league watching, these teams ascended to hockey’s main stage with relative no names in the crease. While that moment may have been particularly damaging, the moment for me was the fiasco that was the Luongo and Cory Schneider trade saga in Vancouver, which lasted parts of 2 seasons. Then Canucks GM Mike Gillis had a terrible time finding a suitor for Luongo before finally being forced to ship Schneider off in the 2013 offseason for a 9th round pick. This too, was terrible value, considering that Schneider was one of the best young goalies in the league and coming off a scorching season where he had a .937 save percentage. This ordeal took place less than two years after Luongo had taken the team to its first Final since 1994. Granted, Luongo’s contract was considered a bit of an albatross, but it very publicly cemented the value of goaltenders on the trade market as minimal.

Looking forward to the present day, and the last two goaltenders have been traded for rather uninspiring returns. Arizona’s Smith only fetched a 3rd rounder, and Ben Bishop only netted a 4th from Dallas. GM George McPhee could end up hosting a goaltender buffet, with few paying customers. He would be wise to gauge the interest of other teams before deciding on their selections in net. They obviously want to draft a solid starter and a few young goaltenders as future cornerstones. They need to draft 3, and it’s difficult to envision them drafting less than 4 with the enticing names available out there. But if they decide to go into 5 or 6 goaltender territory, McPhee could manufacture a logjam that could be difficult to sort out. After all, only the WInnipeg Jets are truly desperate for a starting goaltender, and that’s assuming they don’t want one of Brian Elliott, Mike Condon, or another UFA to be their partner for Connor Hellebuyck. Philadelphia could be interested in a younger asset, and there are always teams who will desperately seek a starter mid-season when a keeper inevitably goes down to injury. That said, the market simply doesn’t favor the strategy of going all-in in net.

Offseason Keys: Dallas Stars

May 19, 2017 at 5:25 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Dallas Stars.

The season ended only a month ago but already GM Jim Nill has made two significant changes. First was the return of Ken Hitchcock behind the bench to replace former head coach Lindy Ruff. The second was the move to shore up their goaltending situation with the addition of Ben Bishop from the Kings while signing him to a six year, $29.5MM contract. While those are two big elements already taken care of, there are still a few other avenues that are likely to be addressed this summer.

Move A Goalie

The addition of Bishop gives Dallas three goalies on big ticket contracts for next season. Clearly, Bishop’s spot as the starter is locked in but a decision will need to be made on who to keep (if either) of Kari Lehtonen or Antti Niemi.

Both netminders have one year left on their current contracts with Lehtonen carrying a cap hit of $5.9MM and Niemi checking in at $4.5MM. Combined, the duo was the priciest tandem in the league in 2016-17.

It appears that there is going to be a bit of musical chairs when it comes to goaltending this offseason which could potentially present the opportunity for Nill to try to move one of them out in a trade. However, it would seem likely that they would need to take a goalie in return which doesn’t exactly solve the logjam.

As things stand, the expected course of action is that a buyout is forthcoming. If the team opts to buy out Lehtonen, they will eat a cap hit of $2.57MM this season and $1.67MM next year. Niemi’s cap charge if bought out is more uniform, coming in at $1.5MM for each of the next two seasons.

Rebuild The Back End

While their goals against should drop with the addition of Bishop (while Hitchcock is certainly a defensive-minded coach), the Stars are lacking in top four defensemen. John Klingberg took a step back last season but is still their biggest threat but there aren’t many proven options beyond him. Dan Hamhuis isn’t the top pairing player he once was and while the team has high hopes for Esa Lindell and Julius Honka, among others, they’re still developing and aren’t ready for a top role just yet.

It’s not a great free agent market for defenders but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Nill try to be active, particularly when it comes to the second tier. There aren’t many top end options available but there are several players who could slide into a top four role for a year or two while their youngsters continue to develop. Going the trade route is another option but the Stars will have some money to spend which makes it more likely that they’ll skew towards the open market.

Hit In The Draft

Dallas hasn’t had a lot of first round success lately. From 2009-2013 (the last few years are really too early to judge), they’ve missed on just about every pick. Radek Faksa – a pending RFA – is turning into a quality player but Scott Glennie, Jack Campbell, Jamie Oleksiak, and Valeri Nichushkin all have failed to come close to meeting their draft day expectations. The only two left in the organization are Oleksiak and Nichushkin; the former has been in a time share on the back end for the last two years while the latter was in the KHL this season.

The Stars were big winners in the draft lottery as they jumped from eighth overall to third to give them their earliest draft pick in franchise history. After missing on that many first rounders, Nill and his staff simply cannot suffer the same fate this time around. If they keep the pick, they should be able to land a core prospect, something they’ve been lacking for a while now. However, it was reported yesterday that they’ve already had some talks about potentially moving the pick in exchange for an established player in the hopes of getting back into contention quickly.

With Anaheim making the conference final, Dallas picks up their first rounder as well. It’s slated to be somewhere between 28-31 but that will give them a shot at adding another decent prospect or a better trade chip. The Stars haven’t had a lot of draft success as of late but they have a strong opportunity to change that next month.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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