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Philipp Grubauer

Philipp Grubauer Generating Plenty Of Interest

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Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was very clear after the season that he would try to give Philipp Grubauer a chance to be a starting goaltender. That chance won’t be with the Capitals though, as MacLellan admitted he’d explore the trade market to try and find Grubauer an opportunity where he could step into a bigger role. In doing so, several sets of ears perked up around the league and speculation started swirling around who could afford to acquire the 26-year old goaltender.

Grubauer is a restricted free agent this summer, meaning a trade is the best outcome for the Capitals as well. Even with the increase in the salary cap from $75MM to $79.5MM, Washington doesn’t have a ton of room. Unrestricted free agent John Carlson may take half of their projected $15.7MM in cap space should they re-sign him, while Tom Wilson and others are also restricted free agents looking for raises. Grubauer, with all his success as the backup to Braden Holtby, is a luxury the team may not be able to afford.

He does have a successful resume though, which is likely why several teams have been calling with interest. Bob McKenzie of TSN was on the radio this morning reporting that there is plenty of interest in acquiring Grubauer, and listed the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche as teams that are “in” on the RFA goaltender. McKenzie suggests that teams may be willing to part with a first or second round pick if they believe Grubauer can step into a starting role, or at least a tandem with one of their current options. That goes along with the reports from Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required) and Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post that the Capitals are looking for—or perhaps expecting—a late first or early second-round pick in exchange for their backup goaltender.

None of this means that the team will definitely trade Grubauer at the draft this weekend, but a draft pick today is worth more than one down the line in terms of development. The Capitals are looking to compete for a second consecutive Stanley Cup in 2018-19, but are also committed to building a program that can continue contending long-term. They are one of the few contending teams that did not give up their first-round pick at this year’s trade deadline, and are in good shape to keep adding prospects to a pipeline that has produced several key players over the years. If they can procure a pick in tonight’s first round, it would by default be higher than their first selection and allow them some more currency to try and work with as they strengthen their roster for another run.

Washington Capitals Will Explore Trading Philipp Grubauer

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The Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history on the back of star goaltender Braden Holtby, but it was actually Philipp Grubauer who started the playoff run for the team after an outstanding regular season. Grubauer has now posted three consecutive excellent seasons as Holtby’s backup, and heads into this offseason as a restricted free agent. To that end, GM Brian MacLellan admitted to reporters today including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post, that the team will explore trade options to try and give Grubauer his shot at being a starting goaltender elsewhere.

That’s big news for teams who are looking to upgrade their goaltending situation this summer. The Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers all could use an immediate upgrade in net, while the Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks and many others could decide that Grubauer could be the answer on a more long-term basis than their current options. MacLellan will have no shortage of calls on his backup goaltender, but faces a tough negotiation with whoever is on the other end of the line.

Though his comments seem as though MacLellan is doing it out of the goodness of his heart, the Capitals are in a tough cap situation and may not have the resources required to re-sign Grubauer themselves. The restricted free agent will obviously be looking for a healthy raise on his one-year $1.5MM deal signed last summer, and with John Carlson and other to sign this summer the Capitals may not have the salary. Don’t think other teams are ignorant of that fact, or of the recent example of Scott Darling who went from star backup to failed starter in the matter of a few months. Darling had posted almost identical numbers as Grubauer through his three years as the main backup to Corey Crawford, only to struggle immensely after being traded and signing a four-year $16MM contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Any team acquiring Grubauer has to take into account the fact that he has only started 79 games in his career, and never more than 28 in a single season. The workload of a starter is a much different assignment, and though he clearly has solid talent and is still just 26, there’s no guarantee that he’ll find success in his next stop. Darling cost the Hurricanes just a third-round pick because he was a pending unrestricted free agent, but Cam Talbot cost the Edmonton Oilers a second and third when he was acquired in 2015 with a single year left on his deal. Grubauer would become an unrestricted free agent after just one more year under contract, meaning he may be in a more similar situation to Talbot this summer.

Still, this presents an opportunity for a team to take a big swing at what could be a huge upgrade in goal. If everything works out for Grubauer and he turns into a perennial .920+ goaltender, a second and third round pick is a small price to pay. If he signs a long-term contract and struggles the way Darling—or even Talbot this season—has, we could be talking about him as another cautionary tale in a year’s time.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Sabres Notes: O’Reilly, Ristolainen, Bogosian, Grubauer

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With the Stanley Cup champions crowned and the offseason getting underway, the trade season is about to get started. In Buffalo, many expect general manager Jason Botterill to make some changes after a dysfunctional season. The most popular name on the trade rumor circuit is Buffalo’s Ryan O’Reilly, who helped out the rumors after his season ended when he remarked he hated losing and lost his passion for the game around a locker room full of players who don’t care.

However, the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington believes that trading O’Reilly would be a mistake and advises Botterill to hold onto the center. One key reason is the team has now added two key players in Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dahlin, both who should take the talent level up a notch in Buffalo. Trading a quality center in his prime doesn’t make a lot of sense if the goal is to be more competitive. How would the team replace O’Reilly’s minutes if the team traded him away? And that doesn’t even mention his value for his ability to win faceoffs.

Harrington said his comments made after the season makes sense. He wants to win. He is desperate for a winning situation. O’Reilly has already said at the World Championships last month that he was stoked about the Sabres winning the draft lottery and wants to stay in Buffalo. Another argument is that while he has a large contract, O’Reilly’s $52MM contract was heavily frontloaded with Buffalo already having paid $20MM in the first two years. Starting in 2019-20, he will cost just $6MM per year ($5MM signing bonus, $1MM salary), making it a very affordable contract in the coming years.

  • Harrington does say that the team probably should look to move on from defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. With Dahlin coming in, the team doesn’t need him as bad and the scribe believes that the constant losing has gotten to Ristolainen more than anyone and had trouble seeing eye-to-eye with Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, suggesting that the defenseman might need a change of scenery. Ristolainen’s numbers declined slightly in his fifth year with the team as he had six goals and 41 points in 73 games. He notes a trade rumor of Ristolainen for Edmonton’s Oscar Klefbom as a smart way to give two players change of sceneries without disrupting the team’s overall defense.
  • In the same article, Harrington questions the intelligence of buying out defenseman Zach Bogosian this offseason. With two more years on his seven-year, $36MM deal he signed back in 2013 with the Winnipeg Jets at $5.14MM AAV, the team might be better off sticking with his contract. A buyout would reduce their cap hit to $1.14MM over the next two years, but the Sabres would then have to shell out $2MM for the next two years following that when he wouldn’t be on the books anymore. Considering the team isn’t dealing with major cap implications at the moment, a buyout wouldn’t make much sense.
  • Harrington adds that the Sabres need to be taking a serious look at Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer. With a major need in goal and the New York Islanders already showing interest, it would make a lot of sense for the Sabres to trade for the backup goaltender. After taking the starting job from Brayden Holtby for a time near the end of the season, many believe Grubauer is ready for a starters’ role next year.

Metro Notes: Grubauer, Trotz, Alzner, Hurricanes

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Although he eventually gave the starter’s job back to Braden Holtby this postseason, Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer has more than proven himself to be a top option in 2017-18. The 26-year-old won over the leading role in net late in the regular season for the Caps and finished with a .923 save percentage and 2.35 GAA; both marks were substantially better than Holtby’s for the year albeit in 35 appearances versus 54 for Holtby. Entering restricted free agency this summer, Grubauer has shown the potential to be a starter in the NHL and will use that to cash in on his next contract. As such, that contract likely won’t be with Washington. The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reports that there is already considerable trade interest across the league in Grubauer, as the cap-strapped Capitals cannot afford an expensive backup goalie, especially since they hope to re-sign one of the top names on the free agent market in defenseman John Carlson. According to LeBrun, the leading suitors thus far, for obvious reasons, have been the New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes. Both teams have underwhelming veteran starters heading to free agency – Jaroslav Halak and Cam Ward – with the disappointing backups that lost their jobs now slated to return to starting in Thomas Greiss and Scott Darling respectively. Grubauer would likely be an upgrade to either and at the very least would create some competition in net. LeBrun doubts that those two teams will be the only major contenders for Grubauer this off-season, citing that interest may increase once Washington wraps up the Stanley Cup final. It is also fair to be skeptical of the Capitals trading him within the division if they truly believe in his ability. Don’t rule out a Martin Jones scenario wherein the San Jose Sharks acquired Jones from the Los Angeles Kings through the Boston Bruins a few years back, much to the chagrin of the division rival Kings. One way or another, it seems likely that Grubauer’s time in Washington is over. At least it appears he could end his stay with a title.

  • A more surprising name who could also end his stay in D.C. with a Stanley Cup is head coach Barry Trotz. Trotz still does not have a contract for next season and LeBrun reports that the team has not had any talks with their bench boss during the postseason so as to remain focused. As a result, Trotz is able to consider his options once the season comes to an end. Assuming the Capitals extend an offer to their coach, who has always been a title away from being considered one of the best in the game, Trotz could simply choose to stay and defend his championship with a team that won’t change much this off-season. However, he could opt for more money or a new challenge with another franchise. Again, LeBrun adds that the Islanders are rumored to be in the running. After firing Doug Weight on Tuesday, the Isles are the only team in the league that currently has a vacancy at head coach and Lou Lamoriello could be intrigued by adding a proven winner to lead the team he is trying to turn around. If the offer was overwhelming, the Capitals may be content to give the job to assistant Todd Reirden, who LeBrun notes has long been considered the heir apparent. Only time will tell what Trotz’ decision is, but LeBrun reports that he and agent Gil Scott will meet to map out their plans as soon as the season ends.
  • One player upset at missing out on the Capitals’ current cap run is former defenseman Karl Alzner. Alzner, who was drafted by Washington with the 5th overall pick in 2007 and played nine seasons with the team, departed in free agency last summer, joining the Montreal Canadiens to the tune of five years and $23MM. While the contract was enticing for the stay-at-home defender, his desire to win was also one of the main reasons he left after repeated playoff collapses by the Caps. This makes the cruel irony of this season that much worse, as Washington seems poised to win its first ever Stanley Cup title while Alzner’s first year in Montreal was nothing short of a disaster by both individual and team performance standards. Unsurprisingly, when Alzner spoke on 960 The Fan in Calgary today he said he was “super jealous”. He goes on to say that he will be excited for his good friends on the team if they lift the Cup later in the series, but it’s hard to believe that Alzner won’t feel discouraged by the championship win as well. Unfortunately, a player who wanted so badly to win missed out by one season and chose to sign with a team that is quite far away from being a legitimate contender.
  • There has been a lot made already about the new administration in Carolina and the changes coming to the Hurricanes, but it seems unlikely that the news will stop anytime soon. LeBrun confirmed that new GM Don Waddell has been taking a lot of calls on his players and that a major move could be imminent. LeBrun says that scoring winger Jeff Skinner is the most likely to move and that a trade could be made in the next week or so. The price on Skinner is currently a first-round pick and prospect, which LeBrun says has soured some teams, but without pressure to make a deal, Waddell can hold on his asking prices and let the suitors budge. The same goes for his efforts to deal a defenseman. The Hurricanes are bursting at the seems with talented defenders, but that doesn’t mean that they have to make a trade. Instead, Waddell seems more likely to wait until he gets blown away by an offer, likely for veteran leader Justin Faulk or promising RFA Noah Hanifin, before he pulls the trigger. LeBrun also speculates that Elias Lindholm, another restricted free agent, could become available later this summer if the two sides can’t work out a long-term extension.

Vegas Asked For Tom Wilson, Philipp Grubauer In Exchange For Nate Schmidt

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When the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals were confirmed as the two teams headed to the Stanley Cup Finals, the story line shifted to focus on various topics. George McPhee and his impact on both organizations, Marc-Andre Fleury coming back to haunt his old rivals, and Nate Schmidt facing the team who left him unprotected in the expansion draft. Recently, we learned that Capitals’ GM Brian MacLellan had tried to immediately get Schmidt back, but that McPhee had made the ask just too expensive. Today we learn exactly what that ask was, as Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post reports that Vegas asked for Tom Wilson and Philipp Grubauer, knowing Washington couldn’t accept.

Indeed, Wilson was a first-round power forward that was still expected to come into his own after some disappointing point totals his first few seasons in the league. That came true this year, as he found a spot alongside Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov, recording 14 goals and 35 points before being a key player for the Capitals in the first three rounds. Though he’s been embroiled in disciplinary incidents since day one of the playoffs, his physical style has been critical for Washington as thy battled Columbus, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.

Grubauer was coming off another excellent season as the backup to Braden Holtby, and was clearly heading towards a starting gig in the NHL. The 26-year old goaltender even stole Holtby’s job at the end of this season and start of the playoffs, though he would relinquish it after a pair of weak starts. Grubauer was instrumental in getting the team to another Metropolitan Division crown, registering a .923 save percentage in a career-high 35 appearances this season.

Part of the decision to let Schmidt go in the first place may have been financial. He, like Grubauer was a restricted free agent last summer, and though he would eventually sign a relatively inexpensive two-year $4.45MM deal with the Golden Knights, he’s now scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2018-19 season. With the Caps struggling to fit everyone under the salary cap as it is, handing a big contract to Schmidt next summer may have seemed daunting, especially as they try to re-sign John Carlson in the next few weeks. Interestingly now, after signing Grubauer for just one year, both he and Wilson are restricted free agents once again and will need substantial raises to play next season.

Most of the other examples of teams giving up two assets in the expansion draft to protect just one haven’t worked out well. Erik Haula and Alex Tuch both found success in Vegas after being used to protect Mathew Dumba and others in Minnesota, while Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith have dominated as a big part of the top line. William Karlsson, the league’s breakout superstar, was sent along with a first-round pick in order to protect Josh Anderson and have Vegas select David Clarkson’s contract. Perhaps the Capitals did well to hold on to their assets and watch just one player walk out the door.

That player has been quite the story for Vegas though, as Schmidt has developed into a top-pairing option for the team. He logged 21 minutes in the opener, and was matched against the Washington first line for much of the game. Should the Golden Knights come out of this series triumphant, it will be due in no small part to the selection of Schmidt, and perhaps the Capitals’ refusal of a simple trade offer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Vegas GM McPhee Has Had A Hand In Building Both Stanley Cup Teams

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While much of the attention to this year’s Stanley Cup will go towards the players, especially Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and Vegas Golden Knights’ Marc-Andre Fleury, much of the spotlight should be shining on the Golden Knights’ general manager, George McPhee. The GM, who also worked as the general manager from 1997 to 2014 of the Washington Capitals, has had a hand in more than 75 percent of the players that will be on the ice on Monday.

McPhee is already responsible for putting together the Golden Knights roster from Fleury to William Karlsson to Jon Marchessault, to the often criticized deadline moves of acquiring Tomas Tatar and Ryan Reaves, both who have scored critical goals in the postseason. According to NBC Sports Tarik El-Bashir, not only has he had a hand in every player the Golden Knights have on their roster from Day 1, McPhee also is responsible for 13 of the team’s 25 players on their roster who have played in this year’s playoffs.

As the Capitals general manager, McPhee was responsible for drafting Alex Ovechkin (first overall in 2004), Nicklas Backstrom (fourth overall in 2006), Jay Beagle (signed as a free agent in 2008), John Carlson (24th overall in 2008), Braden Holtby (93rd overall in 2008), Dmitry Orlov (55th overall in 2009), Evgeny Kuznetsov (26th overall in 2010), Philipp Grubauer (112th in 2010), Travis Boyd (177th overall in 2011), Tom Wilson (16th overall in 2012), Chandler Stephenson (77th overall, 2012), Christian Djoos (195th in 2012), and Andre Burakovsky (23rd overall, 2013).

McPhee also has a close relationship with Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. They played junior hockey together, were teammates at Bowling Green and worked together in Washington for 14 years, making this a very strange Stanley Cup Finals.

“It’s kind of a weird experience. We’ve been texting back-and-forth how strange it feels,” said McLellan on facing Vegas GM George McPhee.

Offseason Keys: New York Islanders

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While the playoffs are ongoing, many teams have already started their offseason planning.  What storylines lie ahead around the league?  Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the New York Islanders.

While the season for the Islanders started on a high note, especially on offense, the New York Islanders came back to earth in the second half as the Islanders limped to the finish line knowing they had no chance to compete for a playoff spot. Injuries to the defense as well as goaltending troubles haunted them for much of the year.

Sign John Tavares

Perhaps when the team was winning early on and the offense was one of the best in the NHL or when the team won their bid on the Belmont properties and started plans to build a new stadium there, the Islanders might have felt confident about re-signing star center John Tavares. However, after one stretch in which the team won just 17 of 55 games, the star may be ready to move on to a team that has a better shot at being making the playoffs on a more continuous basis.

Regardless, the Islanders didn’t even consider the idea of trading Tavares at the trade deadline to a point that there were few to no rumors flying around at that time. Do they have an idea that he has always intended to sign? Or is the team just hoping he will return to the franchise?

While most experts are starting to believe that Tavares is likely to move on, it also wouldn’t be that surprising if he opted to sign a long-term, maximum deal and stay on Long Island for the rest of his career. Regardless of his decision, the Islanders will either move forward with him or without him, then placing Mathew Barzal at the forefront of the franchise.

Upgrade their defense

The Islanders had few positives when it came to their defense. Looking like geniuses when they traded veteran Travis Hamonic to the Calgary Flames for a boatload of draft picks, the Islanders defense then faltered when Johnny Boychuk and Calvin de Haan went down with injuries for large chunks of the season. Instead, the Islanders found themselves with few top-four defensemen for much of the season and struggled giving up goals.

While some of the goaltending play can be blamed as well, the defense is what struggled and with a number of their blueliners hitting unrestricted free agency, including de Haan and Thomas Hickey, the team has a few decisions to make as well as have to figure out how to upgrade it. Boychuk, when healthy is a solid top-four defender, but at age 34 and four years remaining on his contract at $6MM AAV, how much can they count on him? The team needs to either move some of its picks in trades for top veterans or sign some key free agents to fill some of those gaps.

Find their goaltender

While the Islanders are finally free of starting goaltender Jaroslav Halak’s long deal and are unlikely to bring him back, the next question is where do they go to find a new starting goaltender. While they do have two talented prospects in Ilya Sorokin and Linus Soderstrom, neither is an answer for this upcoming season. Sorokin has already said he doesn’t intend to sign with the Islanders under entry-level contract conditions, while Soderstrom is coming off season-ending surgery at the beginning of 2018. Neither would likely have been ready to jump into the NHL anyway.

That will force the team to either trade for a goalie, such as Washington’s Philipp Grubauer, or more likely find a stopgap solution on the free agent market, although the free agent goalie market is quite weak this offseason. Players such as Carter Hutton or Robin Lehner aren’t sure things. The team had some success with AHL goalie Christopher Gibson, but he eventually struggled as well. The team does still have Thomas Greiss under contract for two more years, but that isn’t a better option.

 

 

Washington To Temporarily Bench Braden Holtby

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A Vezina Trophy winner is about to take a backseat, at least for a little while. “He hasn’t had a real good stretch,” Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said of starting goaltender Braden Holtby, speaking to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan. The reigning Jennings Trophy winner allowed three goals on just nine shots before getting chased in last night’s 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, capping off what has indeed been a bad stretch of games. Holtby has just one win in his last eight games, allowing three or more goals and recording a save percentage of .909 or worse in those other seven losses.

For Trotz and the Capitals, the time has come to give Holtby a break and let backup Philipp Grubauer take over for a while. Trotz told Khurshudyan “Because (Holtby) is No. 1 doesn’t mean you don’t go with Grubi for a bit just so (Holtby) can settle his game. We’ll sit down with (goaltending coach Scott Murray) just to see what the best thing for the long haul is…He’s going to work with our goaltending coaches and get his game in order.” It seems that the plan is to let Holtby rest his body and get his head on straight, as the Capitals try to hold on to their top seed in the Metropolitan Division. In his stead, Grubauer looks ready to step up. The 26-year-old has been one of the league’s best backups for a few years and hasn’t slowed down in 2017-18. He’ll try to improve on his .922 save percentage and 2.36 goals against average in his stint as starter.

Holtby was named an All-Star this season and each of the past two seasons, won the Vezina Trophy in 2015-16, and has finished among the top ten in the league in saves percentage and goals against average in each of the last three years. Yet, even the best keepers can hit a cold streak. That doesn’t mean they can’t bounce back. Case in point: Tuukka Rask. The Boston Bruins starter got off to a horrid start this season, allowing three or more goals in 11 of his first 14 starts and posting just three wins in that span, briefly loses his job to Anton Khudobin. Since December, he’s had only eight such 3+ goal games and three regulation losses and has not only firmly retake his job, but has worked his way into Vezina conversation. Like Rask, there’s no reason why Holtby can’t return from this benching and be elite for the Capitals by the playoffs. This is just a minor setback.

German Star Dominik Kahun Eyeing Jump To NHL

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It certainly feels like Germany is about to take that next step toward becoming a legitimate hockey power. After an amazing run to the gold medal game at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, coached by arguably the best German player of all-time, Marco Sturm, hockey fans in Germany and around the world are starting to realize that German hockey has quietly gained a foothold in the NHL and has now announced its presence on an international scale. With the likes of Leon Draisaitl – easily the biggest threat to unseat Sturm or Jochen Hecht as the top German to ever play – Tobias Rieder and Tom Kuhnhackl making an impact as forwards in the NHL, Dennis Seidenberg (a German legend in his own right) and Korbinian Holzer still playing key roles on the blue line at the highest level, Philipp Grubauer and Thomas Greiss doing their best to be the next Olaf Kolzig, and young Dominik Bokk set to soon join the ranks as a surefire first-rounder in 2018, the quantity and quality of German players in the NHL may be at an all-time high.

So, it’s no surprise that there is interest from NHL teams in one of Germany’s top home-grown players. Munich-based news site “Abendzeitung” sat down (link in German) with forward Dominik Kahun, one of the heroes of the German Olympic team,  who said he has already received ample interest from the league. The article indicates that “the time has come” for the young German to make the jump to highest level. Kahun, 22, finished with the second-most points for Germany at the Winter Games and clearly outplayed former NHL talents like Christian Ehrhoff and Marcel Goc. His success came as little surprise to German fans, as Kahun was having the best season in the DEL, the top German league, of any of his national team compatriots. Playing for EHC Munchen alongside veteran American Keith Aucoin, Kahun is 15th in points, 7th in assists, and tied for 16th in plus/minus in the DEL so far in 2017-18. His 40 points in 41 games is tied for the fourth-best clip of any player with 40+ games on the year and is already a big step up from his 32- and 30-point totals from the past two seasons. Nearly every player close to Kahun in terms of DEL production this year is on the wrong side of 30, while the young left winger has only just begun to tap into his potential.

Kahun is not guaranteed to find immediate success in the NHL. It will take time for him to adjust to the speed and especially the physicality of the league and even the smaller ice surface. Playing on IIHF ice against non-NHLers at the Olympics was not a true indication of how he would play at the next level. However, Kahun is young enough and clearly talented enough to develop into a strong player down the road. He already possesses the all-important understanding of a complete, two-way game and is a strong enough skater to play at both ends of the ice. He also comes equipped with good stick-handling skills and offensive instincts. The right team willing to work on his development and give him chances to succeed could have a gem in Kahun.

Perhaps even more importantly, should Kahun find success in the NHL, it would continue to inspire a new generation of hockey fans and young hockey players in Germany. While the 2018 Olympics were largely dismissed by many North American spectators due to the non-inclusion of NHLers, the results still meant a lot to other participating countries, none more so than Germany. If their Olympic hero turns into the next great German NHL player, possibly playing for a long time with the likes of Draisaitl and Bokk, there’s no telling what the impact of these Games and that silver medal could have on the next class of young players and a country on the rise in the hockey world.

Canadian Juniors Could Change Approach To Foreign Goalies

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In 2013, the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), the overarching body in major junior hockey that governs the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Western Hockey League (WHL), and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), decided to ban teams from drafting European goalies. The CHL holds an annual Import Draft in which all 60 teams across the three leagues are given two chances to draft foreign talent in an attempt to fill their two import slots on the roster for the following season. Sometimes the players who are drafted come over and other times they don’t. However, five years ago, CHL president David Branch and company decided to no longer take the risk of bringing in foreign keeper who could then in turn block young North American goalies by not allowing teams to select them in the import draft. While the idea was to protect the development and value of homegrown products, the result was a weaker product across the CHL and a more difficult time for their business partners in the NHL to evaluate foreign goalies.

In fairness, the decision was made after a stretch of dominant play by European keepers at the major junior level. In 2010-11, the top save percentage in both the OHL and QMJHL belonged to imports: Petr Mrazek and Christopher Gibson. Not long before, Michal Neuvirth was one of the OHL’s best as well. In the mid-2000’s, Ondrej Pavelec controlled the QMJHL, leading the league in goals against average in back-to-back seasons among other accomplishments, and is arguably still the league’s best goaltender in history.

This isn’t to say that Canadian and American goalies didn’t also flourish at that time as well, which calls the decision back into question. This was always a concern of quality over quantity, as the vast majority of teams still employed a North American starter and often a local backup or two as well. The CHL may have been concerned with the talent of some foreign prospects overshadowing Canada’s best, but they could never have honestly argued there was a lack of opportunity due to imported players. Top 2018 draft-eligible CHL prospects Andrei Svechnikov and Filip Zadina are both imports, yet they would never ban forwards.

Nevertheless, the CHL made a decision which clearly hurt their own competition level by excluding some of the top junior-level goaltending talent in the world without any evidence that it was truly hurting their domestic counterparts. Now, years later, the league is rethinking that decision. John Matisz of the Toronto Sun reports that the league is considering lifting the ban on foreign goalies, and for good reason. The ban has simply made it harder for NHL team to evaluate European keepers – with foreign leagues often dominated by older, experienced players, while the top young skaters come overseas – but hasn’t stopped them from being drafted into the pros at the same rate as CHL goalies. Meanwhile, top prospects such as Ukko-Pekka Luukonen (Buffalo), Filip Gustavsson (Ottawa), and 2018-eligible Jakub Skarek still reside overseas, but could surely benefit nearly any team in the CHL. The major juniors face little risk that a reversal would harm them in any way.

Interesting enough though, it may still be in European goalies’ best interests to remain in Europe and for NHL teams to focus on those who stay and face older, professional talent. The list of foreign goaltenders who played major junior in Canada and remain in the NHL – Mrazek, Neuvirth, Pavelec, Peter Budaj, Philipp Grubauer, Jaroslav Halak, Anton Khudobin, Marek Langhamer, Robin Lehner, and the most recent CHL import star, Oscar Dansk – all have one thing in common: they aren’t bona fide starters. Meanwhile, the likes of Sergei Bobrovsky, Henrik Lundqvist, Pekka Rinne, Tuukka Rask, and Andrei Vasilevskiy avoided North America until turning pro, and it worked out much better for them. With a new class of European goalies likely to join the CHL sooner rather than later, we’ll see if that trend continues.

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