The battle of the backups intensifies in the NHL pre-season, with the Nos. 2 and 3 goalies on the depth chart making decisions tough in Seattle, L.A., Toronto and elsewhere.
Yanni Gourde and Joey Daccord bump helmets after beating the Vancouver Canucks on a Sept. 28 pre-season contest.Let the games begin.
Even though he's in a battle for the backup job with the Seattle Kraken, Joey Daccord is ready to put the pre-season in the rearview mirror.
"When you come in a couple weeks early before camp and camp is a grind as well, it definitely feels like it's getting towards the end," he said. "It does feel like we've been going for a little while."
Now 27, Daccord has just 19 regular-season NHL games on his resumé to date. But after two impressive seasons in the AHL, including a run to the Calder Cup final with the Coachella Valley Firebirds last spring, his time might finally be nigh.
In 65 minutes of action across two pre-season games heading into Wednesday night, Daccord had a perfect 1.000 save percentage on 22 shots faced.
Against the Vancouver Canucks in Abbotsford, he was beaten once on 16 shots through the first two periods of the game — by one-time Kraken defender Carson Soucy.
Chris Driedger stepped in for the third, making seven saves and preserving the 2-1 win after Eeli Tolvanen scored what proved to be the game-winner with 7:31 remaining in regulation.
It was just the second appearance of pre-season for Driedger, 29, who suffered an ACL injury that required surgery while playing for Canada at the World Championship in the spring of 2022. By the time he was ready to return to action last February, Martin Jones had seized the backup job in Seattle, so Driedger was placed on waivers in hopes that he'd work his way back to game shape in the AHL.
The plan worked: in 14 appearances with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Driedger went 9-4-0 with a .908 save percentage and 2.61 goals-against average.
But with the demand for backup goalies exceeding the supply in these final days of pre-season, Daccord probably has the inside track on Seattle's backup job if the Kraken do elect to carry just two goaltenders. He's signed for a relatively economical $1.2 million per year for the next two seasons, while Driedger is going into the final season of a three-year contract that carries a hefty $3.5-million cap hit to go along with $4.5 million in real salary.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche are both believed to be looking to add to their goalie depth due to injuries to Andrei Vasilevskiy and Pavel Francouz, respectively. But as recent Stanley Cup champions, it would be all but impossible for either team to add $3.5 million in a goalie cap hit.
Even with talk that Francouz might not be back in action anytime soon, he'd free up just $2 million if he was added to long-term injured reserve. And that perfectly illustrates why the Kraken will have the best chance of preserving their goaltending depth for the upcoming season if they aim to slide Driedger and his bigger deal through to Coachella Valley while protecting Daccord's more modest cap hit in the backup slot in Seattle.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a similar dilemma — with two even more affordable stoppers vying for the backup job behind Ilya Samsonov.
After being a linchpin of the Kraken's superb 2022-23 season with his 27-13-3 record and 2.99 GAA, Martin Jones is at it again. Signed for just $875,000, the 33-year-old has been Toronto's best stopper in pre-season, with a .939 save percentage and just four goals allowed over three games and 152:54 of action.
He's a security blanket the Leafs would very much like to hang onto, especially when Samsonov has given up five goals in just over 100 minutes for a more modest .884 save percentage.
And while the club has high hopes for Joseph Woll, the 25-year-old has played just half a game so far, giving up three goals. He has missed some time during pre-season due to illness.
Woll may not be ready to assume the Leafs' backup role when the regular season begins next week. But with his uber-reasonable cap hit of $776,667 over the next two seasons, the third-round pick from 2016 would likely be a waiver target if Toronto tries to slide him through to the Marlies.
And do the Los Angeles Kings have a similar concern? After saying goodbye to franchise legend Jonathan Quick and letting Joonas Korpisalo walk in free agency, GM Rob Blake's crew is going into the season with an experienced but inexpensive tandem of Pheonix Copley ($1.5 million) and Cam Talbot ($1 million).
Meanwhile, it's newly acquired third-stringer David Rittich who has been shining in pre-season for the Kings. He has allowed just two goals in 102:51 of action over three games for a save percentage of .960.
Over the last three seasons, 'Big Save Dave' has bounced around from Calgary to Toronto to Nashville to Winnipeg and now to L.A. He's also signed to a very reasonable deal at a cap hit of just $875,000. That sets him up for another team to potentially snag him if the Kings risk putting him on waivers between now and next Monday when season-opening rosters must be set.
Through Wednesday, one goalie has been snapped up on waivers so far. While dealing with an injury to Daniil Tarasov, the Columbus Blue Jackets claimed Spencer Martin from the Vancouver Canucks on Sept. 29.
After earning a two-year, one-way contract with the Canucks to start the 2022-23 season, Martin's tenure as Thatcher Demko's backup did not live up to expectations — especially when his workload got heavier following Demko's groin injury last December. He hit the waiver wire in February but finished out the season strong in AHL Abbotsford, with a .916 save percentage and 2.43 GAA ahead of earning the starter's nod in the playoffs.
As we reach the final days of the pre-season, keep an eye out for more potential movement among goalies, particularly on the waiver wire.