Tough Goalie Decisions Ahead For the Devils, Leafs and Oilers
The Leafs, Devils and Oilers are three teams on the cusp of being among the elite this season, but with sub-par goaltending thus far, these teams must either upgrade or be left in the dust.
As the NHL season continues to unfold, teams with goaltending issues are readily apparent. The Toronto Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers are among those teams.
You can win in hockey’s top league with average to slightly above-average netminding, but when you don’t have that consistent reassurance, your fan base and media contingent will start speaking out. This is what we’ve started to see happen with a number of teams that would otherwise be higher in the standings but for their goalies’ struggles. And these are the teams we’re likely to see go out on the trade market and improve their overall depth in net.
One of those teams is the New Jersey Devils, who entered Friday with the fourth-worst goals-against average (3.82) in the league. Starter Vitek Vanecek has posted a thoroughly unimpressive .886 save percentage in 13 appearances, while backup Akira Schmid is just as bad, with a .892 SP.
As with every goalie we’ll mention in this column, Schmid and Vanecek aren’t solely to blame for their team’s overall defense, but the Devils were one of the sexy picks to do a lot of damage, both in the regular season and Stanley Cup playoffs, and New Jersey GM Tom Fitzgerald doesn’t have much in the way of salary cap space – as per PuckPedia, he has just over $1.3 million in cap space – to find a solution for his team’s goaltending woes.
Similarly, the Toronto Maple Leafs are experiencing frustration with veteran goalie Ilya Samsonov, who struggled mightily in Friday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the lowly Chicago Blackhawks. Samsonov surrendered a hat trick to Hawks forward Jason Dickinson – who is hardly a contender for the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal-producer – and his SP is now a brutal .878. Samsonov is playing on a one-year contract with the Leafs, and at this rate, he’s not going to be retained when he becomes a UFA next summer.
Now, there will almost certainly be a team that offers Samsonov a contract, just as the Leafs stood up and signed him away from the Washington Capitals a couple of summers ago. However, Toronto GM Brad Treliving now has $2.27 million in cap space, and though much, if not most, of that space will go to a defenseman to replace injured D-man John Klingberg, Samsonov’s poor performance could lead to a larger trade (or a couple of trades) to bring in a goalie that coach Sheldon Keefe has confidence in.
Finally, the Edmonton Oilers are the third team that needs a new look between the pipes. Edmonton’s win over Washington Friday temporarily took the heat off goalies Stuart Skinner and journeyman Calvin Pickard, but don’t kid yourself – Oilers GM Ken Holland can’t be pleased with a Skinner/Pickard tandem as he tries to get his team back to some semblance of competitiveness. Compounding his problems is the fact he has just $150,000 in cap space – meaning he’ll have to move out some money in any deal for a goalie, and that will hurt Edmonton’s bottom line.
The Maple Leafs, Oilers and Devils will all be battling for the same few goalie options on the trade market, and at least one of those teams will have to pay a sizeable price to give themselves better options in net than what they have at the moment. Goaltending depth is worth its weight in gold, and there won’t be many teams willing to give up an above-average goalie just because other teams are in dire need of an upgrade. But the status quo for New Jersey, Toronto and Edmonton also isn’t a viable option.
To challenge elite teams like the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Dallas Stars in the regular season standings and the post-season, franchises with an acute need for help in between the pipes have to do something and do it soon. Or they can continue the agonizing process of realizing they’re just not good enough in the area that matters most.