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The Daily Faceoff
Sizing up NHL’s goalie market ahead of 2022 trade deadline
- Edmonton’s goaltending has floundered for months. Oilers GM Ken Holland has turned over just about every rock in search for help – but has run into two main issues: There aren’t many true difference-makers available and/or the acquisition cost is a high for a netminder who is a bit of a gamble as an upgrade. Edmonton ranks 24th in save percentage with sub-.900 goaltending. Now, any trade may be too little, too late. The Oilers are a 50-50 shot to make the playoffs and have a lot of work to do to get in.
- Alexandar Georgiev: He let the team be known he was open to a change of scenery, ready for a starter’s workload elsewhere. He’s not wrong: Over five NHL seasons, Georgiev has a career save percentage of .909. The Rangers asked for a first-round pick last summer, but Alex Nedeljkovic going for a third to Detroit threw a wrench into that.
- Mackenzie Blackwood: …there are significant question marks about Blackwood’s game and his long-term future in New Jersey as the Devils explore all their options… The Devils are in the process of asking themselves: When healthy, what are the odds Blackwood’s game rebounds to the level we saw a couple years ago?
- Braden Holtby: The Stars could trade Holtby, call up Anton Khudobin from AHL Texas and barely impact their playoff chances – even for a team that wants to give itself every opportunity to get in. With a number of teams searching for goaltending support, Holtby has won a Stanley Cup and found his form again this season in Dallas.
- Anton Forsberg: A number of teams are interested in Forsberg’s services as a relatively inexpensive deadline option in net. Forsberg has quietly put together an excellent season. He has a winning record (12-10-2) on the 26th-place team with a .921 save percentage, well above league average.
BLH’s Thoughts: There are plenty more goalie’s mentioned in Seravalli’s post but these four are the ones that I believe the Oilers have interest in.
I’m a little shocked that Blackwood is potentially available. Was he not getting some consideration for Team Canada’s Olympic team in the summer? This is a young guy who is age appropriate for the Oilers and he’s a proper NHL starting netminder. Who knows what heights he could reach with a better team in front of him.
Holtby I’ve talked about before. I like his experience and Cup-winning pedigree and now that Heiskanen is out, Dallas may just call it a day. That said, I think since they’re still in the race for a playoff spot, any deals they make might be right on deadline day.
I really don’t know what to think about Forsberg. Edmonton signed him to be the 3rd stringer last year and then we all know what happened there. I do find it very interesting that he’s putting up numbers like that on one of the worst teams in the league. He could be the kind of guy to take a gamble on possibly and he’s a UFA, so the Oilers wouldn’t be tied to him beyond this season if they so chose.
Now to Georgiev. Edmonton nearly had him in December if I recall right, but they something happened to Shesterkin and the Rangers pulled out of the deal. So we know the team is serious about him, but I bet you didn’t know that Mikko Koskinen was backup to the aforementioned Shesterkin when they played in the KHL together and Rangers GM Chris Drury has said that he’s looking for a veteran goalie to play behind his star Russian goalie. So, why not bring back his former partner in crime and send Georgiev to Edmonton?
Ironically, that trade scenario would probably have Oilers fans up in arms seeing as Georgiev isn’t really having a great season and Koskinen has been much better as of late.
So, what about sending Mike Smith and a sweetener to New York for Georgiev? Smitty is about as veteran as you can ask for and I’m near 100% certain that Gerard Gallant is going to lean very heavily on Shesterkin for the rest of the year. That young roster may see some value in Smith’s “fiery” personality too…
I dunno, what do you think? Would it make sense for Ken Holland to put his trust in Koskinen and Georgiev to take the team to the playoffs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adGJ4tzeyBs
Oilersnation
Weekly Rumours – Oilers in the market for a defenseman?
- One name that the Oilers had been connected to recently was Semyon Varlamov of the New York Islanders… we got two reports this week, one from an Islanders reporter and one from Elliotte Friedman, saying that Varlamov would not waive his NTC to come to Edmonton.
- I would love to see them get someone like Calvin De Haan out of Chicago. Plays a defence-first style of play, can play either side, and shouldn’t cost a lot asset-wise. I also really like Carson Soucy out of Seattle as well but he might cost more.
- Friedman brought up the idea that the Devils and PK Subban could mutually terminate his deal since he doesn’t have a lot of salary left but has a very high cap hit. He could potentially become a UFA ahead of the deadline. It’s certainly something to watch.
BLH’s Thoughts: Bob Stauffer (630CHED) has been saying all week that he could see the Oilers bringing in a defenseman. Somebody with a bit more experience and that, to me, has Justin Braun written all over it. Maybe the Oilers send Josh Archibald to Philly to get it done because the money is almost a wash (300k difference I believe) and both are UFAs at season’s end. Hence why they want to get Archie up and running as soon as possible so that other team’s get a chance to see what he looks like.
I feel like with Broberg’s ability to play either side, Edmonton’s lack of a real defensive dman on their blueline, and their depth on the left side of the D that Braun makes too much sense here. But, it’s all really going to depend on how they do against Tampa tomorrow night, then Detroit, Buffalo, and New Jersey because the day after that game against the Devils is the trade deadline. Any semblance of a team that is on shaky ground and Holland may choose to keep his powder dry and take his chances with how Connor, Leon, and Mr. Katz feel about that.
Trade Rumors
- NHLRumors.com: Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet said that Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland has said that he’s not trading his first-round pick or their top prospects unless he’s sure they are Stanley Cup contenders. It doesn’t seem like they will be big players in the rental market unless they can find something for a mid to late-round pick.
- Spector’s Hockey: Chris Johnston reports the Arizona Coyotes could put goaltender Karel Vejmelka on the trade block before the deadline if unable to sign him to a contract extension. He’s earning less than $900K and is a year away from UFA eligibility.
- The Hockey Writers: Darren Dreger of TSN writes, ”Some wondering if Risto extension opens the door to a Travis Sanheim trade either before the deadline or in the offseason. He would be pretty high on a few team’s target lists. Left shot, $4.675 cap hit through next season.”
- Seravalli also notes that there has been little-to-no progress made when it comes to talks between the Ottawa Senators and Nick Paul. He writes, “Their last offer made in January was not well received at three years, $6 million ($2 million per).”
BLH’s Thoughts: If I’m not mistaken, didn’t Holland also say he wouldn’t trade his first rounder or high-end prospects for rentals? Meaning, he might still trade them for players with term or RFAs. Now, Nick Paul (Stauffer’s fav) doesn’t fall under that category, but Travis Sanheim and Vejmelka would.
Vejmelka… What’s he doing coming up in rumors? He’s only 25 and I haven’t heard a lot of bad regarding his play this year considering the team he’s playing for. He also catches right… Do you know any goalies who’ve played for Edmonton that caught with the other hand?
I wonder if the Czech is not the only surprise netminder (Blackwood being the other so far) that becomes available in the next week…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbH_1UP98QA
