A Look At The Goaltending Trade Market
by David Getz on Feb 4, 2009 11:30 AM EST
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Yesterday at The Rink we discussed whether or not it would be in the Capitals' best interest to use the salary cap space Chris Clark's placement on Long Term Injured Reserve has opened up to try and make a splash at the trading deadline and, if so, what the best personnel move(s) for the team might be. After twenty-four hours, more than 320 votes, and more than 180 comments, we may just be back to square one, as Tarik has reported that Brent Johnson may need surgery on his hip.
While nothing's certain at this point, if Johnson does indeed decide to have surgery rather than play through the injury, the Capitals are almost certainly going to want to swing a deal for a veteran backup netminder. Simeon Varlamov has plenty of talent and played well in his brief time with the big club earlier this season, but asking a 20-year-old with two games of NHL experience to be the backup on a team expected to make a deep playoff run holds far too much potential for disaster.
With that in mind, here are some of the veteran goaltenders who could be available between now and March 4th. [Ed. note: The 'Years Left' number counts 2008-09. Thus, players whose contracts expire after this season have a '1'.]
Update: Martin Gerber, Dany Sabourin, Curtis Sanford, and Kevin Weekes have been added to the table.
If you're the Capitals, who's your top choice? And what are you willing to give up to get get him?
*Martin Gerber has been waived this season. If claimed off re-entry waivers, the Capitals would be responsible for only half of his salary, $1,850,000.
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Ovi
Hey, there’s only room on this team for one ogler! :D
Kidding. Craig and Ovi could go girl-watching.
Oglebuddies
Good point! But at least Ovi doesn’t make weird crossed eyes while ogling – we’ll take whistling and “oohhhsss” any day over that creepy stuff.
Hahahah
If he stops pucks, he can ogle for all of me. But I don’t think Florida will let him go anyway.
I just posted this in the roundup thread, but it’s probably more apropos here:
If Johnny is out, is a trade for another backup really necessary? Theo clearly will be the #1 the rest of the way regardless and, while you don’t want to burn him out for the playoffs, you definitely want to keep him sharp down the stretch. 30 games left, you have to figure Theo will play at least 20 of those and, with the remaining games, would Weekes/Ellis/whomever really give you that much better results than Varlamov/Machesney/Neuvirth?
And as to the playoffs…if it comes to the point that you need a good backup in the playoffs, you’re pretty much screwed anyway!
by Kerry Fraser's Hairspray on Feb 4, 2009 11:43 AM EST reply actions
None of these guys would be any better than Varlamov. His lack of experience is compensated for with his superior athletic ability.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
Only one issue with that....
Varlamov has had injury problems all year – the LAST thing you want is to be scrambling for a backup during the playoffs. Haven’t we been through enough of that?
by gotsparkly on Feb 4, 2009 11:48 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Exactly. Varlamov has a ton of talent but he’s had those injury problems. Plus his condition is such an issue that he can’t even play on back to back nights right now. If you’re the Capitals, you don’t want to be in a position where losing Theodore to a muscle strain for two or three games automatically does you in.
Pick a goalie....
Absolutely I wouldn’t want to lean on Varlamov as a backup netminder for a deep playoff run, especially not with the injury problems he’s had. Neuvirth or Machesney – definitely not.
Craig Anderson is obviously the most appealing of the lot, but Florida’s got the best D in the Southeast, no question, and how much of those numbers are their doing? Hard dto say. Also, the odds of them selling at the deadline aren’t real good – they’re climbing the scratching post as pepper put it and are obviously playoff-minded, so I wouldn’t bet on him being available.
That said, if I had to pick one that I thought would be available? Budaj. Colorado has a lot of issues and he’s been doing pretty well in spite. Besides, we’re talking backup here, and if you get to the point of needing a backup in the playoffs, you already have a problem.
i didn’t think he was that injured, all goalies go through their spats, JT included.
the problem I have with this is I think it’s spending money for a false sense of security. if any of those guys on that list are starting for us in the playoffs – Game, Set, Match.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
the problem I have with this is I think it’s spending money for a false sense of security. if any of those guys on that list are starting for us in the playoffs – Game, Set, Match.
I don’t think that’s true. The team has won with Johnson and if you look at the career numbers of guys like Budaj, Anderson, Legace, Auld, and Hedberg, they’re comparable.
Of course if Theodore suffers a serious injury in the playoffs, the team is in trouble. But you want to at least have someone with NHL experience waiting if needed.
Plus, as I mentioned in an earlier comment, you don’t want to be put in the position where losing Theodore for a couple games means the team’s playoff run is over.
the playoffs are like 10 weeks away – is Varlamov’s health outlook that grim?
Russian Machine Never Breaks
The word is "repeat offender".
Varlamov has been in and out of the lineup with groin issues all year. it seems to be a conditioning issue with him, and getting used to the North American style of play where the goalie moves more.
I think he’ll be on the ice well before then, if that’s what you mean.
But his age plus his lack of experience plus the injuries he’s had this year plus the fact that his conditioning level is at the point where he can’t play on consecutive days mean that, to me, he’s a bad Plan B.
If Theodore sustained a serious injury in the playoffs, I could see recalling Varlamov and rotating him and someone else, but to ask a guy with Varlamov’s injury trouble this season and condition level to play at playoff intensity for any more than a game or two seems like a leap of faith to me, and too much of a risk just to save a mid round draft pick.
My personal vote is Johan Hedberg. He has developed a reputation as a good teammate in Atlanta and he has solid career playoff numbers. Plus, I would imagine a team in the position the Thrashers are would listen to offers.
Interesting.
I can see this – only thing is, what does Atlanta ask in return, and do we want to give up whoever that is and face them in division battles later?
I can see Atlanta asking for Brooks Laich, Flash, or both. They don’t have a lot of scoring beyond Kovalchuk, and Laich is the sort of all-around workhorse that any team values. They might also ask for prospects, especially given their financial issues – Bourque, maybe?
If Don Waddell asks for Flash and Laich for a 35 year old backup goalie, McPhee would probably just laugh at him and hang up.
I see Hedberg’s value being a third round draft pick.
This is Don Waddell. I’m pretty sure we can get Hedberg for Pohkulok. He’s a first round pick!!! Maybe throw in an ’09 7th round pick to sweeten the deal.
Waddell does have a history of boneheaded trades – Coburn, anyone?
by Moonage Daydream on Feb 4, 2009 3:33 PM EST up reply actions
I’d go with Niklas Backstrom, but he’d be a bit expensive.
Anderson would be great but there’s no way FLA would trade him, they’d probably trade Vokoun first (and neither are likely to go IMO).
Legace has some good experience but he’s terrible, so that’s a no.
Raycroft is too good this year, COL may not want to let him go. Then again, they may still be sticking with Budaj going forward and might not want to decide to let either go right now until they really have it settled.
Hedberg would be great if he were a UFA, but that extra year hurts. Same with Ellis, and Auld.
Stick with Varlamov/Neuvirth/Machesney, especially since you’re confident in Theo right now (if something changes there then pray you can get Backstrom). Even with their health questions this is a good opportunity to see where the youngins stand in the organization. This might be Machesney’s only shot at staying in the organization, for example, if he can prove himself here down the stretch.
If all three of them are injured you go to Holtby (since you can steal him from Sask. in that situation). If we have enough sour luck as to lose 4 prospect goalies to injury at the same time… well, let’s not think about that.
I think Backstrom’s the biggest name out there, but I also think someone is going to be willing to give up a lot more than the Capitals would for him.
Agreed. We just pray we don’t need him (and we don’t, right now at least).
Another name I forgot to mention, but what about Nitty? He might be expensive as well, but it seems like one of the two there might be on the move. Although trading with a likely playoff opponent might not go down so well, especially for the Flyers…
The other Backstrom
As long as MIN is in the playoff hunt they are not moving Backstrom. That leaves them with Harding and either playing a prospect/AHLer as the backup or scrambling for a backup. They would need to really tank in the next month for Backstrom to be available and even in that case we are looking at moving a top prospect and/or high pick(s). Too rich for my blood. You can only play one goalie at a time and Backstrom is not a back up.
Gerber
He sucks, but … just putting that out there.
Game Over T-shirts: http://www.cafepress.com/beltwaysports
1) If Gerber is brought back through re-entry waivers the Capos only pay 1/2 of the salary, and with the season 2/3 over its not a huge hit.
2) Of all the potential available goalies Gerber is probably the better choice. Additionally you wouldn’t have to give up an asset to get him
And Gerber has been a bit of a rabbits foot come playoff time.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Indeed. Picking up Gerber guarantees that The Odor gets hot(ter). If he can make Cam Ward a Conn Smythe and Alex Auld a legit No. 1 then just imagine what he can do for us!
Don’t forget Gerber sitting on the bench for Anaheim in the 2003 Cup and Ottawa in the 2007 Cup.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I’ve read that Ottawa wants to loan Gerber to a European team to get him off the books in terms of the cap. If that’s the case, I think they’d rather go that route than be stuck with 1.85 million in dead cap space.
The Ottawa-to-Europe career path is becoming pretty popular for goalies, eh? What’s next, Alex Auld to the SEL?
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Andrew Raycroft. Throw out one seven-goal game against Toronto, his old team, and he has the best stats there. And he’s cheap. And he expires.
Ellis. Easily. And Nashville will want to get rid of him for their next overrated phenom who plays well.
Football's boring. Get over it.
thought about that based on his previous play but the problem is, what is going to magically make him stop sucking this year?
Russian Machine Never Breaks
Well, this isn’t really about getting a new starter, it’s about a decent backup and Ellis has played more than well enough to do that.
He’s somewhat like Theodore this year. Throw out October and his save percentage is .910.
i think with the talent on this team we could rally around just about anyone in net for a game or two, if the stakes were high enough. i’d rather explore what’s out there at forward and defense before worrying about this.
Russian Machine Never Breaks
I guess I can see where you’re coming from defense, since the quality of the defense plays a lot into a goalies success, but the Capitals are fifth in the league in scoring.
I think the difference to me is that I don’t see not making a move to acquire a forward or a defenseman sinking the team come playoff time, while I can easily imagine a scenario where not making a move for another goalie comes back to haunt the team. That, plus the cost of adding a goalie is likely to be a mid-round draft pick and, since Johnson would be on LTIR in this scenario, the cap hit wouldn’t be too significant.
by David Getz on Feb 4, 2009 12:44 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
And this isn’t for guys who can be starters in the playoffs. This is for a guy who can spell JT60 down the stretch once every 10 days. For a guy who can finish a game in the playoffs if JT60 gets injured, and so on. If the No. 1 misses extended time during the playoffs the Caps will be in the same place just about any other NHL team would be: Done.
Hahahah!
Oh, now that would be justice. We pick Biron up off of waivers and drop the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs. That would be sweet, sweet justice.
What are the plans for Varly next season.. will he still be in Hershey or will he be up here with Theo? If he is still down in the A I would want to get one of the 2 yr guys, particularly Ellis.. hes got the best playoff save % of those goalies..
If we do plan on bringing Varly up then we should bring in a 1 yr guy.. not sure how i feel about anderson.. even with his nice season stats.. hes never played a playoff game.. i would go with raycroft..
by sexypills03 on Feb 4, 2009 1:37 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I would think where Varlamov ends up next year is going to be decided in next year’s camp. If he’s in good enough shape, maybe they keep him in DC to learn as much as he can and see regular NHL action. If condition is still an issue, maybe they send him to the AHL to get him playing several times a week and try and get him to improve in that department.
ok.. so say we pick up a 1 yr goalie.. the season ends.. and now we just have theodore going into 09-10.. could we sign a goalie to a ‘1 yr deal’ to compete with varly during training camp… and if varly makes the club could we cut the other goalie before the season starts and not have to pay the contract?
The Caps could certainly bring someone in to try out and, if they want to keep the guy around, negotiate a deal with him. It’s not all that rare a practice. But I doubt they’d sign someone just to cut him a couple of months later.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Hasek’s probably looking for work, too.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
Meh…all those goaltenders (with the exception of Anderson, and no way Florida’s giving him up) are a turd sandwich.
But then again, if we keep the offence at a good pace, we’ll still be okay. We just need a guy that won’t LOSE us games. I’d be willing to take a chance on Gerber if I have to pick SOMEONE off that list
Ron and Fez Noon to Three
by YvonLabresMoustache on Feb 4, 2009 2:48 PM EST reply actions
Again, I disagree, I think most of those guys career numbers are pretty similar to Johnson’s. Some are even better.
are they worth losing picks/prospects over though, especially if they are only going to be backup with a small workload and then back on the free agent market in July?
by CapitalsKremlin on Feb 4, 2009 3:10 PM EST up reply actions
Depends on the pick/prospect.
I’m also of the mind that if Varly doesn’t come back soon and carry the water the rest of the way for Hershey (including a playoff run), he probably needs more time at Hershey next year, perhaps the whole year – better for him to get #1 minutes there than every 4th game here, in all likelihood. That’s why I think some of these 2-year guys are in play.
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
I guess my short list is Anderson, Gerber (been to two cup finals as backup) and then Sabourin.
While I agree that #1 minutes for Varly in Hershey and a trip to the Calder Playoffs will do him more good than being a backup, if the Capitals have to give too much in order to get a backup, then maybe it’s worth it to just bring up Varly. It all depends on the offers and whose in the selling market, and of course, if Johnny is out.
by CapitalsKremlin on Feb 4, 2009 3:17 PM EST up reply actions
I agree. Who the pick or prospect is makes a huge difference, which is part of the reason I think Anderson might be a pipe dream.
I’m still in the Hedberg camp. Plays the backup role well, is a great teammate, has had playoff success in the past, and should be available for a fairly low price given the team he’s on. Plus he’s a guy with a two year deal who can also probably be shed if need be.
Anderson is, by far, the best of the lot, and he might be someone who can challegne for the top spot. He was also sort of a Cap last year in that he came in for an injured Tomas Vokun in the second-to-last game of the Panthers’ season and beat Carolina, enabling the Caps to win the division the next night (he played against the Caps too, and played fairly well, allowing 3 goals that were not his fault at all….)
Would any of these players be that much of an upgrade over Varlamov if they are only expected to see a small work load? I understand that putting Varly into the fire is a bad idea, but is the extra cap money best spent on a one-shot backup goaltender and not on a defender or winger? I think this is all riding on A) how long Johnson is out IF he is out and B) confidence in Theo’s health.
Outside of Anderson (interdivision trade…) I wonder if it’s worth it to let Varly just get the backup role.
BUT...
I’d stick with Varlamov and try to pick up a good dman. We would actually have 3 good lines of D with Greem, Poti, and ?n?e?w?
Late addition to the list: Kevin Weekes. Considering that he may be headed to the waiver wire once The Marty Party resumes in Jersey, he can be had for nothing but his tiny salary, and he’s a UFA at the end of the season…
Japers' Rink: Hockey blogging from the most powerful city in the world
haha another brother for the donald.. jk.. his playoff numbers are decent 3-3-0-1 in 9 GP with 2 SO, .927 1.93… too bad he hasnt won since 2002 lol.. 700k and we only pay half that right? not bad..
me too
for the money, either COL goalie is adequate.
It’s been a while since we can say this, but we can now take a pretty avg goalie and make his win totals look good
Well
Us avs fan will give you Budaj for Varlamov straight up
I believe in Peter Budaj
by Jibblescribbits on Feb 4, 2009 6:01 PM EST up reply actions
FWIW, COL is a very viable trade partner, and not just for a goalie. they are desperate for a center and would take a long look at Perrault
I don’t think we’re looking for a center. We’re short now, but Stastny will be back, and Wolski has made a successful transition. I think we’re sall set there for years to come (especially if Hensick starts to step up, like he should).
The Avs need some wingers. A guy like Osala or Bouchard would be more our style. And yes I’m sure Avs management is very interested in Valarmov, maybe for a guy like Budaj and Leopold/Clark/ Salei
I believe in Peter Budaj
by Jibblescribbits on Feb 4, 2009 7:07 PM EST up reply actions
every time I think of Hedberg, I think of this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2YVzjZEcnI
condensed version…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBHoXxU_UNc
gotta love Billington.
things i have learned from markkanen's wikipedia page
he is married to his wife.
he once sustained a “heavy injury”
he helped the oilers “grab victory” in game 5 of the 2006 cup finals.
by thehoagster07 on Feb 4, 2009 7:58 PM EST up reply actions
GMGM says no move...
Tarik’s reporting our fearless GM, GMGM, says that theyre going with Neuvirth and Varlamov down the stretch…no deals for a back up
Ron and Fez Noon to Three
by YvonLabresMoustache on Feb 6, 2009 2:02 PM EST reply actions
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Southeast Standings
| GP | W | L | OTL | PT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Florida
|
53 | 25 | 17 | 11 | 61 |
|
Washington
|
54 | 28 | 21 | 5 | 61 |
|
Winnipeg
|
56 | 26 | 24 | 6 | 58 |
|
Tampa Bay
|
53 | 23 | 24 | 6 | 52 |
|
Carolina
|
56 | 20 | 25 | 11 | 51 |
(updated 2.11.2012 at 8:02 AM EST)
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