Nearly two months ago, we took a fairly detailed look at the goaltending scene for each and every team in the league. You saw the goalies’ ages, contract situations and potential wrenches in the mixes at the time for the Eastern Conference (Part I and Part II) and the Western Conference (Part I and Part II) in a four-part series.
Today we’re going to briefly re-examine the goalies for all 30 teams in one sitting to see how things have changed for a few franchises thanks to free agency. Teams are listed in order of overall finish from ’08-9. If there’s a pretty reasonable chance of either the starter or back-up role being unclear, it’ll be marked as such with notes explaining the situation as it sits today.
San Jose Sharks
Starter: Evgeni Nabokov
Back-up: Thomas Greiss
Notes: Brian Boucher signed with Philly. Unless the Sharks make another move, Greiss appears to be the number two with the Sharks having lost out on the Jonas Gustavsson sweepstakes.
Boston Bruins
Starter: Tim Thomas
Back-up: Tuukka Rask
Notes: Manny Fernandez is still a UFA and Rask’s time to begin his full-time NHL career appears to be now.
Detroit Red Wings
Starter: Chris Osgood
Back-up: Jimmy Howard
Notes: Ty Conklin signed with the Blues and Howard is out of AHL options. Don’t rule out an in-season call-up of Daniel Larsson if an injury pops up or Howard struggles.
Washington Capitals
Starter: Unclear
Back-up: Unclear
Notes: The job will be won at camp, according to the Caps’ brass. Inconsistent veteran Jose Theodore, playoff sensation Simeon Varlamov and Calder Cup MVP Michal Neuvirth are in the picture now, while UFA Brent Johnson is not totally out of focus either.
New Jersey Devils
Starter: Martin Brodeur
Back-up: Unclear
Notes: Scott Clemmensen signed with the Panthers. Kevin Weekes is a UFA at this point. Yann Danis was inked to a one-year deal and is a possibility, as is young Jeff Frazee.
Chicago Blackhawks
Starter: Cristobal Huet
Back-up: Unclear
Notes: Nikolai Khabibulin signed with the Oilers. Corey Crawford and Antti Niemi will battle it out at camp for the back-up role.
Vancouver Canucks
Starter: Roberto Luongo
Back-up: Andrew Raycroft
Notes: Cory Schneider will allegedly have a shot to win the back-up role at camp. The team will have to decide what’ll be better for his development – playing a lot in the AHL (again) or collecting dust on the bench behind a heavy-start goalie like Luongo.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Starter: Marc-Andre Fleury
Back-up: Unclear
Notes: Mathieu Garon signed with the Blue Jackets. RFA John Curry seems to be the favourite to play behind MAF, assuming the Pens do nothing else between now and camp.
Philadelphia Flyers
Starter: Ray Emery
Back-up: Brian Boucher
Notes: Martin Biron is still a UFA and Antero Niittymaki signed with the Lightning. Emery still has something to prove to fans and poolies alike, so Boucher should at least be taken as insurance at the start of the season.
Calgary Flames
Starter: Miikka Kiprusoff
Back-up: Curtis McElhinney
Notes: McElhinney will allegedly start more in ’09-10 than the six games he began last year, but we’ll see.
Carolina Hurricanes
Starter: Cam Ward
Back-up: Michael Leighton
Notes: Justin Peters will probably end up in the AHL again.
New York Rangers
Starter: Henrik Lundqvist
Back-up: Stephen Valiquette
Notes: Likely the same set-up as last season.
Montreal Canadiens
Starter: Carey Price
Back-up: Jaroslav Halak
Notes: Price needs a strong rebound season and he and Halak are each slated to become RFAs next summer.
Florida Panthers
Starter: Tomas Vokoun
Back-up: Scott Clemmensen
Notes: Craig Anderson targeted more starts with the Avalanche, which left a hole for Clemmensen to come in from New Jersey.
St. Louis Blues
Starter: Chris Mason
Back-up: Ty Conklin
Notes: Conklin moves over from the Wings and is insurance should Mason not follow-up on last year’s strong second half, while Manny Legace is still a UFA.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Starter: Steve Mason
Back-up: Mathieu Garon
Notes: Pascal Leclaire was dealt to the Sens, Wade Dubielewicz is a UFA and another year in the AHL won’t hurt Dan LaCosta, which is why Garon was brought in for a year and could see 20-25 starts.
Anaheim Ducks
Starter: Unclear
Back-up: Unclear
Notes: As it stands today, the stage has been set for Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Jonas Hiller to have a fierce battle in camp. JSG has two years left on his bloated deal; Hiller has one before he’s a UFA.
Buffalo Sabres
Starter: Ryan Miller
Back-up: Patrick Lalime
Notes: Jonas Enroth will be pushing hard in camp for the back-up role, but getting another year in the AHL won’t hurt his development and he’ll be the first call-up in an injury/ slump situation.
Minnesota Wild
Starter: Niklas Backstrom
Back-up: Josh Harding
Notes: Harding is still an RFA as of this writing and a trade involving the talented young goalie is still certainly possible.
Nashville Predators
Starter: Pekka Rinne
Back-up: Dan Ellis
Notes: The Preds have seen so much fluctuation in goaltending performances over the past few seasons that absolutely nothing is written in stone, so draft both guys if you want to make sure.
Edmonton Oilers
Starter: Nikolai Khabibulin
Back-up: Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers
Notes: Dwayne Roloson signed with the Isles to get a multi-year deal and Khabi left the Windy City and is a clear-cut number one again. The fact that he hasn’t started more than 60 games since ’02-3 (65 then and only more than 55 once since then) means the Oilers can finally see if they have anything in JDD.
Ottawa Senators
Starter: Pascal Leclaire
Back-up: Brian Elliott
Notes: Leclaire was brought in from the Jackets late last season and Alex Auld was dealt to the Stars. Given Leclaire’s injury history, draft Elliott just in case.
Dallas Stars:
Starter: Marty Turco
Back-up: Alex Auld
Notes: Auld was a great post-Gustavsson loss acquisition from the Sens and if the plan to have Turco only start 50-55 GP comes to fruition then Auld could become a valuable back-up for poolies.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Starter: Vesa Toskala
Back-up: Jonas Gustavsson
Notes: Curtis Joseph and Martin Gerber are UFAs not being brought back. Toskala is coming off hip and groin surgery and will need to be consistent to fend off the hard-charging Gustavsson.
Phoenix Coyotes
Starter: Ilya Bryzgalov
Back-up: Jason LaBarbera
Notes: Al Montoya made a strong showing at the end of last season and will push for a job in camp, despite LaBarbera being signed to a two-year deal.
Los Angeles Kings
Starter: Jon Quick
Back-up: Erik Ersberg
Notes: Ersberg was on his way to establishing himself as the top dog last year before getting hurt, so we’ll see how things shake out in camp. Jonathan Bernier has one AHL season on his resume now and could push for a job with a strong performance, although additional seasoning seems more likely.
Atlanta Thrashers
Starter: Kari Lehtonen
Back-up: Johan Hedberg
Notes: A Lehtonen trade never materialized (he’s also still an RFA as of this writing), so Ondrej Pavelec is slated to start his third straight season in the AHL as things stand now.
Colorado Avalanche
Starter: Craig Anderson
Back-up: Peter Budaj
Notes: Anderson was brought in from the Panthers instead of gambling on Gustavsson choosing the Avs after free agency had begun. Budaj now not only has legitimate competition as the starter – he’s likely destined to back up the new guy.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Starter: Mike Smith
Back-up: Antero Niittymaki
Notes: Niittymaki was out of a job in Philly with the goaltending overhaul, but will make for a competent back-up to push Smith and can start more games when needed.
New York Islanders
Starter: Rick DiPietro
Back-up: Dwayne Roloson
Notes: The team brought in Roloson as insurance for the oft-injured DiPietro, so the former Oilers goalie will probably get a lot of work on the Island. Joey MacDonald is a UFA.