Best Bang for the Buck - Goaltending, Part 1
After finishing up my Best Bang for the Buck, Defence series, I'm moving on to goaltending. Please feel free to continue leaving comments on the Defence series and on this one as well. Thanks to Kukla's Korner for sending a lot of traffic my way. I hope it was worth the read.
Anaheim Ducks - $7.2M
J.S. Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov are fresh off a Cup win and Giguere is fresh off a renewed contract. Unfortunately he's also fresh off of hernia surgery. It appears it wasn't a severe hernia so his play shouldn't be affected by it but it's tough to say for sure. Bryzgalov is publicly on the shopping block but Burke will likely be more picky - if that's possible - than before when analyzing a deal involving Ilya. But with two #1 goaltenders on board, they'll be getting some quality performance. Unfortunately it's not a price they can afford to pay.
Atlanta Thrashers - $3.35M
They've got 3 goaltenders affecting their cap right now: Kari Lehtonen, Johan Hedberg and Freddie Braithwaite. It's going to be a battle between Hedberg and Braithwaite as to who backs up Lehtonen out of training camp. My money is on Hedberg which would bring their hit down to $2.85M once Braithwaite is sent down/traded. Lehtonen has certainly shown his potential but he's also demonstrated his inexperience at times. If he can be all he can be, it's a solid price point.
Boston Bruins - $5.4M
The Bruins big off-season move was acquiring Manny Fernandez from Minnesota to help fill in their rotating door position in goal. Last season Tim Thomas was the #1 backed up by Hannu Toivonen. This year he will likely find himself splitting duties as the #1a with Fernandez, who fared well in his first season as #1 with the Wild last year but was unseated by hot-shot Nik Backstrom after going down to injury late in the season. The question is whether these two goaltenders can co-exist without Thomas seriously maiming Fernandez in the locker room if he whines too much.
Buffalo Sabres - $3.4M
I followed the Buffalo Sabres closely in the playoffs as they were an exciting team to watch. None more exciting to me than Ryan Miller - no, not even Afinogenov. Ryan Miller is one of the skinniest goaltenders I've ever known and boy does he know how to use his frame, speed and agility to their penultimate ability. Jocelyn Thibault is a good backup at a reasonable price which gives this team a pretty solid price to performance ratio.
Calgary Flames - $3.3M
Miika Kiprusoff is as cool as goaltenders get and about as good as they get too. He performs superbly in the playoffs and is a workhorse during the regular season. He has a well-deserved Vezina to back up his abilities as well as a run to the Stanley Cup finals in which he played an integral role. Jaime McLennan has headed off to Russia and that will pave the way for either Brent Krahn or Curtis McElhinney to back up the perennial all-star while Leland Irving continues being groomed in the background.
Carolina Hurricanes - $4.1M
Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward leads the charge and John Grahame looks to back him up again this year. Ward did not look like a Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winning starter last season as he posted up a 2.93 GAA so he'll be looking to rebound. Meanwhile John Grahame turned in an equally forgettable season as he continues to be dogged by inconsistent play. They need more out of this duo to match the $4.1M price tag.
Chicago Blackhawks - $7.7M
After Nikolai Khabibulin helped lead the Lightning to the Cup in 03-04, he bolted to Chicago and hasn't been able to regain that form. He had a bit of a bounceback last season but still didn't look like the Bulin Wall of old. Unfortunately he doesn't have much support on the backend right now. Patrick Lalime is the scheduled backup which is all he'll ever be at this point in his career. Unfortunately the price point is too high compared to other duos in the league.
Columbus Blue Jackets - $1.9M
Two backup-quality goaltenders, Pascal Leclaire and Fredrik Norrena, enter training camp battling it out for #1. If I was a Columbus fan, I'd be worried. Leclaire has the ability to be #1 but is still battling some holes in his game. This pair is dirt cheap for a reason. I really do feel for the Jackets fans and hope the team turns it around at some point.
Colorado Avalanche - $6.0M
The albatross contract of Jose Theodore still hangs over this teams head reminding everyone of the latter days of Pierre Lacroix. Although Theodore will be given a shot at the #1 spot again this year, he'll likely end up backstopping Budaj before long. Although Theodore has put in good performances in contract years, it just doesn't seem likely based on the last 2 seasons that he'll show his magic again. Budaj has made great strides but he is still young and unproven. His play during the stretch run has shown that he does have the ability to lead a team to victory.
Dallas Stars - $6.7M
Marty Turco finally silenced his biggest critics as he put on an excellent playoff performance last season. Unfortunately, 3 shutouts and a 1.29 GAA still couldn't get the Stars past the first round. Turco consistently performs well in the regular season and Mike Smith displayed some intriguing possibilities as he put up a 2.22 GAA in his 22 games last season. Turco is one of the highest paid goaltenders in the league and if he can continue his playoff performance this season, it could be worth it.
Stay tuned for the next round of teams in a couple days.
