Wild, Hurricanes among teams with cloudy goaltending situations
Every NHL team is looking at their roster right now and they can all pretty much see how they’ll shape up for the season. There may be two or three roster spots up for grabs, but for the most part the rosters are pretty well set, with only roles to dole out and lineup structure to try and finalize. The one position that may be most important of all to have in ink at this point is that of the No. 1 goaltender.
Most teams have no doubt as to whom their No. 1 goaltender is, but others are going to be using these next few weeks in training camp to try and clear up some uncertainty when it comes to handing the reins to an individual to play perhaps the most important role on the team.
With that in mind, here’s a look at four of the cloudier goaltending situations in the NHL right now.
Minnesota Wild
Does it get any murkier than it appears to be with the Wild right now? After presumed No. 1 Josh Harding went down with a broken foot suffered off the ice, the battle is firmly between veteran Niklas Backstrom and recently re-signed Darcy Kuemper. Ilya Bryzgalov is lurking in the background on his tryout deal, but considering Kuemper was signed to a one-way contract, Bryz’s chances are slim to make the NHL roster without someone else getting hurt.
With Backstrom, the Wild have a veteran of 390 NHL games, all spent in Minnesota. He has a career .916 save percentage, but his numbers have been up and down over the last few seasons. Last year, in just 21 games, Backstrom went 5-11-2 with an unsightly .899 save percentage and 3.02 goals-against average. His inability to stay healthy over the last year is also troubling. Now 36 years old, Backstrom is reaching the twilight of his career, which started so brilliantly in Minnesota.
Kuemper doesn’t have a ton of NHL experience to stand on at this point, but he showed glimpses of why he may be the team’s starter of the future last season. With only 32 career appearances, the 24-year-old still has a lot to learn, but his .915 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average in 26 appearances last year showed he could be ready for more responsibility. He also made six appearances in the playoffs last year before he sustained an injury. He went 3-2 with a .913 save percentage and 2.06 goals-against average.
The decision here isn’t going to be easy and it wouldn’t be shocking to see head coach Mike Yeo go with more of a tandem approach with each getting some good reps early in the year. Things could get cloudy again when and if the injured and now suspended Harding is able to return and compete for the No. 1 job.
Anaheim Ducks
The young goaltending tandem of Frederik Andersen and John Gibson made seasoned starter Jonas Hiller expendable. Now the Anaheim Ducks have to sort out which of their excellent young goaltenders is going to be the No. 1.
In Andersen, they have an all-rookie goaltender who went 20-5-0 in 28 appearances with a .923 save percentage last season. He struggled in the postseason, however, putting up an .899 save percentage in seven playoff games.
In Gibson, the Ducks might have one of the most exciting goaltending prospects since Carey Price. The 21-year-old won all three of his regular-season appearances, posting a .954 save percentage and 1.33 goals-against average. He was given four starts in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings and went 2-2, with a .919 save percentage.
Bruce Boudreau has said he doesn’t know how the goaltending situation will shake out with these two youngsters, but the Ducks are taking a bit of a leap with two inexperienced guys backstopping a team that probably believes itself to be a Stanley Cup contender.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see this duo start in tandem first, getting some quality games under their belt before the real battle heats up, but this is going to be an important position for a team that did a lot of work to improve its forward group over the offseason and make a push to get over the hump against their Southern California rivals.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes are in a bit of an uncomfortable position when it comes to their goaltending situations right now. There’s of course Cam Ward, the team’s longtime No. 1 goalie who still has two years remaining on his contract, with a $6.3 million cap hit attached to each. On the other side, there’s Anton Khudobin, who performed pretty well in 36 appearances last season and may be ready for more responsibility in net despite never being a No. 1 in the NHL.
Ward has dealt with injuries over the last two seasons and that could have had some serious negative effects on his performance. In 30 games last season, he had an .898 save percentage and went 10-12-6. His contract and his meaning to the franchise as one of the few links remaining to the Stanley Cup year makes keeps him favored to start.
Khudobin, meanwhile, is coming off a career-high 36 appearances, in which he posted a 19-14-1 record, .926 save percentage and 2.30 goals-against average. It doesn’t necessarily make sense to hand him the reins based solely on that of course. Prior to last season, he never played in more than 14 games in a single NHL season has only been a full-time NHLer for the last two seasons.
The Hurricanes are probably going to give Ward every opportunity to be the No. 1 guy, but Khudobin is a pretty nice safety net that they shouldn’t be afraid to use. If Ward does falter, Carolina may need to look at Khudobin as less of a safety net and more as a legitimate No. 1 option.
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres are in a bit of an interesting conundrum when it comes to their goaltending situation. They have veterans Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth, each of which are on the last year of their contracts and neither of which having much experience as a No. 1. The competition is on for the No. 1 spot as both are going to be given an opportunity to earn the job.
Neuvirth has the slight edge on experience with 136 career appearances in the NHL. Enroth has 81 NHL games under his belt while spending much of his career backing up Ryan Miller. Enroth’s career .913 save percentage is slightly better than Neuvirth’s .911, so this one is going to be pretty close to call.
Of all the problems the Sabres had for much of last season, goaltending wasn’t one of them as Miller played quite well in a bad situation before he was traded to the St. Louis Blues near the trading deadline.
These goalies are sure to face a lot of shots this year, and considering the fact that both are going to be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, they’re playing for possibly a longer-term job. They also have to hold off prospects like Andrey Makarov, Matt Hackett and Nathan Lieuwen who will be looking to possibly get some reps this season in call-ups.
Considering the Sabres players and coaches are going to do whatever they can to stay competitive in a rebuilding year, this could be an interesting goaltending battle that may not be solved right away.
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