Goaltending is the most important position in hockey, and there are always a few teams in need of help in net during any given season. But it appears there could be more of a need for goaltending in 2023-24 than in previous years ahead of the trade deadline, which is March 8, 2024.
The problem is there may not be much supply for teams to address their goaltending needs. That could result in a mini arms race between organizations that need to handle it. Let’s look at who could be available and which teams will be searching for a goalie in the weeks ahead.
A Lack of Big Names
Based on early trade boards, it doesn’t appear many big-name goaltenders will be available ahead of the trade deadline. Connor Hellebuyck signed a seven-year extension with the Winnipeg Jets, so he’s off the table. And the Boston Bruins are not trading one of Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman as was thought during the offseason.
When looking at The Athletic’s most recent trade board, which came out on Dec. 20, Jake Allen, Antti Raanta, Kaapo Kähkönen, and John Gibson were the four netminders mentioned. And Gibson came in at No. 30, so it’s far from a foregone conclusion he gets dealt (From ‘NHL trade board 2.0: Jake Guentzel, John Gibson and other new targets join Chris Johnston’s list’ – The Athletic, 12/20/2023).
James Reimer has appeared in other trade boards, but with injuries to Ville Husso and Alex Lyon, it’s unlikely the Detroit Red Wings trade Reimer any time soon. That doesn’t leave many options for the teams who’ll probably be searching for help in net.
We’ll get to the teams in a second, but some background on the goalies who could be available. The Carolina Hurricanes recently waived Raanta, and for good reason. He’s been one of the worst goalies in the NHL this season, with an .854 save percentage (SV%), and has given up 9.4 goals above expected. I’m not sure he can help a team, even with a change of scenery.
Kähkönen and Allen have been league-average netminders in 2023-24. Allen has a .904 SV% and has saved two goals above expected, while Kähkönen has an .899 SV% and has stopped 4.9 goals above expected. The former is under contract through 2024-25 at a cap hit of $3.85 million, while Kähkönen will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. They can help a team in need of better goaltending.
Related: NHL Trade Bait List for 2024 Offseason
Gibson is obviously the big fish that could be available before the trade deadline. He has played better this season, with a .906 SV% while stopping 3.6 goals above expected. The problem is his contract, which runs through 2026-27 at a cap hit of $6.4 million. Teams interested in him will have to get creative in trying to fit in his cap hit for the remainder of 2023-24 and even beyond.
Preseason Cup Contenders Lead Teams Seeking Goaltenders
So about those teams. Who could be looking for help in net? The most obvious are the Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils. Those teams rank 30th, 31st, and 32nd in all strengths SV% this season and were Stanley Cup favorites heading into 2023-24.
The situation may be most dire in Edmonton. Jack Campbell struggled mightily to begin the season and has not found his game since getting sent down to the AHL. Stuart Skinner has picked it up after a rough start, but he’s played in 22 of the Oilers’ 29 games. They risk wearing him out if they don’t find a competent 1B to ease his workload. There are signs Skinner may be dealing with some fatigue, too, as he an .860 SV% across his last four starts.
The Devils aren’t in a much better spot. Vitek Vaněček and Akira Schmid have been a bit better lately. But their team SV% still sits at .879, ranked 30th in the league, just ahead of the Oilers and Hurricanes. Kähkönen makes sense for them, but they may end up being the team that takes the most serious run at Gibson.
On the most recent edition of TSN’s Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun reported that Dougie Hamilton may be out until late April/early May with a torn pectoral muscle. That would give the Devils an additional $9 million in cap space by placing him on LTIR. They’d still need the Ducks to retain some salary on Gibson since he has three-plus years left on his deal. But that LTIR flexibility could make them players for the Ducks’ netminder.
Though the Hurricanes have the worst SV% among the teams listed here, their situation may not be as pressing as the Devils or Oilers. Pyotr Kochetkov is starting to play better, totaling a .946 SV% across his last four starts. They need to find a backup for him, but Frederik Andersen may be close to returning from a health issue.
On the Dec. 18 episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman reported that Andersen could return to action in around a month. Their play might be to ride Kochetkov until then and hope Andersen gives them the goaltending they need to make a push in the Metropolitan Division. If not, they could be in the market for Allen or Kähkönen.
Other Teams Will Join the Mix
Though the Oilers, Hurricanes and Devils are the teams to watch for netminding help, they’re unlikely to be the only ones. As mentioned, the Red Wings are down to Reimer and could look for an option to stabilize their situation if Lyon and Husso are out long-term.
Out west, the Los Angeles Kings could be looking for a backup to Cam Talbot. Pheonix Copley has struggled this season, with an .870 SV% in just eight games. Talbot has played quite a bit, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they’re in the market to upgrade over Copley and ease Talbot’s workload.
Could the Maple Leafs be looking for an upgrade over Ilya Samsonov, who has an .878 SV% this season? Joseph Woll is out for another few weeks with a high-ankle sprain, so they may be in the market for someone, even though Martin Jones has played well since getting called up from the AHL.
The reality is that there are at least five teams who could be looking for help in net, and there could be more with just over two months left until the deadline. The problem is there isn’t much help available. The Oilers need a goaltender the most, but the problem is moving Campbell’s contract, which has three-plus years remaining at a cap hit of $5 million. They will have to pay a high price to move his deal, but they might have to do it to get a complement to Skinner.
Following the Oilers are the Devils. Hamilton’s injury may give them the cap space to add Gibson, making them one of the couple of teams that could theoretically pull it off. Schmid is the Devils’ goalie of the future, but Vaněček is unlikely to take them where they want to go, hence why they might be in on Gibson.
The Hurricanes are in an interesting position in that they’d likely benefit from acquiring Kähkönen or Allen. But they might also have the best internal situation if Kochetkov can keep up his current run of play and Andersen returns in the next few weeks and plays well. Either way, the goalie market should be exciting to watch once the holiday roster freeze lifts on Dec. 28 and the countdown to the trade deadline begins.
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Advanced stats from Money Puck
