FRISCO, Texas (AP) — The Dallas Stars placed goalie Anton Khudobin on waivers Monday, a move that could allow the club to send its 2020 Stanley Cup Final starter to the minors.
Teams have until Tuesday afternoon to claim Khudobin, who is in the second year of a three-year contract that has an annual salary cap hit of $3.3 million.
Khudobin has been relegated to the third option behind 22-year-old Jake Oettinger and veteran Braden Holtby, who signed as a free agent in the offseason.
If the 35-year-old Khudobin goes unclaimed, Dallas can send him to the Texas Stars of the AHL while getting some salary cap relief.
Khudobin couldn’t keep himself in the rotation despite Ben Bishop not being able to return from a knee injury. General manager Jim Nill has said Bishop’s career is over because of a degenerative condition.
For the first month of the season, Khudobin mostly split duties with Holtby but had a 3.73 goals-against average and .873 save percentage in seven games, with six starts.
The Stars recalled Oettinger from the AHL in November, and the second-year player has been their best goaltender with a 1.52 goals-against average and .951 save percentage.
Khudobin helped the Stars reach the championship round in the playoff bubble in Canada during the pandemic-altered 2019-20 season.
With Bishop limited to three games in the 2020 playoffs by the knee injury, Khudobin was 14-10 with a 2.69 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. Tampa Bay beat Dallas in six games to win the title.
Khudobin has a 236-114-90 record over 13 seasons with five franchises. He’s in his fourth season with the Stars.
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