In this week’s edition of the Bargain Bin, we look at Marc-Andre Fleury getting benched in potentially his last game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. We’ll also look at what teams are looking to add depth and experience to the goalie position. The Detroit Red Wings were put in an emergency backup goaltender situation on Monday, Dec. 18. Could this lead to teams potentially carrying a third or fourth goaltender with some NHL experience?
The Ottawa Senators currently sit at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, leading to them making changes to their coaching staff. Could a coaching change be what the Senators need to turn their season around? Finally, the Colorado Avalanche seem to be working on a trade for a second-line center, but who could they be targeting?
Fleury Benched in Potential Final Game Against Penguins
On Monday, Dec. 18, Minnesota Wild head coach John Hynes elected to start goaltender Filip Gustavsson against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This decision from Hynes was met with anger from fans because this is likely the last time that Marc-Andre Fleury will be in Pittsburgh. Gustavsson, who has been outplaying Fleury, was met with “We want Fleury!” chants from the Pittsburgh faithful.
Although Fleury was upset at the decision, he acted like a professional to the media. He praised Gustavsson’s play as of late and followed up his comments with him getting the second game of a back-to-back against Boston.
“That’s okay. I get to play tomorrow. Team’s been good. Team’s been winning lately. Gus has been awesome. Just gotta keep it rolling.”
Marc-Andre Fleury to media – Monday, Dec. 18, 2023.
The support for the longtime Penguins goaltender was clear on social media as fan expressed their disappointment in the decision to play Gustavsson over Fleury. Although unsuccessful, with the hashtag ‘startflower’ on X (formerly Twitter), fans made sure to show love to the former Penguin by cheering him on even though he was on the bench.
Is The Goalie Market Getting Red Hot Again?
The Carolina Hurricanes are one of many teams that will certainly be looking at bringing in a goaltender with NHL-experience. as with Antti Raanta being assigned to the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves, they will be looking to add another goaltender soon. The team has spent six weeks looking for someone to be Pyotr Kochetkov‘s backup, but could the answer that the Hurricanes are looking for be found internally?
Related: Antti Raanta to AHL; What’s Next for Hurricanes Goaltending?
Latest News & Highlights
The team’s general manager Don Waddell said on Sunday, Dec. 17, that goaltender Frederik Andersen was cleared to resume skating after a blood clot issue that kept him out of action for six weeks. Waddell also noted Andersen is maybe a month away from returning to action. Andersen put together a 4-1-0 record and a .894 save percentage in six appearances with the Hurricanes before being sidelined. Once he is cleared to return, could he help solve the Hurricanes’ need for a steady backup goaltender?
Since Andersen’s absence, the Hurricanes have split games between Kochetkov and Raanta. Due to poor play, the team placed Raanta on waivers on Saturday, Dec. 16, and the veteran goalie cleared the following day. Kochetkov is currently taking on the majority of the workload and being backed up by Yaniv Perets.
The Hurricanes have started to look at the limited free-agent market for a goalie with NHL experience, recently signing Aaron Dell to a professional tryout contract. This comes about a month after the team released Jaroslav Halak from a tryout contract. If the free agent market doesn’t allow the Hurricanes to add an experienced goalie, would they consider looking at the trade market? They certainly have the assets and reason to explore. Purely speculating, could possible trade targets be Jet Greaves in Columbus, Dustin Wolf in Calgary, or Karel Vejmelka in Arizona?
If the Hurricanes are looking at a stronger addition that simply won’t be a backup, Vejmelka and Wolf make the most sense out of the four I listed above. However, an addition of either Vejmelka or Wolf could be costly. Vejmelka’s potential move likely starts with discussions to take an NHL player who has a similar cap hit to Vejmelka and a prospect like Gleb Trikozov or Cruz Lucius. If there isn’t an NHL player the Coyotes want to take back in a trade, it would likely end up being a first-round pick plus a prospect that has decent NHL potential.
In the case of Wolf, he could cost a pretty penny, either being equally as expensive as the Vejmelka acquisition, costing significantly more, or being just barely cheaper. One has to wonder in this situation whether Flames general manager Craig Conroy would want to move Wolf. Wolf has the potential to be the future in Calgary, but the Flames have a decision to make about the team’s future direction (whether they rebuild or not.) In the case Conroy is comfortable moving Wolf, the starting ask likely would be a second-round pick plus a prospect.
What about Greaves? He’s a goalie with no NHL experience but is being looked at more lately. The cost to acquire him would likely be a third-round pick and a prospect at most. Given the potential cost to acquire a goaltender right now may be more than what the Hurricanes are willing to pay, it would make sense if they waited for Andersen to make his return.
Another team that was looking to add another goalie is the Red Wings, as Ville Husso left Monday’s game with a lower-body injury and did not return. He is currently listed as week-to-week per Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde. With Alex Lyon also out until after Christmas, James Reimer was the only healthy goaltender on the Red Wings roster. The team needed to make a quick move by either recalling Sebastian Cossa or Michael Hutchinson from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The team made a quick move by signing Hutchinson to an NHL deal for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Senators Make Coaching Changes
The Senators have fired head coach D.J. Smith and assistant coach Davis Payne. Former Senators head coach Jacques Martin was named the interim head coach while Daniel Alfredsson has been named an assistant coach. The Senators sit dead last in the Atlantic Division, causing Smith and Payne to be relieved of their coaching duties.
Related: Senators Fire Head Coach D.J. Smith
It’s worth speculating if the Senators will fill the head coaching position with another recently-fired coach like Craig Berube (fired by the St. Louis Blues or Dean Evason (fired by the Wild.) Berube has a Stanley Cup championship on his coaching resume, something that might intrigue Senators owner Michael Andlauer. With a lot of great options available, could the Senators’ search for a permanent head coach be short, or will it last into the offseason?
Are The Avalanche Up To Something?
There is uncertainty surrounding the Avalanche’s second-line center position. They recently traded Tomas Tatar to the Seattle Kraken for a fifth-round pick, which opens a roster spot and gives them cap room to make a trade. Who would they consider targeting?
Flames forward Elias Lindholm is likely at the top of the Av’ target list. If the team can’t acquire Lindholm, could they be looking at other potential players? Some cheap options include the Montreal Canadiens Sean Monahan, the Nashville Predators Thomas Novak, and the Vancouver Canucks Sam Lafferty. Each player can play center — and some are better depth players than others — but given the right linemates, could excel in a top-six role.
Given that the Flames will likely be looking for a similar deal to what the Winnipeg Jets received for Pierre-Luc Dubois, the Avalanche might look at cheaper options where they can upgrade at other positions in the same trade. If the Avalanche acquires Monahan, it could cost them anywhere between one second-round pick to multiple picks between the third and fifth rounds. Add on a prospect like Matthew Steinberg or Jean-Luc Foudy and the deal could be made, but there are issues with this pipe-dream trade proposal. The Avalanche don’t own a second-round pick until 2026, which could become an issue if they’re looking to acquire a second-line center. Moreover, there would be significant worry from the Avalanche front office if they gave up such a significant package for Monahan who has quite a lengthy injury history.
Unlike the potential Monahan acquisition, as mentioned above, there are two cheaper options. Lafferty could cost a third or fourth-round pick plus a prospect whereas Novak could only cost a fourth or fifth-round pick. It all comes down to what the Avalanche are willing to give up to go on a lengthy playoff run this season.