The NHL is currently rife with goaltender-based intrigue. Recently, the Vancouver Canucks learned that their #1 puck-stopper, Dan Cloutier, will be shelved due to a torn MCL for the rest of the regular season. In addition, the falling star of Patrick Lalime contiuned to tumble when the much maligned St. Louis Blues put him on waivers and assigned him to their farm club. Atlanta continues to struggle thanks to multiple goalie injuries, and the Oilers seem to have a crease crowded by pad and masks now that Conklin has returned. Colorado has also suffered through goalie-based misery this season. The Avs had to turn to third-stringer Vitaly Kolesnik recently in the face of inconsistent play by both Aebischer and Budaj. Even the Red Wings are having issues without the services of Manny Legace (see last nights 7-6 loss to Atlanta for proof). Not to mention the recent demotion of Thibault in Pittsburgh. Oh...and is Nashville in trouble without Vokoun and Mason (the latter of which was injured during warm-ups last night)? You bet. Lost 7-3 against Florida!
What does this all mean? Probably a sellers-market when it comes to goalie-flesh...consider that the following teams are most likely "buyers":
- Colorado
- Vancouver
- Atlanta
- Edmonton
- Pittsburgh
sellers?...
- Buffalo...um...
- Minnesota...maybe...
- Florida (Keenan factor)
That's about all I can think of. There's also some free radicals to add to the mix:
- Lalime
- Thibault
Both are ex-number one 'tender's that are high-risk/high reward type gambles if a team is willing ( or desperate enough) to take the plunge. Neither one was excpetional (or even good) for the teams they started the year with. The question is, therefore, are they washed up? Or victim's of circumstance? Considering the lax defense in both St. Louis and Pittsburgh, it's hard to say for certain.
What does this all mean? Chaos in the crease, basically. How it all plays out over the next few months should be very interesting...
(PS- On a purely selfish note, it fills me with a tad bit of glee to see 3 of Calgary's NW Division adversaries in the above "buyers" list...)
