Several Players looking for Work
Look around the NHL and you’ll find some pretty decent names of some goaltenders that remain unsigned. The only problem is there are very few, if any, jobs available. Guys like Marty Turco, Patrik Lalime, and Evgeni Nabokov have had nice careers but can they still play?
Other guys such as Ty Conklin and Ray Emery could potentially stabilize a goaltending tandem but again there are very few options out there. Throw in Pascal Leclaire and we are left with a crowded bunch. Laclaire has seen limited duty in recent years due to injury and saw only 18 games last season in Ottawa before undergoing hip surgery.
Turco’s best days are behind him after appearing in 26 games last season for Chicago. At this stage of his career he is clearly a backup as he lost out to Corey Crawford a year ago. Chicago will enter camp with Alexander Salak as the number two behind Crawford.
It’s been two years since Patrik Lalime last won an NHL game. Lalime has been on a steady decline since the lockout and to be honest I’m impressed he’s lasted as long as he has. He deserves credit for finding a way to stay in the NHL. He’s spent the last few years behind Ryan Miller in Buffalo.
For now the Sabres plan on Jhonas Enroth being the backup to Miller but he is less than pleased with the lowball offer the club has made. Sources confirm Buffalo has offered Enroth a one-way contract at $525,000 or a two-way worth $660/62,500. Seems like a pretty low offer for a guy who carried the Sabres when Miller went down with injury late in the year. Enroth finished the season with an impressive 9-2-2 record with a .907 save%. I’m led to believe he’d accept a one way deal in the $600-$650 range. You can make the case he deserves a bump in pay but Buffalo has just over $300,000 of cap space. Many believe the Sabres will eventually buyout Ales Kotalik before the start of the season. He’s due $3 mill this coming season.
Ty Conklin has been talking with Detroit and it’s clear he’d love to return to Hockeytown. What’s unclear is whether or not the recent two-year deal the club gave to Joey MacDonald will prevent Conklin from signing with the Red Wings.
Ray Emery enjoyed a strong late season run in Anaheim and was a nice story down the stretch. He finished with a 7-2 record in ten appearances. He’s only 28 years old but still carries an iffy reputation and so far teams appear to be reluctant to pay him the money he’s looking for, not to mention bring him into their dressing room.
Evgeni Nabokov refused to report to the Islanders last season and therefore denied himself a chance to re-establish as a credible NHL goaltender.
Some of these guys will surface before training camp but it’s safe to assume a few of these guys will remain unemployed come September.
Former NHL goalie Manny Legace is looking to land a 2-way deal in an effort to scratch his way back into the NHL.
Wellwood Still Waiting…
NHL veteran Kyle Wellwood appeared in 35 games with the San Jose Sharks last season after defecting from the KHL in January. I thought he fit in well with the Sharks contributing 5 goals and 8 assists. Word is Wellwood hasn’t received a single call from an NHL team. He has reached out to a few clubs who have told him they will be in touch.
Logjam in Philly….
The Philadelphia Flyers recently signed goaltender Jason Bacashihua to provide some organizational depth. The only problem is they have plenty of it with Michael Leighton and his $1.6 Million contract still hovering over GM Paul Holmgren’s head. The Flyers would love to move Leighton but for now that appears to be much easier said than done.
Janssen Still Available….
If there’s a team looking for a great teammate who will fight anybody….then Cam Janssen is your guy. There were some reports of Vancouver signing the enforcer but as of the weekend the Canucks had had zero talks with Janssen.
Congrats to former University of Wisconsin product and longtime pro Alex Brooks who has been hired by the Chicago Blackhawks as a pro scout. Brooks closed out his playing career last season in Sweden.
NHL players have till July 15th to accept their qualifying offers. Teams can still negotiate after July 15th but they can pay them less than their QO number if they remain unsigned.
For Blues fans, I would expect Ryan Reaves to sign with St. Louis before Friday.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
Strickland.andy@gmail.com
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The days of dressing a guy because he's strickly an enforcer and can do nothing else are about gone from the game.
As a matter of fact, in ten to fifteen years I think that fighting is going to be out of the game of hockey alltogether.
I don't necessarily disagree that, in 15 years, enforcers will be gone from the game. I would think that fighting may still exist as a result of scrums. flag this comment
The only thing I like about guys like Cam and other "strickly enforcers" are the fact that your skilled forwards will not fight as much. The last thing I want to happen is have Backes or Stewart go down with a broken hand. Nobody cares if someone like Cam breaks his hand. That is the only positive I find today about having a goon. flag this comment
The last time the Red Wings had a designated fighter was...........
It's antiquated and going by the wayside. It's a detriment to a team to have a guy on your bench play 4 minutes after two periods and never touch the ice in the third.
And fighting has been eliminated from nearly every level of hockey. It's only a matter of time.
Personally, I'm in favor of fighting. But I think the push to do away with it will continue until its gone from the game. flag this comment
I don't want Backes and Stewart fighting, and I think they will more now without someone like our favorite circus monkey.
And I personally don't believe it is a matter of time. Fighting is a part of hockey. I don't think that will ever be eliminated from the game. I could be wrong, but I don't believe so. flag this comment
The big thing: CONCUSSIONS. Okay, the more we learn about the detriments and illnesses associated with concussions the more the insurance companies will push the NHL the less cost-effective you'll see a lot of this stuff.
2, the number of deaths resulting from fighting in professional hockey the last couple of years. One happened during a game and the other shortly after the season when Boogard was found dead in his room. I will bet you the NHL doesn't want more and more of this.
Fighting is done in US hockey for the most part but it is still found in Canadian hockey leagues that kids play in. Shockingly, with barely any pay, tickets are sold and these kids square off, line fights are not uncommon.
This is all stupid stuff. We are realizing that there are issues with just playing hockey and concussions. For those of you with children what message does fighting send to them? Remember when you were a kid? When I was growing up watching hockey benches still cleared fairly regularly and fighting was every where. I will say that this was stuff I could do without seeing.
If you want to watch fights go watch boxing or MMA.
I don't have a problem with fighting the brews and bubbles up from the result of emotions spilling over in a game. I do have a problem with guys chatting before a face off and inviting one another to a fight. That's some serious circus shit there and I ain't no rube, as the saying goes. Seriously. I'm supposed to get fired up and cheer because some pro wrestlers decide to stage a fight. That's some craptastic entertainment there.
That's all I have to say, first learn to actually play hockey at least before you learn to fight. Cam welcome to the wonderful world of MMA fighting. Get yourself a good trainer and promoter. With your stamina you should be able to do well in a sport finally. flag this comment
However, I think a guy like Turco would do a few things for the Blues,....a) come relatively cheap, b) provide guidance for Halak as Turco can speak from experience, c) give the Blues quality outings on nights Halak has off, d) bring playoff experience to the table. All of these aren't bad qualities....and it's not like the bake-off between Elliot and Bishop is going to result in Halak having to look over his shoulder anyways. I'd rather have a trusted guy who now knows his role on the team (in the #2 spot) and will be better than Bishop and/or Elliot anyways.
This move to sign Elliot did two things.
1 - Confirm to Halak and fans that he is #1. There is no competition. The team believes in him and he can go out and just play hockey.
2- Give a fair competion for the back-up spot to Bishop. I think that the club wanted to let Bishop know that this is his chance and there are no excuses if he doesn't earn his spot this year. They have identical salaries so the best goalie will get the backup job. If both of these guys were not already working their butts off, you know that they are now.
I also think that signing someone like Elliot made it possible to sign both Arnott and Langs. I have a hard time believing that they would have gone out and signed them both if they spent double or more on the backup position. I feel the team is better because of these moves. That's just me though. flag this comment
Elliot was a good siging IMO. flag this comment
a guy like vokoun, or bryzgalov, who've never really had the competition, nor in large part the team in front of them to get it done. but they still keep at the top of their game anyways. that's who i hope we've got in halak.
as for the comp for the backup role, i hope bishop takes it. i just see him as a higher ceiling guy than elliott. elliott had a bad team in front of him last year, but he didn't make it any easier on them flag this comment
*disclaimer* I am NOT advocating that Halak should be moved nor do I hope that he gets hurt. *disclaimer* flag this comment
No surprises for most of these players mentioned. They have priced themselves out or have too many head issues that have kept teams away.
Wellwood isn't get looked at just yet because the dude does not work out. He doesn't take care of himself. Which actually makes his skill seem all that more impressive. But at the same time he has the kind of talent that drives teams crazy. They want so much for him to show some discipline and dedication off the ice. If he did that he'd suddenly find job security.
flag this comment
The job is Elliots unless he drops the ball in preseason and Bishop steals the show. I don't see that happening.
I think it is Bishop's to lose. Their NHL and AHL salaries are identical. Elliot has more NHL experience, but Bishop was drafted by the Blues and has been in the organization from day 1. This move gave him a legit shot at making the backup position.
Let's say that their play is identical. Do you really think that they will send Bishop to Peoria simply because Elliot has played more NHL games? I personally think that Elliot is the fallback if Bishop can't handle it and needs to go back to Peoria. Then, the Blues have another goalie they can rely on as the backup that has some NHL experience.
Don't forget that Bishop is a hometown boy. Cam is no longer around so even though I don't think that should factor into the equation, it probably does.
It's an easy decision for the Blues if one goalie is definately outplaying the other in camp. If that is not the case, I think they go with Bishop. flag this comment