After watching the disgrace of a second period today against the Devils, I decided to look at some stats and players who could improve the Islanders most pertinent weakness: goaltending.
According to capgeek.com, these are the goalies who will potentially be unrestricted free agents this offseason, arranged in order of NHL games played. I'm excluding Broduer, Nabby, Tim Thomas, etc because of their age. I included AHL save percentage for all goalies with under 200 NHL games played just as some extra data.
Goalie |
Age (as of next October) |
NHL Games Played |
NHL SV% |
AHL SV% |
34 |
540 |
.916 |
N/A |
|
34 |
444 |
.913 |
N/A |
|
32 |
316 |
.917 |
Europe |
|
28 |
260 |
.917 |
N/A |
|
32 |
250 |
.907 |
N/A |
|
Brian Elliott |
29 |
229 |
.910 |
N/A |
28 |
173 |
.909 |
.908 |
|
30 |
137 |
.901 |
Europe |
|
Curtis McElhinney |
31 |
91 |
.902 |
.915 |
29 |
81 |
.910 |
.901 |
|
28 |
68 |
.904 |
.906 |
|
28 |
59 |
.916 |
.900 |
|
28 |
58 |
.921 |
.921 |
|
28 |
42 |
.930 |
.909 |
|
28 |
32 |
.904 |
.909 |
|
28 |
28 |
.921 |
.907 |
|
27 |
27 |
.896 |
Europe |
In addition, there are some other goalies who could be available through trade. These are goalies who are on teams out of the playoff race, possible starters stuck behind an established goalie, or prospects that could come to Long Island in return for Vanek or AMac.
Goalie |
Age (as of next October) |
NHL Games Played |
NHL SV% |
AHL SV% |
35 |
789 |
.919 |
N/A |
|
30 |
451 |
.910 |
N/A |
|
26 |
128 |
.914 |
.917 |
|
26 |
80 |
.903 |
Europe |
|
23 |
49 |
.918 |
.917 |
|
32 |
30 |
.915 |
Europe |
|
24 |
23 |
.922 |
.917 |
|
25 |
19 |
.904 |
Europe |
|
25 |
18 |
.928 |
Europe |
|
24 |
15 |
.905 |
.913 |
|
20 |
21 (AHL) |
N/A |
.921 |
This offseason should provide the Islanders an opportunity to sign or trade for an established starter. Miller, Hiller, Halak, Luongo and Ward all could fill that role, although there are injury concerns with Ward and Miller and Luongo are both close to 35. James Reimer presents an interesting case, he has played over 100 games with decent numbers, but remains behind Jonathan Bernier on the depth chart in Toronto. Could he be a starting goalie elsewhere or are his numbers a result of Toronto's unique shooting statistics?
Due to the Islanders lack of success in landing big free agents, Snow might be more inclined to target two less proven goalies and use them in a tandem, though this strategy may confuse Jack Capuano, as he has seldom used anyone but Nabokov over the past two seasons.
There has been much speculation of an AMac for Malcolm Subban trade, but Subban is only 20 and will likely be in the AHL for at least next season. John Gibson and Frederik Andersen of the Ducks and Darcy Kuemper of the Wild could be part of a trade package for Thomas Vanek. Gibson, like Subban, is only 20 and early along in his development. Andersen and Kuemper have put up impressive numbers in limited NHL time and could both be NHL backups next season and earn starting role in the near future. Depending on Josh Harding's health, the Wild might choose to keep Kuemper.
Garth Snow's top priority this offseason should be to solidify the goalie position. The addition of Miller, Hiller or Halak would not only instantly improve the team, but also make Uniondale a more attractive option for other free agents. With the cap floor rising, anything is possible for Islanders as long as Snow is willing to spend.