Pool Worthy UFAs: Goalies

I've already been kicking off this off-season's start to the homework process with the Pool Outlooks for teams that are already out of the playoffs, the last couple coming in the next couple of days and then we'll see more as the next two teams get eliminated, but with 25-26 teams already done, I can tell you with some certainty, that I have the pool worthy free agent goalies already picked out for a preview post.  I wanted to get this in, just before some of the signings happen.

Sure, free agency isn't until after the Entry Draft, but I think there is a bad time to start looking at some of the key players heading to the open market, maybe offering up a guess as to where they might land?

Six goalies finished among the top 46 in the draft pool last season, as there were 23 teams and two goalies per team, that's what has deemed to be pool worthy.  There are a few other guys on the list that might be worth our time, but they'll be tackled in due time, more likely at the pool projection posts.

There really is no expectation that Devan Dubnyk makes it to the open market, as the Minnesota Wild do appear keen on keeping the former Oilers keeper around for the long haul.  Dubnyk finished the year with 36 wins and 86 points between Arizona and Minnesota in the year and will certainly get himself a reasonable raise to stick around.  Dubnyk was 7th among goalies in points in the year, despite his late start to his season, unofficially.

If his numbers are comparable at the time of negotiation, I could see the Wild giving him a good term deal in the neighbourhood of $5 million per year.

The season in San Jose was full of turmoil and controversy, but even still, Finnish netminder Antti Niemi still put up some reasonable numbers, being the workhorse goaltender that he is.  For what he has done for this club, it may seem rather unjust that he would go to market, but there is an idea that the Sharks could use some fresh talent in their net and that would mean Niemi would be expendable.  In 2015, he finished 11th among goalies, with 31 wins and 75 points.

At 31 years old, he may be ready to move on as well and when Dubnyk re-signs in Minnesota, Niemi becomes the biggest fish in the sea and he'll draw some real attention.  A shorter-term deal, maybe in the $4.5 million range, could see him end up somewhere like Edmonton, who may be looking to give their new coach a new look in behind.

It probably means something when you get dealt away from one team, because they are trying to tank and you're playing well enough to help them win in most of your starts.  That was the idea for Jhonas Enroth, who was dealt by the Buffalo Sabres to the Dallas Stars at the deadline and sure enough, he provided some very good minutes for the Stars, once the team had realized their fate as a non-playoff team and started to rest Kari Lehtonen.  Enroth posted 18 wins and 40 points between Buffalo and Dallas and was ranked 31st in goalie scoring.

Some team is bound to take a flyer on Enroth, given that the has been fairly reliable, even in some of the tougher situations in the league.  I could see a team like Arizona jump on a guy like Enroth, someone who could provide some solid minutes behind Mike Smith or possibly even usurp his position, if he was to falter again in 2016.  I would look for Enroth's new deal to be just South of $2 million a year, given the amount of experience he has so far in his career.

Possibly one of the more interesting goaltending situations belongs to Karri Ramo, who platooned in the Flames organization in 2015, as he offered Calgary some reasonable goaltending depth, playing alongside Jonas Hiller through the year and into the playoffs.  Ramo's return to the NHL was deemed a successful one by many, posting 15 wins and 34 points in 2015, given limited amount of starts.  When Calgary looked to him for some extended stretches, he was good and his hot hand was rode for a while.  With depth in the organization making a push, his likely desire to be a number one increasing, he poses an interesting dilemma for the Flames.

I would think that his best bet for possibly picking up number one minutes may still be in Calgary, where his familiarity with the players and the coaching staff will give him a leg up to some other possible destinations, but I can't see the money being there for him.  If he re-signs, I can't see him being worth more than $2 million for a single year deal, but his previous deal was in the $2.75 million, so that makes for a more interesting discussion as well.

Thanks to some extended time without Sergei Bobrovsky in 2015, back-up goalie Curtis McElhinney was given more minutes in the Jackets' crease, but his numbers didn't necessarily improve.  Nevertheless, McElhinney's career has been defined as a very reliable back-up goalie and as long as the Jackets have their number one guy healthy and taking most of the reps, there is nothing to say that McElhinney's value wouldn't be untouched as the support player.  In 2015, McElhinney posted 12 wins and 24 points, to be ranked 40th among goalies last season.

As as a cap burden, McElhinney is certainly not one of those.  Last season, his cap hit was $650,000, so he provided the Blue Jackets a very cost-effective roster player, who gave the team plenty of minutes.  I can see McElhinney re-signing for the short term and getting a mild raise, more as a thank you for the minutes he put in last year.

The last goalie on the list notables finishing in the top 46 last season, Philadelphia Flyers back-up, Ray Emery.  Much like McElhinney, Emery was afforded some extra time in net, thanks to some injury concerns with the team's number one, Steve Mason.  Again, like his Columbus counterpart, Emery didn't exactly step up to the challenge with the extra minutes and he was only able to post 10 wins and 20 points, earning 0.765 points per 60 minutes of play, ranking him 41st among all keepers.

Emery's career trajectory seems to be heading downward and the career back-up seems to be the likely scenario.  Last year's cap hit of $1 million seems to be about where he'll stick and unless the team is ready to go with some of their system talent, Anthony Stolarz, their only other signed keeper, then Emery should be back with the Flyers.