NHL Backup Goalies Earning Their Payday

There are plenty of options for goaltenders in the coming offseason and some NHL general managers are going to have tough decisions to make.

The pending 2018 UFA class is an interesting one, to say the least. New York Islanders captain John Tavares’ future is up-in-the-air. Wingers James Neal, James van Riemsdyk and Evander Kane will likely receive big paydays. However, the current goalie market is the most curious of them all.

Two years ago it was the Florida Panthers putting pen to paper with James Reimer on a five-year deal. I’m scratching my head on that decision and my scalp is starting to chafe. Last season, Scott Darling committed to a four-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. The backup was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks before the first of July. That experiment is too early to judge.

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Teams are willing to spend money on goaltending. It’s very rare to see a starting goaltender head to the first day of July without a contract. More often than not, their rights are traded to a team after the season is over in hopes they can sign the player by the time the market opens. Much like Ben Bishop got traded to the Dallas Stars last year.

This year’s goalie class may change all of that. Pending free agents Aaron Dell (San Jose Sharks), Anton Khudobin (Boston Bruins), Jonathan Bernier (Colorado Avalanche) and Carter Hutton (St. Louis Blues) are all performing like number ones despite their “backup” label.

Dell has already played his way to a pay raise. The 28-year old has a 10-1-2 record since Nov 28. He’ll be 29 come July 1 and I see some team taking a chance on the net-minder. With Martin Jones struggling and basically untradeable, Dell is likely going to change cities.

As for Hutton, he’s 7-1-1 in his last nine starts entering the All-Star Break. With Jake Allen struggling and Hutton looking comfortable in the crease, St.Louis has one of the toughest goaltending questions to answer.

Bernier and Khudobin have also contributed to the success of their respected clubs. If all four didn’t play as well as they have, we wouldn’t be talking about these teams being in a playoff position at the All-Star break.

I expect all three of those goalies to hit the free agent market. But teams don’t typically spend starter money on fringe starts in their thirties. Hutton and Khudobin are getting paid just over $1 million and will likely get backup money similar to Jonathan Bernier. Meanwhile, Dell’s being paid merely $625,000.

The Avalanche will have to lock up Bernier to a multi-year deal if they hope to keep him in Colorado. The proven veteran will want some assurance that he’ll be wearing the same jersey for more than one season. There’s also Antti Raanta of the Arizona Coyotes, who has been solid in a backup role in the past. So despite a down year, he should get offers if he hits free agency.

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Semyon Varlamov doesn’t seem like the long-term answer in the Rocky Mountains. I see Bernier as the most likely to stay with his current club. Add in pending restricted free agents Petr Mrazek (Detroit Red Wings) and Robin Lehner (Buffalo Sabres) to the mix and you have a goaltender carousel that could make some heads spin round-and-round.

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