NHL trade rumors: 3 goalies that could be on the trade market
According to the latest NHL trade rumors, here are three goaltenders that could be on the trade market.
With the flood of goaltenders hitting the open market and the salary cap remaining flat, many teams are re-evaluating how they’re going to address their goaltending situations. This offseason could be a huge one for NHL trade rumors.
Some teams will be trying to offload contracts while other teams have seen their starter lose their job to a more promising option. Here are three goalies that could be on this year’s trade market.
1. Darcy Kuemper – Arizona Coyotes
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The Arizona Coyotes went from being a promising team to a train wreck very quickly. Both the Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall trades did not pan out and the team did not perform up to their expectations.
They got eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche in just 5 games and lost 7-1 twice in that series. With the added loss of a 2020 second-round and 2021 first-round pick due to their violation of the NHL’s draft combine rules, this makes for a very messy situation for the Coyotes.
The Coyotes will be looking to shed some salaries this offseason and there have already been talks about trading their captain, Oliver-Ekman Larsson. Elliotte Friedman has also reported numerous times that Darcy Kuemper has been drawing a lot of interest.
This team will be dealing from a position of strength as both Antti Raanta and Adin Hill had really strong seasons. While Kuemper is a good goaltender, Rannta proved that he can be trusted as well, playing 33 games with a .921 save percentage. Hill is now an RFA but would be inexpensive to re-sign. Another important factor is that Kuemper’s contract extension kicks in next season as he goes from 1.85 million dollars to 4.5.
Arizona has shown that they are not that good but have promising young pieces to build around. If the Coyotes are truly going on a retooling path, players like Larsson and Kuemper would bring back significant returns which will be key in replenishing the picks the NHL took from them.
2. Matt Murray – Pittsburgh Penguins
Matt Murray is at the top of TSN’s Trade Bait board and I would be shocked if he was in a Pittsburgh Penguins’ uniform next season. The emergence of Tristan Jarry has really changed the picture in Pittsburgh and Jim Rutherford has made it clear that he is interested in a goaltending move.
“We’ll see how things unfold. But I plan on being pretty busy and there’s a good chance goaltending will be involved in what we’ll be doing.” Jim Rutherford via The Athletic
After winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Murray has not been the same and was gradually losing his job to Jarry this season. When the series against the Montreal Canadiens was on the line, head coach Mike Sullivan went with Jarry which says everything.
Darren Dreger said that there has already been an offer for Murray that Rutherford is considering and he added that many Canadian teams would be interested in a player like the Penguins’ goaltender. Rutherford is willing to do anything it takes to keep the Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin window open and a Murray trade seems inevitable at this point.
3. Alexandar Georgiev – New York Rangers
The New York Rangers have a three-headed goalie monster with Henrik Lundqvist, Igor Shesterkin, and Alexandar Georgiev. While all three of them have played well, general manager Jeff Gorton has made it clear that one of them has to go, telling Lohud.com “We won’t go into next year with three goalies.” So far, all signs are pointing towards Georgiev being the odd man out.
24-year-old Shesterkin’s remarkable play in the 2019-20 season seems to have earned him the number one spot with a 10-2-0 record in 12 games played and a .932 save percentage. He is still on his entry-level contract which expires at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Lundqvist is 38 years old with one year left on his 8.5 million dollar contract. Even if the Rangers wanted to trade him, it would be very difficult to move a player like him, especially with so many other goaltenders out on the market. If they chose to buy him out, they would still have a 5.5 million dollar cap hit which is way too much money to be spending on nothing. The only way Georgiev will stay is if King Henrik chooses to retire, which does not seem likely.
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Georgiev has played 77 games with the Rangers in the span of three seasons but has yet to play in a playoff game. He has a career 35-31-7 record with a .913 save percentage and 3.00 goals-against average. His 792,500 contract has finished leaving him a restricted free agent. He will want a raise but will be a nice cost-controlled goaltender and at 24 years old, he will be a very sought-after goaltender.