Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Barry Trotz’s market, Toronto’s early playoff exit, what’s next for Nashville, and much more. If your question doesn’t appear here, watch for it in next weekend’s mailbag.
M34: With a pretty strong young core and some team-friendly veteran contracts with plenty of room to spare, which UFA goalie does NJ pursue? Kuemper? Fleury?
Non-tendered: Another one regarding the Devils — It appears as if they have the assets and cap space to acquire an elite goaltender, which many believe is their biggest need. Is the notion of needing an elite goaltender done? The Oilers are primed to go deep and look at all the goalie problems they’ve had. Carolina is a revolving door of consonants between the pipes. How many elite goalies are there, really? Vasy, Shesterkin, Bob?
I’d prefer the Devils to shore up the netminder for 7+ years to come, but I’m not sure Kuemper, Gibson, or Husso are the ones. Who do the Devils look to to improve the goalie situation and what do they with all their assets?
I had a similar question in a mailbag last month so I won’t dig too deep into who they go after. But I think the Devils are going to have a hard time making themselves attractive to veterans like Darcy Kuemper and Marc-Andre Fleury. Kuemper is on a top team with a chance for a long playoff run. To turn around and go to a team that has consistently been out of the playoffs for a while would be surprising. As for Fleury, he’s near the end of his career. He wants to win or play where he’s comfortable. I don’t think New Jersey fits either situation.
The UFA I think they go after is Ville Husso. They have the cap space to go higher on the AAV than most teams will so why not go for some upside? There’s some risk but if they offset that with a capable 1B option (I suggested a trade for Boston’s Linus Ullmark in that previous mailbag assuming he’s willing to waive his no-move protection), the risk…
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