Cheap Goaltending Might be a Coming Trend
Craig Custance - SportingNews.com
Jun 03, 2010
PHILADELPHIA - Combine the salaries that Flyers goalie Michael Leighton and Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi earned this season, and the total is just $1.427 million. Throw in Brian Boucher and that number climbs to $2.35 million.
The three goalies who arguably have made the biggest impact on this year's NHL playoffs come at a price roughly one-third of what Roberto Luongo earned this season for Vancouver.
Niemi, who was signed as an undrafted free agent, is just two wins away from leading his team to a Stanley Cup.
Ken Holland has to appreciate what's happening in the 2010 Stanley Cup finals. Since the advent of the salary cap, the Detroit general manager has shared the philosophy that he'd rather spend big on defense and at forward than in goal. One of the reasons Holland was able to bring back 40-year-old Nicklas Lidstrom at a healthy salary is because starting goalie Jimmy Howard will earn just $750,000 next season.
That value provides flexibility.
The Blackhawks will get even more flexibility this summer when they inevitably dispose of Cristobal Huet-through a buyout, assignment to the minors or other creative deal.
So, in an era in which teams have to skimp somewhere because of the salary cap, have the Red Wings, Blackhawks and Flyers found the solution is to go cheap in goal?
"No, I think you're going to see flip-flop either way," said Boston G.M. Peter Chiarelli. "I know Detroit has had success with that model, but Pittsburgh won and New Jersey won. It depends on the team that is going to win that year. I don't think there's a trend."
Steve Yzerman is about to embark on rebuilding the Lightning and how he approaches the goalie situation in Tampa Bay could provide a good indication of where the trend is headed. He almost has a clean slate in goal, with Antero Niittymaki becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and Mike Smith set to play out the final season of a deal that pays $2.4 million.
A Holland protégé, you'd expect Yzerman to follow the Red Wings model, especially since it's possible he'll face an internal budget south of the salary cap. But he said there are other factors to consider.
"A team with a top goaltender, you're not going to let him go to sign a guy for $1 million. It doesn't make sense," Yzerman said. "If you don't have a top goaltender, you sign a guy for a year and hopefully he has a good year and he has a good run. The philosophy is dictated by your personnel a little bit."
The reality is that even a top goaltender doesn't come with guarantees. Suddenly, it's really easy to second guess Luongo's huge deal, considering his lack of playoff success the last two seasons. The Bruins thought they had an elite goalie in last year's Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas, but instead they're faced with trying to move a 36-year-old goalie who comes with a $5 million salary cap hit over the next three seasons. And a no-trade clause. And, oh yeah, he's also coming off hip surgery.
The surprising success of Leighton and Niemi also could make things difficult this summer for established free-agent goalies looking for a big deal, including Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco. And what kind of raise should UFA-to-be Leighton expect following his strong play? Ironically, his success complicates things since a G.M. might prefer signing the next Michael Leighton instead of spending money on the real thing.
"You don't want to spend five or six million on the wrong goalie," said Doug Armstrong, who will take over soon as the Blues general manager. "Goaltending is a huge part of the game, whether it comes out like Leighton has played or Boucher before him or Halak-you need goaltending to win. ... I don't think anybody wouldn't want to have a great goaltender."
And that's the bottom line. If a team picks the wrong goalie to build around, it's not playing for a Stanley Cup. Regardless of the salary.
"If you're going to win, you need good goaltending," Yzerman said. "Whether your goalie makes a million dollars or $7 million, he's got to play good or you're not going to win."
Craig Custance covers the NHL for Sporting News. E-mail him at ccustance@sportingnews.com.
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