The Vegas Golden Knights remain at the top of their division, but have a couple of teams in the Seattle Kraken and Los Angeles Kings right on their tail. The Golden Knights still have moves to make before the deadline, and to do so, must move out one of their goalies. Logan Thompson isn’t going anywhere, but there’s a choice to be made between Adin Hill and Laurent Brossoit.
Brossoit got the short end of the stick when he was injured to open the season. The Golden Knights wasted no time in acquiring Hill from the San Jose Sharks to act as a 1b or backup goalie to Thompson. Hill has stuck around and been the backup, playing 16 games, while Brossoit has spent the season in the AHL since his return from injury. The latter is still an NHL-calibre goalie and is being paid like one, but he is also eating up unnecessary cap space in the minors. This cap space will need to be made available for the Golden Knights to make any significant additions to their lineup.
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The choice should be fairly easy for the Golden Knights, but Hill is an option to move because he has been playing in the NHL and the team may get more in return for him. Hill has a $200,000 smaller cap hit than Brossoit and they are both UFAs at the end of the season. Now let’s get to the teams in need of a better backup/1b goalie this season that Vegas could strike a deal with.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers took a chance in signing veteran Jaroslav Halak after a bad season with the Vancouver Canucks in 2021-22. It hasn’t worked out for them and they should be considering upgrading in goal behind Igor Shesterkin. Their starter hasn’t put up the same numbers as last season, so a more competent backup goaltender could help the Rangers outperform the other teams battling for a playoff spot.
Either Brossoit or Hill could be able to provide a save percentage (SV%) over .900 and improve the position. Halak only has a .896 SV% this season, -2.5 goals saved above expected (GSAA) and a 4-6-1 record. Hill has a .907 SV% and 0.8 GSAA while Brossoit has been just fine in the AHL since his return.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning once again have an issue finding a capable backup goalie. There’s a lack of confidence when someone other than Andrei Vasilevskiy has started for the past number of seasons. This season it has been 37-year-old Brian Elliott who has a .897 SV% and 3.17 GAA. He has a minimal cap hit of $900,000 and the Lightning would have themselves a younger option who could potentially re-sign after the season if the team is impressed. They have continued to bring in a veteran backup, but this could start a trend where they actually look to younger netminders behind Vasilevskiy.
Vancouver Canucks
There’s still hope for the season with the impending coaching change. Last season the Vancouver Canucks played like one of the best teams in the league and almost ended up making the playoffs after Bruce Boudreau took over. This season could be similar except they are within striking distance. A lot has to change and players are going to be moved, but once again, this is not a rebuild.
If the Canucks want any hope of climbing the standings, they need to keep more pucks out of their net. This is partly on the defence and forwards, but also on the goaltending. Thatcher Demko was having a horrible start before he got injured and Spencer Martin hasn’t done much better. As the current Canucks’ starter, he has a .880 SV%, 3.76 GAA, -17.3 GSAA, and just eight quality starts out of 22 total. He still somehow has a winning record, so it wouldn’t be difficult for Hill or Brossoit to be better than that.
If the Golden Knights can’t garner interest from a playoff contender, they may look to a bottom-feeder to take on the cap.
