The off season has now begun.
With the Vegas Golden Knights winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, goaltending was one of the biggest reasons they were successful this postseason. That and the NHL’s current LTIR salary cap rules, but I digress. While Laurent Brossoit started the first 8 games for the Knights, he wasn’t the one on the ice as the Golden Knights players rushed their goaltender in game 5 in celebration.
And no, it wasn’t Robin Lehner or All-Star Logan Thompson that was in the crease either. It was 3rd string goaltender Adin Hill, who was picked up for a 4th round pick this past off season. Hill managed to suit up for a decent amount of games during the regular season, seeing 27 starts with a .915 save percentage.
While Laurent Brossoit started the first 8 games of the playoffs, Hill would end the Knights’ run with the final 16 games. He wrapped up the postseason with a .932 save percentage en route to the Stanley Cup.
But this run begs the question: do you still need a legit star goaltender to succeed in the league? This question has likely been discussed at length in the Senators management meetings this offseason. While Anton Forsberg is locked up for two more years, there’s no clear option B following the failed Cam Talbot experiment. Mads Sogaard played a big role towards the end of last season, but there was still too much inconsistency between the pipes for a team who will be expected to make the playoffs this year.
And this summer, Pierre Dorion has just over 15 million dollars in cap space to re-sign: RFAs Alex DeBrincat, Shane Pinto, Erik Brannstrom, Julien Gauthier, Jacob Bernard-Docker and potentially UFA Travis Hamonic. There’ll be limited cap space to go around, so finding a cheap goaltender this off season is key. Let’s look at three options who could share the net with Anton Forsberg during the 2023-24 campaign.
Alex Nedeljkovic
Nedeljkovic has had a quicker fall from grace than some may have anticipated. During the shortened 2021 season, he took over the net as starter with a .932 save percentage through 23 games. He was also the starter in the playoffs, recording a .920 save percentage over the course of two rounds.
To the surprise of some, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings for a third-round pick shortly thereafter. Considering he was a 25-year goalie fresh off a Calder nomination, this was seen as an underwhelming return. He signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings but struggled out of the gates. In 74 games across two seasons, he finished with a .900 save percentage. He even spent a large chunk of this past season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Nedeljkovic will be a UFA this summer, so the Senators have the option to pick him up for free. If he were to come to Ottawa, it’s not unreasonable to expect a 1-year “prove it” deal around the $1M mark. Should fans be confident in the netminder’s willingness to come to Ottawa? Based off recent speculation, he’s an American who played in the OHL in two American locations. Americans willingly wanting to play in Canada has always been a sore spot, and we are seeing that play out with several pending UFA’s and RFA’s across the league. On the other hand, NHL contracts with a shot at taking over starting duties don’t grow on trees.
Joey Daccord
This would be a fun twist if the Sens elect to go this route. Joey Daccord, once a 7th round pick in the 2015 draft is now a UFA this off season. Daccord was eventually the Seattle Krakens’ choice in the 2021 Expansion Draft. While he’s had limited spurts at the NHL level since 2019, he’s never put together a run strong enough to keep him in the show. But at the AHL level, the 26-year-old has performed very well in Seattle’s minor league system. He was the AHL’s 6th best goaltender in terms of save percentage in the regular season with a .918 mark this year and was second best in 2021-22 with a .921 percentage.
What makes Daccord a very attractive option this summer is his playoff push with the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Though they eventually fell in 7 games to the Hershey Bears, the Boston native recorded a 2.22 GAA, .926 SV%, and posted 15 wins during his team’s run.
Daccord could very well be playing his way into a 1 way deal next year with an NHL club with back-to-back great AHL seasons. I would expect his contract to compare to Charlie Lindgren’s deal signed last summer, where he inked a 3-year contract with an AAV of $1.1M.
Would he want to come back to Ottawa? Because of the expansion draft and the Senators protecting Gustavsson over him, it would be totally understandable for him not to come back. But if Daccord does give the Sens another shot, then a reunion can’t be ruled out.
Mackenzie Blackwood
It appears as though Blackwood’s’ tenure with the Devils has come to an end. He looked like the team’s starter of the future a few years ago, but with the emergence of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid, he’s suddenly the odd man out in the crease. He’s an RFA this offseason, but it’s been reported that he most likely won’t be qualified. Blackwood hasn’t had the best track record in lower league numbers in leagues like the OHL and AHL, but there are still some attractive traits about the Thunder Bay native. He’s only 26 years of age, he’s 6’4 and he’s a former 2nd round pick back in 2015.
Granted, his past three seasons haven’t been great, with an .897 save percentage. But he did have a .916 mark through his first 70 NHL games, on some pretty bad Devils teams.
Sometimes a change of scenery is all that’s needed for a goaltender to turn things around, and I could see the Senators being interested in him.
At the end of the day, Ottawa needs to decide whether they want to go big game hunting or look for a cheaper tandem option. Connor Hellebuyck, John Gibson, and Juuse Saros’ names haven’t gone away, but will all likely come at the expense of Alex DeBrincat. If however the team ultimately keeps the Cat, then a smaller deal to shore up the crease is likely in the cards.
One way or another though, heading into 2023-24 with a netminder fresh off double knee injuries isn’t something the team should feel comfortable with.
-Damian Smith
Twitter: @Damian__Smith
Photo: Lisa Gansky. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.