Around the NHL 2024-2025

[Drubilly]

I would LOVE to see a Rags overpay of Shesterkin! Doug could then offer sheet K’Andre Miller!!!! Muwahahhahahhahahahaahahhaahaaaa

 

[Brian39]

There isn't a goalie in the world I would take over Shesterkin if my goal was to contend through the next 5 years. He's been a stud in the playoffs for 3 straight years and I think he is the most technically sound goalie I've seen since Price. I'm happy to see the goalie market go through a re-set after a long stagnation. I'm also happy that we aren't in a position where we have to make a decision on that re-set.

 

[Memento]

There isn't a goalie in the world I would take over Shesterkin if my goal was to contend through the next 5 years. He's been a stud in the playoffs for 3 straight years and I think he is the most technically sound goalie I've seen since Price. I'm happy to see the goalie market go through a re-set after a long stagnation. I'm also happy that we aren't in a position where we have to make a decision on that re-set.

Depends on how Hofer does. I could see him getting a solid chunk of change.

 

[Thallis]

There isn't a goalie in the world I would take over Shesterkin if my goal was to contend through the next 5 years. He's been a stud in the playoffs for 3 straight years and I think he is the most technically sound goalie I've seen since Price. I'm happy to see the goalie market go through a re-set after a long stagnation. I'm also happy that we aren't in a position where we have to make a decision on that re-set.

There isn't a goalie in the world I would take over Shesterkin. There also isn't a goalie in the world I would pay 10m per year for. It's an unfortunate issue since in a vacuum he is the best player in the league at his position, but also paying that position significant money is a great way to handcuff yourself.

 

[BadgersandBlues]

There isn't a goalie in the world I would take over Shesterkin. There also isn't a goalie in the world I would pay 10m per year for. It's an unfortunate issue since in a vacuum he is the best player in the league at his position, but also paying that position significant money is a great way to handcuff yourself.

I dunno - Florida had some pretty outstanding performances by Bob to win the Cup. Yea he had some stinkers too, but man Bob earned his money. Pretty good the year before too.

 

[Xerloris]

There isn't a goalie in the world I would take over Shesterkin. There also isn't a goalie in the world I would pay 10m per year for. It's an unfortunate issue since in a vacuum he is the best player in the league at his position, but also paying that position significant money is a great way to handcuff yourself.

I just don't see why everyone thinks he's so great. Sure, he's good in the regular season but why hasn't NY won a cup with him? Don't give me this wah wah team sport thing when we all damn well that without Binnington we would have lost game 7 plain and simple. I would prefer a mediocre goalie ( not saying Binny is Mediocre) that can go lights out when the pressure is on. Most of us have waited several decades for a goalie to do that for us.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

There isn't a goalie in the world I would take over Shesterkin. There also isn't a goalie in the world I would pay 10m per year for. It's an unfortunate issue since in a vacuum he is the best player in the league at his position, but also paying that position significant money is a great way to handcuff yourself.

To me the bigger issue is the term rather than the cap hit. I absolutely hate 8 year terms on goalies. Unless you’re talking a hall of fame caliber goalie there’s just too much variability in performance. Even for high end goalies.

I just don't see why everyone thinks he's so great. Sure, he's good in the regular season but why hasn't NY won a cup with him? Don't give me this wah wah team sport thing when we all damn well that without Binnington we would have lost game 7 plain and simple. I would prefer a mediocre goalie ( not saying Binny is Mediocre) that can go lights out when the pressure is on. Most of us have waited several decades for a goalie to do that for us.

With that logic you must have think Lundqvist must have sucked then.

 

[Bluesfan54]

Bruins could use some help in goal tonight.

 

[Xerloris]

With that logic you must have think Lundqvist must have sucked then.

A few things, I never said Shesterkin sucked, I said he's not that great and that he is good in the regular season, 2nd Lundqvist with a much worse team was able to take them to the finals.

 

[Vladys Gumption]

A few things, I never said Shesterkin sucked, I said he's not that great and that he is good in the regular season, 2nd Lundqvist with a much worse team was able to take them to the finals.

Saying he’s not that great is pretty similar to saying he sucks. And he’s also not just been good in the regular season. He’s been dynamite in the playoffs.

 

[TheDizee]

not sure who is more annoying, pk subban or leah hextall

 

[Xerloris]

not sure who is more annoying, pk subban or leah hextall

Leahs voice and PK's personality.

 

[Reality Czech]

A few things, I never said Shesterkin sucked, I said he's not that great and that he is good in the regular season, 2nd Lundqvist with a much worse team was able to take them to the finals.

The way I see it is that $4-6 million goalies are capable of playing as good (or nearly as good) as $10 million goalies in the right situation, which can't be said about position players. That's why I'd be hesitant to spend that much on a goalie.

People keep pointing to Bob, and yes he's played great for maybe half of his contract and won a Cup but who's to say the Panthers couldn't have won with someone else? The team was stacked and had all the pieces to win. For every Vasi and Bob, there are Hill, Kuemper and Binner, three guys that most hockey fans wouldn't classify as "elite." Even if I personally think Binner is.

 

[PJJJP]

Senators sign Ulmark to a 4 year 8.25 AAV extension. Wtf

 

[Thallis]

Senators sign Ulmark to a 4 year 8.25 AAV extension. Wtf

Lmao they waited for the Bruins to sign swayman and just said "Hey want that number? There you go"

 

[Vladys Gumption]

Given Ottawa’s recent track record for signing goalies they probably should have waited. But I do think Ullmark is legit.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

And now Daccord signs for 5mil per. Goalie market is about to be nuked. Should have tried to sign Hofer last offseason

 

[PocketNines]

And now Daccord signs for 5mil per. Goalie market is about to be nuked. Should have tried to sign Hofer last offseason

that's nuts for him, but I can tell you Kraken fans prefer him to start over Hans Grubauer

 

[BlueDream]

And now Daccord signs for 5mil per. Goalie market is about to be nuked. Should have tried to sign Hofer last offseason

Wh…what? I had to go look that this was correct, and it is. He just got a 5x5 contract after one good season of only starting 48 games. He’s 28 years old.

LMAO. That is so awful. I never want to hear anyone complain about Binnington ever again, his contract is now a steal.

 

[Linkens Mastery]

Wh…what? I had to go look that this was correct, and it is. He just got a 5x5 contract after one good season of only starting 48 games. He’s 28 years old.

LMAO. That is so awful. I never want to hear anyone complain about Binnington ever again, his contract is now a steal.

Yea, I thought it was terrible BEFORE I realized he was 28. That is going to age like already spoiled milk

 

[PocketNines]

shows how little they trust Grubauer

 

[PocketNines]

Looking forward to the Berube Leafs. Knies is going to be such a Berube guy

 

[Brian39]

The way I see it is that $4-6 million goalies are capable of playing as good (or nearly as good) as $10 million goalies in the right situation, which can't be said about position players. That's why I'd be hesitant to spend that much on a goalie.

I disagree that other position players can't do that.

Verhaege just led the Panthers in goals in their Cup run and trailed Tkachuk/Barkov by just 1 point. He was also a stud on their run to the Final the year before. He was making $4.1M and those performances got him a $7M AAV extension that doesn't kick in until next season when the cap will be above $90M.

Marchessault led Vegas in goals, trailed Eichel by just 1 point, and won the Conn Smythe in 2023. He has never been viewed as a truly elite player and he just got $5.5M in UFA (after being a $5M player on a long term deal with Vegas).

I think we see good players in that pay range find another gear and perform like $10M players in the right situation all the time. The large majority of guys in that pay range don't, but that is true of goalies too. We see teams get derailed by their adequate goaltending not being good enough in the playoffs every year.

People keep pointing to Bob, and yes he's played great for maybe half of his contract and won a Cup but who's to say the Panthers couldn't have won with someone else? The team was stacked and had all the pieces to win. For every Vasi and Bob, there are Hill, Kuemper and Binner, three guys that most hockey fans wouldn't classify as "elite." Even if I personally think Binner is.

Combined, Vasi and Bob have 3 Cups, 5 trips to the Final, 22 series wins, and 111 total playoff wins. One of them has led the playoffs in wins for 5 straight years now (including the years they lost in the Final). Since you included 2019 in you other group, let's include Rask in this group. He was absolutely elite (and paid as such when he got $7M AAV that was 10.89% of the cap in 2013). That's 6 years in a row where the Eastern Conference representative had an elite goalie.

Combined, Hill, Kuemper, and Binner have 3 Cups, 3 trips to the Final, 11 series wins, and 49 total playoff wins. Of those 11 series wins for the Hill/Kuemper/Binner trio, you have 3 rounds where they didn't earn all 4 wins, but played the majority of their team's games (Hill vs Edmonton, Kuemper vs Nashville, Binner vs Minnesota). Hill and Kuemper earned 11 and 10 of their team's 16 wins on their Cup runs.

You can win a Cup without an elite goalie, but there is certainly a repeatability issue by going that route. I think there is a great argument for going cheap in net (and/or paying a high combined total to 2 guys in a tandem) if you don't have an elite guy. But I'm not sure I buy an argument that cheaping out in net and hoping a lesser goalie locks into high end play at the right time is a better year-to-year strategy than paying an elite guy if you happen to have them.

As great as the team in front was, I'm confident that Tampa doesn't win 2 Cups (or 3 straight Final trips) without Vasi. I'm more confident in Florida's ability to win their Cup with a different goalie, but I'm not a huge Bob fan. But I do think it is worth noting that Florida built their team around Bob making $10M AND Spencer Knight making $4.5M.

I'm not saying that there isn't discomfort and risk to giving the bag to an elite goalie. That Bob contract was an absolute disaster for Florida until suddenly it wasn't. And elite goalies can become non-elite quickly and unpredictably. But I don't think the 'look at some of the guys who have gotten hot and won a Cup' argument does much to convince me that giving an elite guy the bag is a mistake.

For the record, I would have Binner closer to Bob/Vasi than Hill/Kuemper, but I left him in your grouping for this conversation.

 

[Brian39]

And now Daccord signs for 5mil per. Goalie market is about to be nuked. Should have tried to sign Hofer last offseason

I don't like that contract at all, but it doesn't do much of anything to worry me about Hofer's next one. Daccord was going to be a UFA next summer and had the leverage of potentially walking away to leave Seattle with no goalie. Hofer is still 4 seasons away from his first potential UFA summer. And barring an injury or unexpected collapse from Binner, he's not playing more than 35 games this year.

The dollar amount could creep up a bit more than it would have been otherwise, but it will be in everyone's best interest to do a bridge with him.

 

[Reality Czech]

I disagree that other position players can't do that.

Verhaege just led the Panthers in goals in their Cup run and trailed Tkachuk/Barkov by just 1 point. He was also a stud on their run to the Final the year before. He was making $4.1M and those performances got him a $7M AAV extension that doesn't kick in until next season when the cap will be above $90M.

Marchessault led Vegas in goals, trailed Eichel by just 1 point, and won the Conn Smythe in 2023. He has never been viewed as a truly elite player and he just got $5.5M in UFA (after being a $5M player on a long term deal with Vegas).

I think we see good players in that pay range find another gear and perform like $10M players in the right situation all the time. The large majority of guys in that pay range don't, but that is true of goalies too. We see teams get derailed by their adequate goaltending not being good enough in the playoffs every year.



Combined, Vasi and Bob have 3 Cups, 5 trips to the Final, 22 series wins, and 111 total playoff wins. One of them has led the playoffs in wins for 5 straight years now (including the years they lost in the Final). Since you included 2019 in you other group, let's include Rask in this group. He was absolutely elite (and paid as such when he got $7M AAV that was 10.89% of the cap in 2013). That's 6 years in a row where the Eastern Conference representative had an elite goalie.

Combined, Hill, Kuemper, and Binner have 3 Cups, 3 trips to the Final, 11 series wins, and 49 total playoff wins. Of those 11 series wins for the Hill/Kuemper/Binner trio, you have 3 rounds where they didn't earn all 4 wins, but played the majority of their team's games (Hill vs Edmonton, Kuemper vs Nashville, Binner vs Minnesota). Hill and Kuemper earned 11 and 10 of their team's 16 wins on their Cup runs.

You can win a Cup without an elite goalie, but there is certainly a repeatability issue by going that route. I think there is a great argument for going cheap in net (and/or paying a high combined total to 2 guys in a tandem) if you don't have an elite guy. But I'm not sure I buy an argument that cheaping out in net and hoping a lesser goalie locks into high end play at the right time is a better year-to-year strategy than paying an elite guy if you happen to have them.

As great as the team in front was, I'm confident that Tampa doesn't win 2 Cups (or 3 straight Final trips) without Vasi. I'm more confident in Florida's ability to win their Cup with a different goalie, but I'm not a huge Bob fan. But I do think it is worth noting that Florida built their team around Bob making $10M AND Spencer Knight making $4.5M.

I'm not saying that there isn't discomfort and risk to giving the bag to an elite goalie. That Bob contract was an absolute disaster for Florida until suddenly it wasn't. And elite goalies can become non-elite quickly and unpredictably. But I don't think the 'look at some of the guys who have gotten hot and won a Cup' argument does much to convince me that giving an elite guy the bag is a mistake.

For the record, I would have Binner closer to Bob/Vasi than Hill/Kuemper, but I left him in your grouping for this conversation.

I don't disagree with that although one could argue Verhaege was their 4th or 5th most valuable player during their Cup run. Still, he certainly exceeded expectations by a lot. A team isn't winning without multiple lines and players scoring goals.

I'm of the mind that the best overall team wins the Cup, and that obviously requires good players at all positions including goalie of course. And while I don't think you need a so-called elite goalie, it certainly won't hurt. If a team has a chance and the cap space to acquire a top goalie it's certainly not a bad move to do so. And if you've already got a top goalie, it's probably even harder to let him go, especially over a couple million dollars. It's not like these guys are available very often.

Another thing is that winning teams need some "underpaid" guys on their roster, meaning guys who outperform their salaries. It could be young guys still on entry-level deals, veterans taking a discount to win or guys like Verhaege who catch fire in the middle of their career. If you've got a high-priced goalie then you'll have to find those good value deals elsewhere, but as Tampa and Florida have shown it certainly can be done.