Goalie situation, summer 2022

[minibrodeur]

1 year ago most of us were confident enough in Blackwoods abilities to consider him this teams future #1. Yes, his season sucked, but there were a lot of factors that contributed to this, including the team in front of him. Blackwoods potential fit on this team is better than any goalie on the offseason market. Based off of Fitz's exit interview, it's very likely Blackwood will be starting the season in Jersey next year. This means we'll once again be looking to find a tandem partner. If Jersey decides to go the trade route, goalies mentioned like Lehner, Gibson, Price, will either come with high price tags, age concerns, injury concerns and fairly high cap hits. Others like Wallstead, Saros, Askarov will cost a fortune in assets. This leaves potentials like Varlamov, Ullmark and Vanecek. Although these 3 goalies seem like better fits, their availability is uncertain and acquiring any of them seems like a repeat of Crawford and Bernier. If Blackwood fails can we expect any of these goalies to replace him as our future #1? Probably not. As for the FA market, there's Kuemper, Campbell and Husso. Kuempers age doesn't fit and contract could be expensive. Same could be said for Campbells age and contract, especially after his reported asking price of 7m. This leaves Husso, the only concern here is "unproven". Husso's age is a good fit and his contract shouldn't be a worry as he will likely fetch a bridge deal to see if he can display some consistency. I have gone back and fourth and cannot see a better fit than Husso here. He is a relatively low risk/high upside option and the only asset lost is cap space. This gives Fitz 2 potential future #1 goalies, someone who actually has a chance of stealing Blackwoods job and not only just for this season. Blackwood needs some healthy competition and if Husso can play similarly to this year, that tandem could be just what we're looking for.

 

[Eggtimer]

1 year ago most of us were confident enough in Blackwoods abilities to consider him this teams future #1. Yes, his season sucked, but there were a lot of factors that contributed to this, including the team in front of him. Blackwoods potential fit on this team is better than any goalie on the offseason market. Based off of Fitz's exit interview, it's very likely Blackwood will be starting the season in Jersey next year. This means we'll once again be looking to find a tandem partner. If Jersey decides to go the trade route, goalies mentioned like Lehner, Gibson, Price, will either come with high price tags, age concerns, injury concerns and fairly high cap hits. Others like Wallstead, Saros, Askarov will cost a fortune in assets. This leaves potentials like Varlamov, Ullmark and Vanecek. Although these 3 goalies seem like better fits, their availability is uncertain and acquiring any of them seems like a repeat of Crawford and Bernier. If Blackwood fails can we expect any of these goalies to replace him as our future #1? Probably not. As for the FA market, there's Kuemper, Campbell and Husso. Kuempers age doesn't fit and contract could be expensive. Same could be said for Campbells age and contract, especially after his reported asking price of 7m. This leaves Husso, the only concern here is "unproven". Husso's age is a good fit and his contract shouldn't be a worry as he will likely fetch a bridge deal to see if he can display some consistency. I have gone back and fourth and cannot see a better fit than Husso here. He is a relatively low risk/high upside option and the only asset lost is cap space. This gives Fitz 2 potential future #1 goalies, someone who actually has a chance of stealing Blackwoods job and not only just for this season. Blackwood needs some healthy competition and if Husso can play similarly to this year, that tandem could be just what we're looking for.

Well put.
I see Husso as the best option so far ( from what is known to be possibilities)
Maybe a better option shakes loose but for now I’d agree with you that Husso makes the most sense when takig imto account cost it will take to get him (assets plus salary. No assets needed on him) plus injury concerns , contract length , age , all are better than the other options. Sample size is the only real comcern and maybe cost if there is a bidding war to sign him .

 

[Bleedred]

1 year ago most of us were confident enough in Blackwoods abilities to consider him this teams future #1. Yes, his season sucked, but there were a lot of factors that contributed to this, including the team in front of him. Blackwoods potential fit on this team is better than any goalie on the offseason market. Based off of Fitz's exit interview, it's very likely Blackwood will be starting the season in Jersey next year. This means we'll once again be looking to find a tandem partner. If Jersey decides to go the trade route, goalies mentioned like Lehner, Gibson, Price, will either come with high price tags, age concerns, injury concerns and fairly high cap hits. Others like Wallstead, Saros, Askarov will cost a fortune in assets. This leaves potentials like Varlamov, Ullmark and Vanecek. Although these 3 goalies seem like better fits, their availability is uncertain and acquiring any of them seems like a repeat of Crawford and Bernier. If Blackwood fails can we expect any of these goalies to replace him as our future #1? Probably not. As for the FA market, there's Kuemper, Campbell and Husso. Kuempers age doesn't fit and contract could be expensive. Same could be said for Campbells age and contract, especially after his reported asking price of 7m. This leaves Husso, the only concern here is "unproven". Husso's age is a good fit and his contract shouldn't be a worry as he will likely fetch a bridge deal to see if he can display some consistency. I have gone back and fourth and cannot see a better fit than Husso here. He is a relatively low risk/high upside option and the only asset lost is cap space. This gives Fitz 2 potential future #1 goalies, someone who actually has a chance of stealing Blackwoods job and not only just for this season. Blackwood needs some healthy competition and if Husso can play similarly to this year, that tandem could be just what we're looking for.

His season didn't just suck, the last two have sucked. Blackwood has an .893% over the last 55 games played. After his hot 5 game start to 20-21. That is worse than the final 55 games Brodeur, Schneider and Kinkaid played here, which were all pretty bad. The team in front of him? He was f***ing awful for a lot of these games. Right down to the last game he played of the year. The season finale was probably part of a 3 way tie for his worst game of the year as far as the quality of goals allowed. 3 of the 4 goals were just not good. I would say that game, his game against Boston in January and his game against Arizona in January were the worst for him this year. And there were many other shitty ones, mostly in December and January. I didn't think he played that badly in his first game back against Ottawa where he allowed 5 goals. I thought just one was bad, but the Detroit game was vintage post covid Blackwood.

I think it's DANGEROUS to have too much confidence in Blackwood right now.

Okay, I'm gonna go through all of these.

Lehner - had a dead average season with injuries. He only has 2 years left at $5 million. There's nothing wrong with his cap hit. He's WAY better than Blackwood.

Gibson - He sucks anymore. He's finished, toast. I mentioned him, but that was a joke. I'm not so sure a couple people were actually joking. Gibson MIGHT be worse than Blackwood. He has one of the worst goalie contracts in the NHL. Gibson is the new Schneider. We'd be buying him out in a couple years (or praying for an LTIR) and instantly regretting this acquisition.

Price - Probably on LTIR soon enough, if not as soon as this next season. I agree we need to stay away from him.

Wallstead and Askarov - No NHL experience yet. Never know what we're gonna get from them.

I'm kind of with you on Kuemper and Campbell, but I'm still open to them a little bit.

Husso would be fine if we had a goalie better than Blackwood behind him.

I don't know if I'm interested in any of Varlamov, Vanecek, Ullmark. Definitely not Varlamov. I could see him coming here and playing poorly. I think he's somewhat oveachieved (not so much this year) over on Long Island. I'm split on Ullmark. I would much rather Vanecek than Samsonov though. Samsonov's career resume has been worse than Blackwood's. All he's got going for him anymore is that he was a first round pick 7 years ago now.

Either way, one more bad season from him and he's outta here, because his contract is gonna be up and he won't be worth his qualifying offer. We're not gonna pay a goalie that's been bad for 3 years almost $3 million.

On the other end, we're in between a rock and a hard place if he has a good or even just a solid season. What do we do then? Give him another 3 year deal even though the prior 2 years were horrible? Give him a one year deal that takes him directly to UFA?

 

[minibrodeur]

His season didn't just suck, the last two have sucked. Blackwood has an .893% over the last 55 games played. After his hot 5 game start to 20-21. That is worse than the final 55 games Brodeur, Schneider and Kinkaid played here, which were all pretty bad. The team in front of him? He was f***ing awful for a lot of these games. Right down to the last game he played of the year. The season finale was probably part of a 3 way tie for his worst game of the year as far as the quality of goals allowed. 3 of the 4 goals were just not good. I would say that game, his game against Boston in January and his game against Arizona in January were the worst for him this year. And there were many other shitty ones, mostly in December and January. I didn't think he played that badly in his first game back against Ottawa where he allowed 5 goals. I thought just one was bad, but the Detroit game was vintage post covid Blackwood.

I think it's DANGEROUS to have too much confidence in Blackwood right now.

Okay, I'm gonna go through all of these.

Lehner - had a dead average season with injuries. He only has 2 years left at $5 million. There's nothing wrong with his cap hit. He's WAY better than Blackwood.

Gibson - He sucks anymore. He's finished, toast. I mentioned him, but that was a joke. I'm not so sure a couple people were actually joking. Gibson MIGHT be worse than Blackwood. He has one of the worst goalie contracts in the NHL. Gibson is the new Schneider. We'd be buying him out in a couple years (or praying for an LTIR) and instantly regretting this acquisition.

Price - Probably on LTIR soon enough, if not as soon as this next season. I agree we need to stay away from him.

Wallstead and Askarov - No NHL experience yet. Never know what we're gonna get from them.

I'm kind of with you on Kuemper and Campbell, but I'm still open to them a little bit.

Husso would be fine if we had a goalie better than Blackwood behind him.

I don't know if I'm interested in any of Varlamov, Vanecek, Ullmark. Definitely not Varlamov. I could see him coming here and playing poorly. I think he's somewhat oveachieved (not so much this year) over on Long Island. I'm split on Ullmark. I would much rather Vanecek than Samsonov though. Samsonov's career resume has been worse than Blackwood's. All he's got going for him anymore is that he was a first round pick 7 years ago now.

Either way, one more bad season from him and he's outta here, because his contract is gonna be up and he won't be worth his qualifying offer. We're not gonna pay a goalie that's been bad for 3 years almost $3 million.

On the other end, we're in between a rock and a hard place if he has a good or even just a solid season. What do we do then? Give him another 3 year deal even though the prior 2 years were horrible? Give him a one year deal that takes him directly to UFA?

I definitely agree with you that relying solely on Blackwood is dangerous and not a risk we should be taking. With that said, there still isn't a better long-term option out there this off-season. There's relatively no risk of seeing if he can find his form, not to mention he basically has 0 trade value.

In regards to Lehner, sure he's better than Blackwood now, and his contract isn't bad, but with injury concerns at his age, he'd just be a stop gap until we're ready to contend. We've had 2 goalies drop on us in 2 years, I don't think there's any chance we risk that again.

I agree that Husso would be a safer bet with a better goalie to play with but we don't have that luxury. He did pretty good this year behind a struggling goalie, no reason to believe a repeat performance is out of the question. I think we agree that he is the best option of the goalies listed.

An intriguing option left unmentioned would be Georgiev. I have a hard time seeing a deal materializing between us rivals, especially is someone else is interested.

If Blackwood sucks again, I agree, he's gone. On the other end if he has a good/solid season, I don't see this being a problem, maybe the solution. Even if he has a good season can he really demand a big contract? We sign him to a reasonable bridge deal and see if he can be consistent. If he's not, hopefully we've signed someone like Husso that has #1 potential and would have a similar AAV + contract length. If they both turn out to be good then awesome, we have the pick of the lot and an extra asset. If they both suck, well that's pretty much where were at now and atleast we won't be tied to an expensive or poorly aging long term contract.

 

[Bleedred]

I definitely agree with you that relying solely on Blackwood is dangerous and not a risk we should be taking. With that said, there still isn't a better long-term option out there this off-season. There's relatively no risk of seeing if he can find his form, not to mention he basically has 0 trade value.

In regards to Lehner, sure he's better than Blackwood now, and his contract isn't bad, but with injury concerns at his age, he'd just be a stop gap until we're ready to contend. We've had 2 goalies drop on us in 2 years, I don't think there's any chance we risk that again.

I agree that Husso would be a safer bet with a better goalie to play with but we don't have that luxury. He did pretty good this year behind a struggling goalie, no reason to believe a repeat performance is out of the question. I think we agree that he is the best option of the goalies listed.

An intriguing option left unmentioned would be Georgiev. I have a hard time seeing a deal materializing between us rivals, especially is someone else is interested.

If Blackwood sucks again, I agree, he's gone. On the other end if he has a good/solid season, I don't see this being a problem, maybe the solution. Even if he has a good season can he really demand a big contract? We sign him to a reasonable bridge deal and see if he can be consistent. If he's not, hopefully we've signed someone like Husso that has #1 potential and would have a similar AAV + contract length. If they both turn out to be good then awesome, we have the pick of the lot and an extra asset. If they both suck, well that's pretty much where were at now and atleast we won't be tied to an expensive or poorly aging long term contract.

Fair enough.

Not into Georgiev though. He’s another one that had a really poor season and has been getting worse every year.

I think a deal of Georgiev or Samsonov for Blackwood would make sense (if not the division aspect) as it’s one struggling young(ish) goalie for another, but I would sooner hold onto Blackwood than trade him for either of those two.

 

[glenwo2]

As an aside to this conversation, I like minibrodeur's avatar. Maybe Young Marty could bring some good luck as far as the Devils getting some AVERAGE(yes...just AVERAGE) goaltending next season.

 

[Eggtimer]

I have it figured . I now know what Fitz will do

Offer sheet Ottenger ….
I know all about the offersheeting being very very unlikely however I think we could possibly do so .
Dave Reid got an interview for the Devils GM job. He said he was specifically asked about his view in offer sheets and he said that the Devils were not against the idea and seen it as an option .
Ottenger is 23 years old . Just coming off an epic playoff performance and a very solid regular season .
The kid has been elite at every stage of hockey he had played .
Yes small sample size but watching him play … he has massive size and is very athletic . I cannot see him regressing .
He fits our timeline with our cire and I see him as an elite starter for years to come .

Assets it might cost would be a 1st and a 3rd .
6.3 mil aav I’d offer . Yes it’s high but would have to be in order for the Stars to not be able to match . Or at least it would be very very difficult for them .
Yes it’s an overpay for now but I honestly feel it wouod be worth it .
He almost won the series against the Flames himself . Even at 6.3 mil , I see that as a way better investment than giving fir example Fiala 7 mil .

What are your guys thoughts ?
Would you make an offer sheet??
If so , how much AAV and what compensation range ?

Or is that not a good idea ?
I know offer sheets hardly happen but I just want to know if you guys would try it or not

 

[mdj12784]

I have it figured . I now know what Fitz will do

Offer sheet Ottenger ….
I know all about the offersheeting being very very unlikely however I think we could possibly do so .
Dave Reid got an interview for the Devils GM job. He said he was specifically asked about his view in offer sheets and he said that the Devils were not against the idea and seen it as an option .
Ottenger is 23 years old . Just coming off an epic playoff performance and a very solid regular season .
The kid has been elite at every stage of hockey he had played .
Yes small sample size but watching him play … he has massive size and is very athletic . I cannot see him regressing .
He fits our timeline with our cire and I see him as an elite starter for years to come .

Assets it might cost would be a 1st and a 3rd .
6.3 mil aav I’d offer . Yes it’s high but would have to be in order for the Stars to not be able to match . Or at least it would be very very difficult for them .
Yes it’s an overpay for now but I honestly feel it wouod be worth it .
He almost won the series against the Flames himself . Even at 6.3 mil , I see that as a way better investment than giving fir example Fiala 7 mil .

What are your guys thoughts ?
Would you make an offer sheet??
If so , how much AAV and what compensation range ?

Or is that not a good idea ?
I know offer sheets hardly happen but I just want to know if you guys would try it or not

I’m definitely not against it. What else is there? Retreads? Go for some college or euro? We shouldn’t be worried about draft picks anymore. Have to take the next step(s)

 

[Eggtimer]

I’m definitely not against it. What else is there? Retreads? Go for some college or euro? We shouldn’t be worried about draft picks anymore. Have to take the next step(s)

If we add him and maybe a Nichushkin and Lyubushkin , I would think it’s safe to say we have a good chance of not picking top 10 next year . I’d be more than ok giving up a 1st and a 3rd in compensation . That tier goes up to 8.4 mil aav . How high would it have to be for him to sign it and have Dallas walk away ? Not sure .

 

[Guadana]

I read a lot of conversation. And I have one ridiculous Idea. I’m not say I like it and I want it I don’t say we should do it. But it is vert interesting to discuss(and read some “wtf are you saying“ opinions)

Bobrovskiy. With retain 0-1.5mil he will cost nothing. Even Florida will give something. Luke and Slaf could playing next year out of Devils. This mean they will sign new deals after 4 years. Bobrovsky has 4 years left. But contract is huge.
Very risky, very questionabl, it doesn’t hurt us with numbers arithmeticly, but if he will play like a pumpkin - it’s a huge deal to have as an anchor. But he is playing well now, but only this season.

Think, Devils will not do this, but I think if they do, he has a couple of years minimum in the tank, and after that his deal will be more movabl. And I think we could get good compensation too.

please. Don’t shoot me, I’m trying to find every realistic opportunity to discuss.

 

[Oneiro]

I read a lot of conversation. And I have one ridiculous Idea. I’m not say I like it and I want it I don’t say we should do it. But it is vert interesting to discuss(and read some “wtf are you saying“ opinions)

Bobrovskiy. With retain 0-1.5mil he will cost nothing. Even Florida will give something. Luke and Slaf could playing next year out of Devils. This mean they will sign new deals after 4 years. Bobrovsky has 4 years left. But contract is huge.
Very risky, very questionabl, it doesn’t hurt us with numbers arithmeticly, but if he will play like a pumpkin - it’s a huge deal to have as an anchor. But he is playing well now, but only this season.

Think, Devils will not do this, but I think if they do, he has a couple of years minimum in the tank, and after that his deal will be more movabl. And I think we could get good compensation too.

please. Don’t shoot me, I’m trying to find every realistic opportunity to discuss.

This did cross my mind as well. I don't think it's crazy - he's arguably a better option than anything else mentioned and you could perhaps extract another valuable piece - but it prevents the team from adding 1-2 depth players elsewhere over that period of time, which is probably not what Fitzgerald wants to do. I also don't think Bob would waive to come here.

 

[Guadana]

This did cross my mind as well. I don't think it's crazy - he's arguably a better option than anything else mentioned and you could perhaps extract another valuable piece - but it prevents the team from adding 1-2 depth players elsewhere over that period of time, which is probably not what Fitzgerald wants to do. I also don't think Bob would waive to come here.

Yeah, I think difference of taxes is visible.
And I agree, its a huge bet. If Bobrovskiy will not help some way or another, this team would not add more pieces for the next two or even three years. It would lock our cap hit. But I think its a good goalie who cost nothing. Hard dilemma.

 

[ninetyeight]

Husso is one of the younger UFAs so at least he's not gonna retire, but other than that I'm not that high on him, I'd much rather just pay Campbell. Husso was pretty incredible goalie back in his Liiga days, but I don't think he ever was better than average in NA. He had one good AHL year but has been pretty meh the last 5 years or so.

His last season numbers are good (2.56gaa .919), but considering what team he has in front of him, I could easily see him as sub .900 goalie in NJ.

 

[MartyOwns]

campbell turned down 2.75, we can blow that offer out of the water if we wanted to

 

[RangerDoggo]

Campbell seems like the best option

 

[LeedsMonster]

Zacha and a 4th to Washington for Vanecek. I think a healthy Blackwood is gonna bounce back. I dont think he's the franchise G we all thought he was going to be, but a Blackwood/ Vanecek rotation would be really solid imo

 

[BurntToast]

Husso is a possibility; this is solely based on Marty’s mid-season comments.

I try not to read into it too much, but it’s still weird when Devils media praises players outside the org. I don’t know if Slaf is that good but I do know he is on the radar of the Devils media. It’s not like they were praising Sykora’s efforts.

 

[Brodeur]

I have it figured . I now know what Fitz will do

Assets it might cost would be a 1st and a 3rd .
6.3 mil aav I’d offer . Yes it’s high but would have to be in order for the Stars to not be able to match . Or at least it would be very very difficult for them .
Yes it’s an overpay for now but I honestly feel it wouod be worth it .

What are your guys thoughts ?
Would you make an offer sheet??
If so , how much AAV and what compensation range ?

Or is that not a good idea ?
I know offer sheets hardly happen but I just want to know if you guys would try it or not

You keep posting this across other threads, but still aren't specifying what contract length. Short term deal doesn't seem to be worth it unless you had some handshake agreement like Carolina/Kotkaniemi. I don't think Oettinger is as unhappy as Kotkaniemi was in Montreal.

5 years x 6.3 mil: Stars would be unhappy, but they'd likely match. You'd only be buying one UFA year anyways.

6 years x 6.3 mil means the compensation gets calculated as 6x6.3/5 = 7.56 = 1st+2nd+3rd. Stars still unhappy but probably match. But this would now require an extra 2nd round pick as compensation.

7 years x 6.3 mil means the compensation gets calculated as 7x6.3/5 = 8.821 = two 1sts+2nd+3rd. Are you ready to give up two unprotected #1s?

And in a couple years, Dallas might be lurking to give a revenge offer sheet on a Holtz/Mercer. Not sure if it's worth it to be like Montreal where you unsuccessfully get Aho then either get stuck overpaying Kotkaniemi or letting him go for a late 1st.

Edit: I might be overthinking it, but it's expected that the cap is going to hit a significant bump in 2024-25. If I'm Oettinger's agent, a two year bridge deal to stay in Dallas might not be the worst thing.



And I still hate the idea of giving up an unprotected 1st. Sure I hope that the Devils don't finish towards the bottom of the standings, but I think we all thought the same thing this year. A couple summers ago, I remember at least one impatient poster suggested offer sheeting Kevin Labanc and they were okay with giving up a 1st+3rd (ended up being the Holtz pick).

In a different thread, I mentioned how Tampa almost gave up the Victor Hedman pick to offer sheet Andrej Meszaros. They would have done it if it hadn't been for their own lack of poor planning.

 

[Eggtimer]

You keep posting this across other threads, but still aren't specifying what contract length. Short term deal doesn't seem to be worth it unless you had some handshake agreement like Carolina/Kotkaniemi. I don't think Oettinger is as unhappy as Kotkaniemi was in Montreal.

5 years x 6.3 mil: Stars would be unhappy, but they'd likely match. You'd only be buying one UFA year anyways.

6 years x 6.3 mil means the compensation gets calculated as 6x6.3/5 = 7.56 = 1st+2nd+3rd. Stars still unhappy but probably match. But this would now require an extra 2nd round pick as compensation.

7 years x 6.3 mil means the compensation gets calculated as 7x6.3/5 = 8.821 = two 1sts+2nd+3rd. Are you ready to give up two unprotected #1s?

And in a couple years, Dallas might be lurking to give a revenge offer sheet on a Holtz/Mercer. Not sure if it's worth it to be like Montreal where you unsuccessfully get Aho then either get stuck overpaying Kotkaniemi or letting him go for a late 1st.

Edit: I might be overthinking it, but it's expected that the cap is going to hit a significant bump in 2024-25. If I'm Oettinger's agent, a two year bridge deal to stay in Dallas might not be the worst thing.

I’m not smart enough to figure out or kmow at what point the stars are unable to or don’t want to match.
Lesser contraxt length with similar or even higher $$ .

 

[Brodeur]

I’m not smart enough to figure out or kmow at what point the stars are unable to or don’t want to match.
Lesser contraxt length with similar or even higher $$ .

At that point you're just getting into crazy numbers. I like Oettinger and all, but you're ready to make him one of the highest paid goalies after one playoff series? Shorter contract length means a higher qualifying offer. 3 year deal that walks Oettinger that gives him a ton of leverage heading into his UFA season?

I think you're acting like a prisoner of the moment like Tampa was with Andrej Meszaros.

It's the weird thing with offer sheets. People act like you're outsmarting the system when in order to be successful, you ended up overpaying.

 

[Xirik]

Can we get a goalie from Quebec so we can get an automatic win against the Habs like we had with Brodeur?

 

[Eggtimer]

At that point you're just getting into crazy numbers. I like Oettinger and all, but you're ready to make him one of the highest paid goalies after one playoff series? Shorter contract length means a higher qualifying offer. 3 year deal that walks Oettinger that gives him a ton of leverage heading into his UFA season?

I think you're acting like a prisoner of the moment like Tampa was with Andrej Meszaros.

It's the weird thing with offer sheets. People act like you're outsmarting the system when in order to be successful, you ended up overpaying.

Yes it would be seen as an overpayment . And yes offersheets usually = overpaying , but with Ottenger , I can see it having the possibility of long term being ”okay” value and you bet an elite goalie. A position that is very hard to acquire via drafting, too hit and miss and hard to project.

However , the benefit of an offer sheet is acquiring a player that would not normally be available or to “steal” a player from a team that does not want to lose them.
With UFA and trades , usually you are getting what is equivalent to an ex- girlfriend that someone dumps. Others may want that person but you have been there , done that , and know it’s not a good fit, or you would never end the relationship.
Yes I would pay a 1st , 2nd , 3rd plus 6 plus mil on him. I fully understand how that’s seen as too risky but I feel it Is worth it. A GM that has his carrer on the line , can’t really see them take a big gamble like that.
He would be considered highly paid vs. other goalies Njt in the big picture, his cap% woild not be too gross and I thnk he is a future Vezina candidate.
I can’t see how he will would regress or bust . He has been elite at every level he has played , just put up a series of games that was one of the most dominant goalie performances in the past two decades and during the playoffs no less.

 

[Brodeur]

I can’t see how he will would regress or bust . He has been elite at every level he has played , just put up a series of games that was one of the most dominant goalie performances in the past two decades and during the playoffs no less.

I'm sure Tampa thought Andrej Mezsaros was a safe bet in 2008 as well.

And not to pick on anybody, but here's a thread from a few offseasons ago with people ready to give up a 1st+3rd for a Kevin Labanc offer sheet: Devils 2019 offseason team discussion (news and notes) XI

 

[Eggtimer]

I'm sure Tampa thought Andrej Mezsaros was a safe bet in 2008 as well.

And not to pick on anybody, but here's a thread from a few offseasons ago with people ready to give up a 1st+3rd for a Kevin Labanc offer sheet: Devils 2019 offseason team discussion (news and notes) XI

Yes , it is very risky banking on goalies . Not many long term deals ever work either . I get it .
Im just sick of having losing seasons , and goaltending has a major issue for awhile now.
We have lots of assets , and would like to be competitive sooner than later and I think Ottenger does that.
I get not wanting to mortgage the future on using assets trying to find a quick fix , it’s just I think that we could now afford to use assets to fill a massive need.

 

[Brodeur]

I get not wanting to mortgage the future on using assets trying to find a quick fix , it’s just I think that we could now afford to use assets to fill a massive need.

The other issue is timing. When are you issuing the offer sheet? Dallas would get a week to match. If you're doing it on Day 1 of free agency, you're in limbo for the rest of that week. When Aho got offer sheeted, they more or less announced they were matching but waited the full week before submitting the paperwork officially just to hold Montreal's cap space hostage for a bit.

And I suppose the big hurdle, does Oettinger even want to sign an offer sheet? Before they tried with Aho, Montreal approached Brayden Point with a similar offer sheet and he politely declined. I think Edmonton did the same with Zach Parise before they signed Dustin Penner.