NHL Rumour Roundup: Who to watch as goalie market gets hot

Goaltenders are the pillar of any good NHL team.

Sure, there are five skaters on the ice at any given time, and a team is only as good as the sum of its parts, but the goalies are the staple — the glue absolutely necessary to hold a season together.

Subpar goaltending can hinder even the most talented of teams (see: Edmonton Oilers) the same way that excellent goaltending can breathe new life into, perhaps, middling teams (see: 2020-21 Montreal Canadiens).

The 2023-24 season has seen it all, ranging everywhere between disappointing, bounce-back and surprising performances. As teams go on the hunt to bolster their nets, the drama between the pipes might just be getting started.

With the help of Elliotte Friedman, Jeff Marek and the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, here's a look at the goalie situation and other rumours around the NHL.

The news that netminder Antti Raanta was placed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes for the purpose of reassignment to the AHL — his first stint in the minors since 2014-15 — was likely the first domino in what figures to be an active market for goaltenders this season.

In Raanta's absence, the Hurricanes are leaning on their now-No. 1 goaltender in Pyotr Kochetkov, who has bounced between the AHL and NHL since the pre-season, as they await clarity on Frederik Andersen.

"I don't think anybody really has a good idea what Andersen's status is going to be this year," Friedman said on 32 Thoughts. "The Hurricanes have cast their lines in the NHL pond."

Friedman reports that, in the wake of this uncertainty, GM Don Waddell is doing his due diligence in scoping out the goaltender market as the Hurricanes continue their push to make a deep playoff run.

"They would do anything on any goalie if it made sense to them," he said.

Elsewhere on the goalie carousel in Columbus — one of a few NHL teams with three netminders — Friedman wonders if the Blue Jackets are ready to make a splash.

Reporting on the Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Friedman reported that it could be Spencer Martin, who's found success as a backup in Columbus, that the Blue Jackets are looking to move.

On 32 Thoughts, however, Friedman wonders if they might be looking to move a bigger name from their goalie tandem.

After dealing seven-year veteran Joonas Korpisalo at the trade deadline last season, Elvis Merzlikins seemed to take hold as the Blue Jackets' undisputed starter. Sitting dead last in the Metropolitan Division, despite adequate numbers from Merzlikins, Friedman said he wouldn't be surprised if the Blue Jackets were listening to offers on the 29-year-old.

"I had a couple people on Sunday say that they could see the possibility of that. That maybe, both the Blue Jackets and Merzlikins feel it's time for him to try somewhere else," Friedman said.

The biggest speed bump the Blue Jackets face — as well as any team looking to get in on the goalie market — is the tight cap situation around the league.

Goalies like Merzlikins carry cap hits that teams might be hesitant to absorb, especially at this point in the season.

We may be more likely to see deals for these big names closer to the deadline, which is the Los Angeles Kings' strategy, according to Friedman.

Having just lost backup goaltender Pheonix Copley to injury, the Kings are looking for a No. 2 and 3 goaltender, but don't expect them to make any hasty moves.

"I think if they make their big move for a goalie, Jeff, I think it'll be closer to the deadline," Friedman told co-host Jeff Marek. "I don't think they're in a rush to get a big name right now."

Other teams to watch as the saga progresses are Detroit, Buffalo and Montreal.

When Jack Campbell was sent to the AHL on Nov. 8 after clearing waivers, the Oilers' plan was always to get him back to the big club at some point. After a subpar start that saw his save percentage dip to a near career-low 0.873 and a goals-against average hovering at 4.50, he needed time in the minors to regain his confidence.

Throwing a wrench in that plan, however, has been Campbell's inconsistency with the Bakersfield Condors.

"They were going to call him [Campbell] up a week ago, but he had a terrible start on the Saturday," Friedman said. "I think they were considering the idea of, 'do we ease him back in on the road,' as the Oilers are about to go on the road, and now he got pulled from a game on Saturday night.

"It was always about, 'let's bring Campbell back up,' but, unfortunately for him, he keeps on struggling."

Though Stuart Skinner has stepped up to the plate, showing promise in the Oilers' eight-game winning streak to start December, and Calvin Pickard has stood tall when needed, Friedman has "no doubt" the Oilers are looking at the goaltenders that are available around the league.

"The one thing that, to his credit, Pickard did was he bought them time with a couple good performances," Friedman said. "Now, what are you thinking? You don't want to burn out Skinner, [so] what are you thinking?"

The Oilers, with the help of their red-hot start to the month, are clawing their way back into a playoff position, but they'll need to have secure goaltending to do so.

Though the Calgary Flames have rebounded from a truly terrible start to the year, they remain at a crossroads: Try to make a push for the playoffs with this group, UFAs and all, or look ahead by trading away pending free agents ahead of the deadline.

Even if the Flames do have to make the difficult choice to let go of some of their veterans, their future still looks bright.

"I think the Flames in general are going... I don't know if rebuild is the right term, but I think they're headed to, like, a restart," Friedman reported on The Jeff Marek Show on Monday. "I think it's more likely than not that [Chris] Tanev, [Noah] Hanifin and [Elias] Lindholm get traded.

"A couple months ago, I didn't know what Calgary had future-wise, and now I look at it and I say, you know what? Not that bad."

After two years of Darryl Sutter in which young talent was often set aside in favour of gritty, veteran presence, under Ryan Huska the Flames are really getting to see the potential their young core has.

As for their pending free agents, Friedman reported that the Colorado Avalanche may be in the running to land one-time 40-goal scorer Elias Lindholm.

"They made that Tomas Tatar trade and everybody is saying, okay, what's the other shoe," Friedman said of the Avalanche on 32 Thoughts. "I think they need to wait because they have some cap issues and some roster issues, but there isn't a contender in the league who isn't trying to figure out what the Avalanche are up to.

"I know some people suspect Lindholm, but they're not the only ones. But I know some people suspect that that's one of the guys that they're eyeing."

Should Lindholm be headed to Colorado, he should be able to provide additional scoring to an Avalanche squad that looks much different than that which won the Stanley Cup just a year and a half ago.