Puck stops here, there and everywhere
Knights among eight teams starting fresh at goaltender in 2022
Jake Oettinger did not have a contract with Dallas for much of the summer, but as a restricted free agent he knew he would be playing for the Stars this season.
With that certainty in mind, Oettinger watched with fascination as other goaltenders shuffled around the NHL.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “I’m just a hockey fan, too, so it’s fun. I love free agency and all that stuff to see where guys go.”
While Oettinger has a No. 1 job going into a season for the first time, Eight other teams are expected to have new starting goalies, and 23 veterans are with new teams, just one fewer than 2021. It’s the second consecutive offseason hockey’s most important position has been overhauled across the league.
Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas was an unexpected participant in the annual goalie go-round after Robin Lehner’s hip injury got to the point that a doctor didn’t think he’d be able to make it through the season without surgery, which in turn knocked him out for the season.
That revelation didn’t come until August, a month after the shuffle was complete. The Golden Knights will go with Logan Thompson to open the season, with Adin Hill the likely No. 2.
Colorado Avalanche
After Darcy Kuemper backstopped the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup, they had too many other players to re-sign and not enough salary cap space to bring him back.
So Joe Sakic and the front office turned their attention to bringing in a third starter in as many years, trading draft picks to the New York Rangers for Alexandar Georgiev, who backed up Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin last season.
Washington Capitals
The 32-year-old Kuemper, too expensive for the Avalanche to retain, signed a $26.25 million, five-year deal with Washington after Capitals general manager Brian Maclellan committed to changing his team’s entire picture in goal.
The Capitals also added Charlie Lindgren as Kumeper’s backup and hope to make another long playoff run after four consecutive first-round exits since winning the Cup in 2018.
Edmonton Oilers
Coming off a trip to the Western Conference final that was a roller-coaster ride of goaltending, the Oilers needed to do something with 40-year-old Mike Smith injured and not expected to be able to play. They added well-traveled Jack Campbell, who had one excellent and one not-so-excellent postseason with Toronto.
Campbell is the Oilers goalie for the long term after signing for $25 million over five years, backed up by Stuart Skinner.
Toronto Maple Leafs
After a fifth consecutive loss in their opening playoff series, the Maple Leafs have most of their core back from 60-goal scorer and Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to captain John Tavares and William Nylander.
But GM Kyle Dubas shook things up in net by letting Campbell leave in free agency, trading Petr Mrazek to Chicago, acquiring Matt Murray from Ottawa and signing Washington castoff Ilya Samsonov.
Ottawa Senators
During their busy offseason, the Senators moved on from Murray and replaced him by acquiring Cam Talbot from Minnesota after the Wild opted not to bring him back along with Marc-andre Fleury. It seemed to be the last real piece Ottawa needed to contend after also acquiring winger Alex Debrincat and signing veteran forward Claude Giroux.
Now, Talbot is expected to miss at least the first month of the season, leaving the net to Anton Forsberg and waiver pickup Magnus Hellberg.
Buffalo Sabres
With Devon Levi electing to spend one more year at Northeastern and Ukko-pekka Luukkonen still needing time to develop in the minors following several injury-shortened seasons, the Sabres filled their goaltending needs by signing Eric Comrie in free agency and convincing 41-year-old Craig Anderson to put off retirement for at least one more season.
Chicago Blackhawks
Long removed from winning the Cup three times in six years, the Blackhawks are delving into a longterm rebuild.
Gone are Kevin Lankinen and Collin Delia, replaced by Mrazek and Alex Stalock.
Chicago was happy to upgrade from a second-round pick to a first by taking Mrazek’s contract from the Leafs.