<p>‘Round and around it goes, when it stops – nobody knows. It’s time to take another spin on the annual game of Goaltending Musical Chairs, as we size up the most important position in the sport. Goaltending might not carry you to a Stanley Cup, but you definitely can’t win without some measure of it.</p>



<p>Each year, nearly a third of the league’s netminders turn over – part of it due to the fickle nature of the position, part of it due to changing value propositions. This summer, the class of goaltenders is thin in both stature and number. So, let’s work through the market from top to bottom:</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Who’s in the market for a starter or tandem-mate?</h2>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://oilersnation.com/">Edmonton Oilers</a></strong><br><strong>Looking for</strong>: Better. That’s the applicable word. When Connor McDavid talks about the Oilers banging their heads against the wall, it might be with goaltending. Edmonton is 21st in goals against since he entered the league. What does that look like? It might be someone to play in tandem with Stuart Skinner, or it might be in outright trading Skinner to make room for the next guy. Everything should be on the table, because they’ll need to decide whether they’re willing to give Skinner a sizable raise for the following season anyway. John Gibson’s cap hit might be too rich with Skinner for a team with new deals kicking in, but keep in mind that Viktor Arvidsson shares the same agent and they’ll be in touch daily to try and find Arvidsson a new home.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="246"></div>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/philadelphia-flyers/line-combinations">Philadelphia Flyers</a></strong><br><strong>Looking for: </strong>Starter. Go ahead, the joke writes itself with the Flyers in search of a goaltender perpetually since Ron Hextall. Watching Sergei Bobrovsky become a surefire Hall of Famer doesn’t help. Nonetheless, the Flyers know if they want to take a step next season that they’ll require better goaltending. Sam Ersson has shown some promise. Ivan Fedotov is likely to start in AHL Lehigh Valley. They’ve perused the trade market, looked at the free agents, they want to make something happen and they can offer a solid opportunity with the lion’s share of the minutes of for grabs.</p>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/columbus-blue-jackets/line-combinations">Columbus Blue Jackets</a></strong><br><strong>Looking for:</strong> Consistency. Elvis Merzlikins is not getting the job done. He has an .890 save percentage over the last three seasons, which is well below league average. Here’s the thing: Jet Greaves is knocking on the door. Blue Jackets players quietly raved about how good Greaves was and how high his ceiling could be. He’s probably not ready for prime time yet though. So, how does Columbus solve for this problem knowing that if their young players take another step this season, they could be a playoff team with more consistent goaltending?</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="197"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Wild Card</h2>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/detroit-red-wings/line-combinations">Detroit Red Wings</a></strong><br><strong>Are they looking? </strong>GM Steve Yzerman notoriously plays his cards close to the vest. The Wings ranked in the bottom quartile in save percentage last year, not helping their playoff chase. But Cam Talbot (.900) and Petr Mrazek (.902) might be enough to tide them over until Sebastian Cossa is theoretically ready. Will the Wings want better than that as Hockeytown tries to end a playoff drought? There aren’t many great options, and fixing the defense first might see the goaltending improve.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Who’s in the market for a backup?</h2>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-jersey-devils/line-combinations">New Jersey Devils</a></strong><br><strong>Scoop</strong>: Jacob Markstrom is signed for one more year at a very reasonable number. Could he be reunited with close friend and former runningmate Dan Vladar from Calgary?</p>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/utah-mammoth/line-combinations">Utah Mammoth</a></strong><br><strong>Scoop: </strong>Karel Vejmelka saved Utah’s inaugural season and earned every penny of his $24 million extension. But with the uncertainty surrounding Connor Ingram, the Mammoth can’t leave their second season on the shoulders of just one guy.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="155"></div>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/ottawa-senators/line-combinations">Ottawa Senators</a></strong><br><strong>Scoop: </strong>Linus Ullmark was really good down the stretch with a .906 save percentage in March and April. You would think countryman Anton Forsberg was a good fit to stay, but he isn’t signed yet, which means he’s probably got eyes on a bigger opportunity elsewhere?</p>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/san-jose-sharks/line-combinations">San Jose Sharks</a></strong><br><strong>Scoop: </strong>This season is the coming out party for Yaroslav Askarov. Outside of NJ, Vladar has been rumored to go to San Jose to play with Askarov, and they share the same agent.</p>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/montreal-canadiens/line-combinations">Montréal Canadiens</a></strong><br><strong>Scoop: </strong>The Habs are in the goalie game if they decide that Jakub Dobes could use one more full season in the Laval incubator. That would also mean that Cayden Primeau is on the move.</p>



<p><strong>&gt; <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/florida-panthers/line-combinations">Florida Panthers</a></strong><br><strong>Scoop: </strong>This is one of the best gigs in hockey if you can get it, just ask Vitek Vanecek, who was a late season acquisition and got his name on the Stanley Cup. He seemed to fit in well and could be a candidate to stay.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="3" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="169"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Trade Targets 🎯</h2>



<p><strong>John Gibson</strong><br>Anaheim Ducks<br>Age: 31<br>Stats: 29 GP, 2.77 GAA, .912 SV%<br>Contract: 2 years remaining, $6.4 million AAV<br>Scoop: Is this the year? This is the fourth offseason Gibson has been readily available on the trade block, but everything seems to be lining up for both Gibson and the&nbsp;Ducks&nbsp;this time. There are only two years left on his deal. He is coming off a strong season, even if he ceded the starter’s job to Lukas Dostal. And the goaltending market is very thin this summer. Gibson should still have plenty left in the tank at age 31.</p>



<p><strong>Elvis Merzlikins</strong><br>Columbus Blue Jackets<br>Age: 31<br>Stats: 53 GP, 3.18 GAA, .892 SV%, 1 SO<br>Contract: 2 years remaining, $5.4 million AAV<br>Scoop: Are the&nbsp;Blue Jackets&nbsp;going to shake up their crease? When you look at Columbus’ season, they were felled not by their offense (eighth in goals) but by their inability to keep pucks out of the net. They ranked 25th in goals against – giving up exactly as many as they scored. Part of that is on what happened in front of Merzlikins. Part of that is on Merzlikins. He holds a 10-team, no-trade list.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="4" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="186"></div>



<p><strong>Thatcher Demko</strong><br>Vancouver Canucks<br>Age: 29<br>Stats: 23 GP, 2.90 GAA, .889 SV%, 1 SO<br>Contract: 1 year remaining, $5 million AAV<br>Scoop: The&nbsp;Canucks&nbsp;have an interesting dilemma on their hands. They have a talented goaltender who is one of the faces of their franchise dealing with a significant injury. He battled through it and put up respectable numbers, and looked great on some nights. But the Canucks also re-signed Kevin Lankinen to a five-year extension. And Demko’s deal is up after one more. Will they try to move him? Or do they like the tandem? Demko seemed awfully loyal to coach Rick Tocchet. Wondering if a reunion in Philadelphia is possible. Arturs Silovs has been lights out during Abbotsford’s Calder Cup run, which might make backing up Lankinen a logical step.</p>



<p><strong>Joel Hofer</strong><br>St. Louis Blues<br>Age: 24<br>Stats: 31 GP, 2.64 GAA, .904 SV%<br>Contract: Pending RFA<br>Scoop: Teams have called on Hofer and while the Blues aren’t actively shopping him, they’ve been told to make an offer. The price tag is believed to be pretty high – and understandably so. Even if we don’t know exactly what Hofer is yet or his ceiling after 69 regular season games, his numbers are good and he’s still very young for an NHL regular. He’s 15 months older than Dustin Wolf. For now, St. Louis will continue negotiating with Hofer on the next RFA contract, though he’s a sneaky good offer sheet candidate, too.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="5" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="233"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Belle of the Ball</h2>



<p>There is one free agent in a class of his own for July 1:</p>



<p><strong>Jake Allen</strong><br>New Jersey Devils<br>Age: 34<br>Stats: 31 GP, 2.66 GAA, .908 SV%<br>Contract: Pending UFA<br>Scoop: It’s not often that you’ll see a goaltender play in the 30+ game range and expect to earn a raise off the $3.85 million cap hit he previously played under, but that’s how in-demand Allen will be next week. He’s going to have options to pick from at different term and dollar. Everyone else in the market is second to Allen, who can easily play 50+ games or play in a similar role as last year as 1B. Plus he also has solid career playoff numbers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Unproven with Upside</h2>



<p>These three goaltenders have all gotten a little taste of the NHL, are relatively young by goaltending standards, and have plenty of game to rise to the next level.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="6" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="142"></div>



<p><strong>Michael DiPietro</strong>: Group VI UFA (Boston). 26. Great numbers in AHL Providence (.927), even better in playoffs (.928).<br><strong>Cayden Primeau: </strong>RFA (Montréal). 25. If the Canadiens do not qualify Primeau, he’ll get a chance somewhere, his numbers matched DiPietro in Laval.<br><strong>Daniil Tarasov: </strong>RFA (Columbus). 26. Tarasov is 69 games into his NHL career with a .906 save percentage but has likely fallen on the organizational depth chart behind Jet Greaves.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Unrestricted Free Agents</h2>



<p>Ranked by last season’s salary cap hit:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Goalie</strong></td><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Age</strong></td><td><strong>GP</strong></td><td><strong>Sv%</strong></td><td><strong>Cap Hit</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Ville Husso</td><td>ANA</td><td>30</td><td>13</td><td>.890</td><td>$4.75M</td></tr><tr><td>Jake Allen</td><td>NJD</td><td>34</td><td>31</td><td>.906</td><td>$3.85M</td></tr><tr><td>Alex Georgiev</td><td>SJS</td><td>29</td><td>49</td><td>.875</td><td>$3.4M</td></tr><tr><td>Vitek Vanecek</td><td>FLA</td><td>29</td><td>25</td><td>.884</td><td>$3.4M</td></tr><tr><td>Anton Forsberg</td><td>OTT</td><td>32</td><td>30</td><td>.901</td><td>$2.75M</td></tr><tr><td>Dan Vladar</td><td>CGY</td><td>27</td><td>30</td><td>.898</td><td>$2.2M</td></tr><tr><td>Ilya Samsonov</td><td>VGK</td><td>28</td><td>29</td><td>.891</td><td>$1.8M</td></tr><tr><td>David Rittich</td><td>LAK</td><td>32</td><td>34</td><td>.887</td><td>$1M</td></tr><tr><td>James Reimer</td><td>BUF</td><td>37</td><td>22</td><td>.901</td><td>$1M</td></tr><tr><td>Kaapo Kahkonen</td><td>FLA</td><td>28</td><td>1</td><td>.800</td><td>$1M</td></tr><tr><td>Alex Lyon</td><td>DET</td><td>32</td><td>30</td><td>.896</td><td>$900K</td></tr><tr><td>Matt Murray</td><td>TOR</td><td>31</td><td>2</td><td>.879</td><td>$875K</td></tr><tr><td>Chris Driedger</td><td>WPG</td><td>31</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>$795K</td></tr><tr><td>Magnus Hellberg</td><td>DAL</td><td>34</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>$775K</td></tr><tr><td>Jakub Skarek</td><td>NYI</td><td>25</td><td>2</td><td>.871</td><td>$775K</td></tr><tr><td>Dustin Tokarski</td><td>CAR</td><td>35</td><td>6</td><td>.902</td><td>$775K</td></tr><tr><td>Louis Domingue</td><td>NYR</td><td>33</td><td>1</td><td>.926</td><td>$775K</td></tr><tr><td>Spencer Martin</td><td>CAR</td><td>30</td><td>9</td><td>.846</td><td>$775K</td></tr><tr><td>Jack Campbell</td><td>DET</td><td>33</td><td>–</td><td>–</td><td>$775K</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>



<p>_____</p>



<p></p><div class="bam-inline-promotion" data-property-id="309" data-promotion-id="19111" data-context="web-content-promocard"></div><p></p>



<p>POST SPONSORED BY bet365</p>



<p>_____</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Recently by Frank Seravalli</h2>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="https://publish.dailyfaceoff.com/nhl-trade-targets-board-top-35-frank-seravalli-dobson-pageau-kane-rust/">Islanders’ Noah Dobson, Jean-Gabriel Pageau join latest Trade Targets board</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/edmonton-oilers-ltir-evander-kane-injury-nhl-monitoring-punishment-cba">Sources: NHL to continue examination of Oilers’ LTIR relief usage for Evander Kane</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/top-50-nhl-ufas-2025-free-agency-schmidt-bennett-marchand-ekblad">Nate Schmidt and Panthers’ top-end trio see stock soar in Top 50 Free Agent rankings</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/nhl-trade-targets-board-frank-seravalli-jason-robertson-morgan-rielly-martin-necas">Stars’ Robertson, Avalanche’s Necas join Trade Targets board as market heats up</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/2025-nhl-offseason-offer-sheet-candidates-rfas-cuylle-knies-peterka">Rangers’ Will Cuylle, Leafs’ Matthew Knies among five 2025 offer sheet candidates</a></li>
</ul>
