Game On!

By Dan Rice
MaxHockey.com

For the 29 teams (and their fans) that don’t win the Stanley Cup, there is always next year, and next year starts on June 26 — the first round of the NHL Entry Draft and on July 1 —  when teams are allowed to begin signing unrestricted free agents. I’m going to leave sizing up the draft and its potential prospects to the experts (but the New York Islanders BETTER draft John Tavares) and I will try to provide a guide to who could be going where this summer as far as established players go.

Listed below (in no particular order) are the most notable players who could be signing with new teams and a few possible trades that we could see going down. Today we start off by looking at the goalies. Next week we will examine the crop of defenseman and the following week we break down the forwards.

• Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Toronto (trade from Anaheim) — After sitting out the entire 2009 postseason after being usurped in the Ducks’ net by Jonas Hiller, Giguere will want to have an opportunity to play and he could join his old GM Brian Burke with the Maple Leafs as they try to bring Toronto its first Cup since 1967.

• Vesa Toskala to Anaheim (trade from Toronto) — Anaheim would like a cheaper version of Giguere to work with Hiller in the Ducks’ crease and Toskala is a reliable option when he is healthy.

• Scott Clemmensen to Colorado (from New Jersey) — Clemmensen filled in admirably when Martin Brodeur went down last season, becoming the first goalie not named Martin Brodeur to win 25 games in a season in franchise history. Clemmer will want a shot at a starting gig and the Avalanche should be desperate enough for a goaltender.

• Antero Niittymaki to Washington (From Philadelphia) — After blowing Game 1 against the NY Rangers, Jose Theodore was banished to the bench and 20-year-old rookie Simeon Varlamov backstopped the Caps all the way to Game 7 in Round 2 against Pittsburgh. I’m guessing Theo won’t be back and Niittymaki would be a solid complement to the neophyte Russian goalie in DC.

• Martin Biron to Tampa Bay (From Philadelphia) —Two playoff losses to in two consecutive seasons to Pittsburgh is unacceptable in the City of Brotherly Love, but I expect Biron to land in Tampa, who has longed to have a No. 1 goalie since Nikolai Khabibulin bolted for Chicago after the lockout. The 31-year-old Biron along with young Mike Smith could put Tampa in a battle for one of the final playoff spots in the East.

• Ray Emery to Philadelphia (from the KHL) — After being banished from Ottawa, the easily excitable Emery toiled in Russia last season and if Philly believes he can return to his form from the Senators Cup run in 2007, the Flyers will ante up to add what has always been their missing piece (a solid, no. 1 goaltender) since the 1970’s.

• Nikolai Khabibulin to Edmonton (from Chicago) — Over the last few season the Oilers have collected a nice group of young talent, but had to rely on a myriad of goaltenders, most notably Dwayne Roloson, that just couldn’t carry the load. Khabibulin could be the missing piece in the Great White North and he shoul allow Edmonton to make some noise in the Northwest Division.

• Craig Anderson to NY Islanders (from Florida) — Rick DiPietro went down early and often last season and although Joey MacDonald and Yann Danis performed to the best of their abilities, it still wasn’t enough as the Isles languished in the NHL’s basement for the majority of the season. Anderson is a goalie who isn’t the flashiest, but proved he can handle the workload in Florida when Tomas Vokoun battled inconsistency last season.

• Martin Gerber to Florida (from Toronto) — Gerber will be signed to tandem with Vokoun as they try to get the Cats to the playoffs for the first time since 2000.

• Dwayne Roloson to Buffalo (from Edmonton) — Ryan Miller’s ankle injury cost the Sabres a playoff spot, and Roloson is better than Patrick Lalime or Mikael Tellqvist who combined to single-handedly derail Buffalo’s postseason hopes in Miller’s absence during March. Roloson should be able to hold the fort down should Miller go down again.

• Manny Fernandez to Colorado (from Boston) — As stated earlier, the Avs are in desperate need of goaltending help and the Clemmensen-Fernandez duo should provide them with a stable base as they try to rise from the ashes.

• Jose Theodore to St. Louis (trade from Washington) — The Blues seem to have a glut of defensemen, which is the position Washington really needs to upgrade. Theodore and Chris Mason should battle for the No. 1 job in the Blues’ blue paint.

• Peter Budaj to Philadelphia (trade from Colorado) — Budaj is a restricted free agent and I expect the Flyers to acquire his rights and sign him to backup Emery.

• Ty Conklin stays in Detroit — Conklin seems like the perfect fit with the Wings sharing the workload with the always underappreciated Chris Osgood. Expect that he will re-sign with the Wings on a one or two-year deal, ending his string of three consecutive Winter Classics.

• Kevin Weekes stays in New Jersey — Well-liked by his teammates for his never-ending work ethic, expect Weekes to backup Brodeur for the next one or two seasons.

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