Dallas goaltending predictions?

[yougo]

Dallas is going to remake the D from within mostly, but I would expect at least one addition through trade or free agency.

Goligoski, Demers, Russell, and Jo. Benn are all UFA. I could see Jordie being brought back as a cheap effective #6 or 7 D. Russell leaves, maybe right back to Calgary. Demers played himself out of town down the stretch and in the playoffs. Goligoski could re-sign but only if he takes a hometown discount, but I do think he's heard the fans who've been down on him. Add to that the prices D have been getting on the market lately and him being one of the more high-profile UFA D this summer he's going to be priced out of town. Say what you will about the contract Nill gave Niemi, he's done a masterful job of managing the cap and I don't see him getting too deep in the bidding for Goligoski and potentially scuttling other moves to improve the team because of it.

Man, they're are going to be in trouble if they let Goli-Demers-Russel go. That's 3 of their top4 D gone.

Johns might be able to step in the top4, he's been pretty good in the playoffs. I know Lindell might be NHL ready, but is he ready for top4 minutes in the Central division? That's a huge task. I think they have to sign at least one LHD.

[NoWayOut]

Man, they're are going to be in trouble if they let Goli-Demers-Russel go. That's 3 of their top4 D gone.

Johns might be able to step in the top4, he's been pretty good in the playoffs. I know Lindell might be NHL ready, but is he ready for top4 minutes in the Central division? That's a huge task. I think they have to sign at least one LHD.

The prevailing theory is they will let those three or even all 4 UFAs go, promote Lindell, and then use that cap room to hit the market, trade or FA, to pick up that top 4D. Nill and Ruff haven't thrown their D core under the bus, but they have alluded to needing to make some big changes on the blueline. Personally, in spite of his lack of size, Goli could be a valuable piece if they slide him down to the second pairing and team him up with Johns. Problem is Lindy won't break him and Klingberg up even though they don't mesh as well as he thinks. Second is Goligoski is going to get a hefty raise just because that's the market for D now and he's going to be too expensive to bring back in a second pairing role.

As far as Johns, he's been on the second pairing with Oduya since his call-up and has been fantastic there. What a steal that trade is looking like!

[Instant Karma]

This with the same goaltending or the same d core:

Attachment 3249

They'll make changes I think. Their goalies are likely too expensive to move or buy out, so they'll probably add a dman through trade or UFA

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Kari has $11 mill remaining on his contract for the next two seasons which can be bought out for $7.3 mil spread out over the next four seasons ($1.8 mil per). I don't think this will be prohibitive when push comes to shove.

[NoWayOut]

Kari has $11 mill remaining on his contract for the next two seasons which can be bought out for $7.3 mil spread out over the next four seasons ($1.8 mil per). I don't think this will be prohibitive when push comes to shove.

Not prohibitive by any means, but complicating for Nill's long term planning. Jim Nill has positioned his cap space with a lot of thought multiple years down the road. When Jamie has his 8/$80m(guessing he gets Kopitar money) extension kick in season after next, Sharp and Hemsky's contracts drop off. When Tyler is due his extension, Lehts and Niemi drop off. A damn fine job of planning ahead to take into account paying your stars.

Now it's obvious what Dallas needs: a top 4 D and a true #1 goalie. The old saying goes great goaltending will mask bad defense, and vice versa. So which does Jim Nill see as the bigger issue of the two? He can do a lot to fix the D in house, but with all the UFAs leaving and the young guys ready to step up and fill their spots and all that extra cap he can pull another Sharp-like trade to get that top 4 D from a team in cap trouble. If the D core gets bigger, which it will, Lindell is 6'3" 210, Nemeth 6'3" 230, ditto Johns , Oleksiak 6'7" 250, plus add a veteran presence who can pair with Klingberg up top, now can Lehtonen and Niemi hold it together for one more season until their contracts become more tradable?

If Nill goes that route and can make a deal at the deadline or prior to the expansion draft which will force the hands of those GM's with two good goalies one of which has to be exposed, he's not only upgraded his D and goaltending, but also kept $1.5(Niemi)-$1.8m(Lehts) free for the next four years. It's obvious as things stand now with Lehtonen/Niemi and this D a deep run isn't going to happen, but with the Stars window just barely starting to crack open, Jim Nill has a number of options to explore and he doesn't have to sacrifice 3-4-5 years from now to make a run next season.

[ericdaoust]

I'm sure extremely shitty goaltending was also not part of the team's long-term plans. Sometimes things change. A buyout is a real possibility.

[NoWayOut]

I'm not saying it will go down that way or that it should, just that it's real possibility. 50/50 chance Lehtonen and Niemi are both back next season. I really hope that isn't the case.

[Instant Karma]

I'm sure extremely shitty goaltending was also not part of the team's long-term plans. Sometimes things change. A buyout is a real possibility.

Yep, I think Nill has been a Godsend, but all GMs have their moments that make the rest of us do a massive facepalm and I expect betting the farm on the Lehtonen/Niemi combo will be one of his.

Nill is an intelligent guy and I'd expect him to take advantage of this upcoming expansion draft situation to find a quick fix for his goaltending woes.

[skinnypete88]

I think these current playoffs have shown that you can work two goalies more so than in previous years. Granted Niemi/Lehtonen are not quite as good as the goalies still left in these Conference Finals but I think it would be easier to bolster the D corps than to try and drop one of these two/sign a true number 1.

Because in Dallas' situation you can sign a stay at home D-man it doesn't have to be the best guy out there, but if you go the goalie route he HAS to be a starter.

[Eskimo Brother]

Because in Dallas' situation you can sign a stay at home D-man it doesn't have to be the best guy out there, but if you go the goalie route he HAS to be a starter.

Further thoughts on if they try and re-sign Russel? I think he fits in well there and helps the goalies, no matter who is in the crease that day.