I lost Nabby this summer to the KHL and managed to replace him with Pavelec. As you can see in my signature, my G is somewhat shaky as I'm relying on Ward, Smith and Pavelec for this year. There's not much to be found via free agency (Conklin, Deslauriers being the cream of the crop) so I'm pretty much looking to grab a young future starter. Markstrom, Schneider, Crawford, Harding, Enroth, Karlsson, Tokarski are all FA but I don't want to waste a roster spot for too long waiting for the guy to get starts. Who's my best bet?
Right away, Schneider sounds like a great option. He'll not only give you some points this season, but he'll have plenty of opportunity to develop into a full-fledged starter. Might take more than just this season, but he has the potential for sure. But it won't come in Vancouver, so he's a backup until Luongo's gone or he gets traded.
Markstrom is going to have awesome long-term value but if you don't want to wait a year, possibly 2, then you'll probably want to pass.
Crawford is like Schneider except with less upside. But he's going to produce some points this year. But his long-term value won't be nearly as high as Schneider.
I'd stay away from Harding and Enroth.
Karlsson is an interesting one. Will get some starts this year, probably play his way into another contract with the Flames...possibly trade bait. Either way, his size and skill and age makes him a sleeper for sure.
To answer your question though, I would say your best bet is Schneider. Ward and Pavelec will get you a lot of games. So go for someone on a solid defensive team that has awesome upside and will get you some points this year.
If you can't snag Schneider, go for Karlsson next. Size matters in today's NHL!
Long term plan
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