Edmonton's crowded crease

by James Mirtle on Oct 14, 2008 1:32 PM CDT Comment 14 comments

The Oilers, of course, will open the season with three goaltenders: Garon, Dwayne Roloson and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers.

Roloson and Garon are both in the final year of their contracts, while Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers is in the first year of a two-year, one-way deal. Drouin-Deslauriers has yet to play an NHL regular-season game, but did turn heads during the pre-season.
— Edmonton Journal

Aside from teams that have an injured 'tender, Edmonton is the only team in the league carrying three goalies. It's not a desirable long-term solution, but with the team convinced Drouin-Deslauriers will be claimed if waived, the likely solution would seem to be Roloson moved out.

Except that he has a $3.667-million cap hit this year, is 39 years old and is coming off of a pretty weak season in 2007-08.

It'll be interesting to see how this one's sorted out. I can't see any way a team bites on Roloson's contract, but maybe there's a move to be made that involves taking back some salary in a deal.

Otherwise, the Oilers will have their fingers crossed that the youngster sneaks through waivers at some point down the line.

The bottom of this list is a decent game-by-game look at who might be interested in adding a goaltender. Colorado, Washington and the Islanders may need another body between the pipes soon.

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Except that he [Roloson] has a $3.667-million cap hit both this season and next

Roloson is in the final year of his contract. There is no "next" year causing additional weight on his contract.

by Andrew - Six Minutes Public Speaking Blog on Oct 14, 2008 1:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You're absolutely right... will rejig things a bit.

by James Mirtle on Oct 14, 2008 1:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This is what waivers (and re-entry) are for.

by saskhab on Oct 14, 2008 2:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You can see that coming, can't you? I wonder what they're waiting for. An injury elsewhere maybe?

by James Mirtle on Oct 14, 2008 2:07 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Colorado took Salo didn't they?

Maybe they'll give another Oiler goalie a try.

by Loxy on Oct 14, 2008 2:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Aren't the Oilers in the driver's seat on this one? A team like Colorado might panic and come calling. Rolly's a better option than Raycroft at any price, especially considering Budjai has yet to instill any confidence in management or players alike.

by Giles on Oct 14, 2008 2:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You wonder how long they can hang onto three goalies though. There are a lot of unwanted goalies out there; Roloson wouldn't necessarily be a team's only option.

by James Mirtle on Oct 14, 2008 2:52 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

When you have a 39 year old backup who makes $3.6m it is impossible to be in the driver's seat. I'm sure most GM's would rather take on Khabibulin on re-entry if they had that much cap space.

Even before there was a cap, there were situations like this with goalies. I remember Garon being part of one of these 3 goalie situations in Montreal, when the team was trying to trade Hackett when Theodore's emergence made him expendable. They ended up waiving Garon after a month and got lucky... no one picked him up. When they did trade Hackett finally in late January, they called Garon back up.

Edmonton is being weird here. They did the same thing with Morrison a couple years back as well. If you don't want Roloson, bite the bullet and waive him.

by saskhab on Oct 14, 2008 4:14 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Colorado took Salo didn't they?

Maybe they'll give another Oiler goalie a try.

Do they have another Tom Gilbert to give in return? That was awesome the first time.

by Doogie2K on Oct 14, 2008 4:53 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

NHL and NHLPA have to negotiate new re-entry clause before CBA has run it's term.

This rule hurts both sides so it shouldn't be too hard to do.

If Chicago could send Khabibulin down, bring him up and lose him on re-entry but that half of his salary wouldn't be part of cap everybody would win.

Top player would play where he should (NHL), some other team would get him half price. It's so stupid to have NHL players play in minors or being dumped to KHL when they could help in the Show.

When something is clearly wrong but you keep doing it, it sends a bush league message everywhere. Hopefully Keystone Kops Bettman and Kelly do it now instead of waiting another five years or whatever there's left before another lock-out.

by Anonymous on Oct 14, 2008 5:36 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Then who pays the other half of the salary in the contract signed by the player? Contractual obligations don't evaporate because a player stinks or isn't wanted.

by Anonymous on Oct 14, 2008 5:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I think the islanders wouldn't mind having Roloson for a one year contract. I don't think DiPietro is going to playing in a large number of games this season...

by Ebscer on Oct 14, 2008 9:48 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I doubt he gets traded within the first 20 games. Maybe half way through the season when his salary is only around 1.8M, or even trade deadline when its closer to 1M. I doubt the Oilers ask for more than a 3rd-5th depending on how he's playing.

by chrissyt on Oct 14, 2008 10:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

"Then who pays the other half of the salary in the contract signed by the player? Contractual obligations don't evaporate because a player stinks or isn't wanted."

Ofcourse Chicago pays in this case but it wouldn't be counted on their cap.

by Anonymous on Oct 15, 2008 9:57 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs