MLive’s Ansar Khan both received an update on the progress made by the Red Wings’ top goaltending prospects and an update on the future of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ goaltenders. The latter half of the update might be of more interest:
The Red Wings will discuss the futures of Grand Rapids goaltenders Jared Coreau and Tom McCollum at their pro scouting meetings next month.
It’s highly unlikely both will return, since they want to move in at least one younger goalie, whether it’s Fulcher or a free agent. They might offer a contract to one of Coreau or McCollum, but chances are both will hit free agency July 1 to see what’s available.
“(McCollum) would like to find an organization where he can compete for the backup job or at least No. 3,” Martin said.
The Red Wings let him know he won’t get that opportunity in Detroit.
Coreau, despite his struggles when recalled (0-5-1, 4.26 GAA, .867 save percentage), could still be in the mix for a job in Grand Rapids, with the opportunity to be the organization’s No. 3 goalie.
Not a lot of hope in this pipeline. Coreau and McCollum are going nowhere. Cut them both loose. Larson had a very nice year but he’s years away. So is Fulcher. JVP is a bust in my opinion. Petruzelli had a poor year. There is nothing here.
But goaltending is fairly easy to address via trade or free agency. Would like to add a guy like Saros or Korpisalo, and then split with Howard, until we sell Howard at the deadline. Because re-signing Howard sounds like Kenny’s kind of move.
Saros sure would be nice, but he’s probably not going anywhere. If he’s as good as you think, Nashville would be smart to hold on to him, give him the next season to work under Rinne (who turns 36 this season) and his last year, then move him into the #1 spot in 2019. So, if Detroit were to pay for a player of Saros’ caliber then it would be a lot.
I’m not convinced Korpisalo is a #1. He’s been up and down playing between the NHL and the A for three seasons. His first season he played 31 games, then 17 and 18 games While Bobby had an injury shortened season and then two full seasons. Korpisalo had his chance to show he’s a even a consistent #2 on a good team and hasn’t shown he’s got it. Columbus’ biggest need right now is goalie prospects. I really don’t see them getting rid of Korpisalo. What will be telling about Columbus’ feel on Korpisalo is who they target as a free agent. They will need one to replace Zatkoff and the two propsects they do have (Tarasov and Thorne) with promise need more experience.
I bet, Kenny picks up a proven veteran who can plug that hole for a season or two and brings back Coreau for GR (and injuries) while watching how Fulcher does in the A and the E. He will probably either re-sign Machovsky or open up training camp to more free agent goalies. Trading for a prospect goalie, how often does that happen?
I do appreciate how your tune has changed here. Last time you were all over Pickard and someone else…..could you remind me?
Machovsky is gone. He’s not coming back.
Saros is an RFA and may price himself out of Nashville. So they may trade him rather than overpay him. Grubauer is in the same boat. Almost guaranteed to be traded this summer.
Yes Calvin Pickard is another guy I’ve mentioned and would take a chance on. Hutchinson is another.
Bernier and Hutton would be legit 1B options but will cost more. Khudobin would be a cheaper option.
Lots to choose from, particularly for a roster going nowhere. Hoping we keep it at 1-2 years.
Nashville has more then $7 million in cap space with no UFA or RFA needing a significant pay hike to eat up most of that cap space. As I said before, with Rinne’s contract up after next season and him being 37 Nashville should be looking toward the future. If they aren’t then their management is as bad as Detroit’s. The smart move is to use their cap space on Saros, if he’s as good as you think.
I’m glad you agree with me about what Detroit should do. Thanks!
You can’t just manage the cap year by year. You have to think longer. Sure they can pay Saros say $2.5m x 3 years or something like that. But the year after Ellis goes form $2.5m to $5-6m +. Fiala and Sissons will also need new deals. And since Saros is not the guy to win a Cup, we’ll now you need to either bring back Rinne, or go find a premier number 1. That’s when having $2.5m tied up in a back-up goalie hurts. Good teams project forward. If a guy doesn’t fit the cap structure they will get moved out. Just like how Washington will be trading Grubaeur and likely replacing with the much cheaper Samsonov. So that opens cap space for other roster spots.
“You can’t just manage the cap year by year.”
I didn’t.
“You have to think longer.”
Don’t forget deeper too.
Ellis and Rinne are UFAs at the same time and the team will have $15 million in cap. At $7 million and 37 years old Rinne’s salary will be going down or they should let him walk. When looking at Nashville’s precedence Ellis should not be getting paid more then Josi…or much more. I believe Ellis will be getting just over $4 million considering $4 million is what Josi is being paid right now as a far better player. Keep in mind too, Josi is the team Captain too and will probably be looking at Subban’s salary as his pay raise the next season.
Fiala should get a bridge deal with Järnkrok his closest comparable and Sissons hasn’t shown he’s more then a $1.5 million player.
Let’s say $4.5 million goes to Ellis.
Rinne modestly takes $4 million.
Fiala gets $2.5.
And Sisson makes $1.5.
That’s $12 million out of $20 million in cap available in 2 years. Even if they overpay Saros at $2.5 million that still leaves them with $5.5 million available to go for a raise to Josi in 3 years.
The only missing piece is the contracts that replace Hartnell and Fischer….Probably replaced by Tolvanen and Salomäki. Neither should be worth more than a bridge contract.
“That’s when having $2.5m tied up in a back-up goalie hurts.”
That’s your figure, not mine. IMO Saros is not worth that right now. He hasn’t shown he’s worth a high end back up salary. He should get a “prove it” deal.
Grubaeur has just dropped his value both as a trade piece and getting a big payday by his play against Columbus. Does this leave the door open for Samsonov – he’s unproven on NA ice. The real problem for WA is Carlson. If he eats up too much of the cap then Grubaeur is gone. If there is space then Grubaeur should come back as a place holder for Samsonov – who is groomed as Holtby’s replacement and probably thought of that way since he was drafted in the 1st round.
Good luck if you think Josi’s $4M is going to act as a ceiling for Ellis. Josi’s contract is one of the best bargains in the entire NHL. Ellis can point to a dozen other comparables around the NHL and start asking for $6M+.
Also why would Grubauer come back on a team-friendly deal as a placeholder for Samsonov? He’s an RFA with arb rights who has made peanuts so far in the NHL. This is a chance to make some cash, potentially as a 1B somewhere, as opposed to a clear back-up role in Washington. Any smart agent will push for arbitration, forcing the Caps to either trade him to a team that can offer a bigger payday or accept an arb award that siphons precious dollars away from Carlson. Sure the Caps can note that his playoff performance was poor, and the counter to that will be pretty simple…that was a small sample of 2 games. Let’s look at my stats for over 100 NHL starts. Pretty darn good. In fact, this past season, my client had top 10 GAA and SV%, far better than his teammate Holtby. He could easily be awarded something similar to a Raanta, Talbot, Allen…so north of $4M. That would kill the Caps structure.
But sounds like you thought of all that. So let’s just see what happens OK. Remember this when Grubauer gets traded and signs a nice deal as a 1B…
“Good luck if you think Josi’s $4M is going to act as a ceiling for Ellis.”
I didn’t say “ceiling.” Again, your words, not mine. Look at what I said again. Quote it back to me if you want to.
“He’s an RFA with arb rights who has made peanuts so far in the NHL.”
$1.5 million is good money for a backup.
“…and the counter to that will be pretty simple…that was a small sample of 2 games.”
To which the Caps respond, your guy was putting us on a trajectory to lose in the first round of the playoffs, and when things are on the line we want a guy who can raise his play. Two games might not be much during the regular season but they sure mean a whole lot during the playoffs.
“… Raanta, Talbot, Allen…so north of $4M.”
Allen is a starter and proved it during a contract year by going sub 2 GAA and .935 save% over 11 games. The other two guys….good luck with those two loser organizations (AZ and the rusty Oil Can).
“But sounds like you thought of all that. So let’s just see what happens OK. Remember this when Grubauer gets traded and signs a nice deal as a 1B…”
I guess this response is because you got all bent out of shape because I actually did think through the long term implications of Nashville and had a solid argument against a huge raise to Grubauer. So instead of having a real hockey discussion you resort to……well…petty and pathetic sarcasm.
I do love how you start out by having to change what I said to fit your argument and finish by falling back into your true pattern. Sour acorns also fall near the tree. I suppose I will eat crow when Grubauer picks up his Vezina trophy next season.
OK. I get it. So Ellis won’t make that much more than Josi…Nashville has no cap problems…and Grubauer’s 2 playoff games is going to really damage his negotiating stance or potential arbitration case. Top 10 stats in the NHL last season just gets erased by 2 lousy playoff games. You win OK. I don’t think anyone else really cares. So like I said, let’s just wait and see what happens. If Ellis signs for $4.5M or less and Grubauer refuses arbitration to sign for a modest raise then I’ll congratulate you. OK. Next.
“OK. I get it. So Ellis won’t make that much more than Josi…Nashville has no cap problems…”
I never said that.
“…and Grubauer’s 2 playoff games is going to really damage his negotiating stance or potential arbitration case.”
I never said that.
“Top 10 stats in the NHL last season just gets erased by 2 lousy playoff games.”
I never said that.
:You win OK. I don’t think anyone else really cares.”
Yet here you are replying…..
“So like I said, let’s just wait and see what happens.”
I don’t really care.
“If Ellis signs for $4.5M or less and Grubauer refuses arbitration to sign for a modest raise then I’ll congratulate you.”
Just do it now. Save yourself the humiliation of me returning to this thread.
“OK. Next.”
Ahhh….There’s that old acorn……again. I can’t wait for the next time you feel put off. That will probably be tomorrow.
No one here is trying to win the comments except FS who goes around gloating about how right he was from things 5-10 years ago and how he predicted green would get injured lol.
Not every goalie has elite stats in their respective CHL/NCAA careers. Hell, Marc-Andre Fleury had a terrible QMJHL career and was drafted first overall and his first two pro seasons were horrid
So…………………
What happened with Machovsky?
He didn’t accept a demotion?
Nothing against Coreau, but it would be nice to
see what some younger guys can do. Machovsky
seemed ready to play in the AHL.
So bridges were burned and that’s it?
Macho didn’t want to play in the ECHL. He expected Coreau to end up as the back-up and to play a year in the AHL before getting an NHL shot, and things didn’t work out that way, so he turned around and went home to Czech.
George, it’s hard to blame him though. The guy signs with the Wings expecting to split time with Coreau in the AHL, and compete with him for the 3rd string job. Takes a paycut and leaves his family/friends to do so.
Then he wakes up several weeks later to learn that the Wings re-acquired Tom McCollum. So McCollum gets the AHL job and you’ll be living in Toledo now. Hope you like it.
I don’t know. That kind of stings. And what does it say about the organization? You are 23 at the time. A bit of an unknown. You would think the Wings would be keen to evaluate you at the AHL level. But instead we’d rather bring back 28-year old McCollum who we all know has absolutely no future in the NHL. That made no sense to me.
“and you’ll be living in Toledo now. Hope you like it.”
Toledo isn’t THAT bad, lol.