Four Free Agent Goalies The Washington Capitals Should Look At
Free agent goalies the Washington Capitals should look at.
While Braden Holtby hasn’t officially turned and started going towards the door, most people that follow the Washington Capitals seem to be waving goodbye to the long time Caps goalie. The Capitals are in a cap crunch. They have guys they need to re-sign in the very near future and they need to decide which bigger names will need to leave.
Washington has a young goaltender by the name of Ilya Samsonov. The way he played for most of last season seemed to tell us he was ready for a bigger role. That’s bad news for Holtby. Samsonov is seven or eight years younger than Holtby, and he will be much, much cheaper for the Caps for the next two seasons.
When people say “all signs to Holtby leaving the Capitals” I think that’s usually what they’re talking about. The Caps have a younger, cheaper and capable replacement now. Combine that with the cap situation and it’s hard to imagine the former Vezina winner and Stanley Cup champion returning to D.C.
Samsonov will be the number one goalie going forward. A lot of people, myself included, usually don’t like to see young goalie combinations. I tend to think it’s important, if not vital, that teams sign a veteran goalie to help the younger goalie.
Luckily for the Capitals there are plenty of options to choose from when looking at upcoming free agent goalies. Here are four goalies the Capitals should look at come free agent season.
Cam Talbot
Cam Talbot, the former New York Ranger and Edmonton Oiler “star” goalie is probably the best option on the market. There are bigger, and frankly better guys who are free agents, but those guys will want to remain starters and probably command too much money.
Talbot’s last cap hit and salary was at $2.750m. That’s not too expensive and I’m not sure how much he’ll get from other teams. He’s 33-years-old, so I can’t imagine he’s going to get huge money or a long term deal.
He’s also proven he can be capable, especially in a backup role. His career started in New York with the Rangers. That’s where he burst onto the scene. In his first season he played 21 games, he posted a 1.64 goals against average and a .941 save percentage. The next season he went up to 36 games played and had a 2.21 average and a .926 save percentage.
His performance in NY gave him the opportunity to be a starter in Edmonton where he continued to have success. His first two seasons as a starter in Edmonton looked like this.
56 games played, 2.54 GAA, .917 save%.
73 games played, 2.39 GAA, .919 save%
The next two seasons were not good for Talbot. His GAA went over three and his save percentages were either just over 90% or even under that. But this past season in Calgary he recovered. In 26 games played he posted a 2.63 GAA with a .919 save percentage.
If Talbot could come to the Caps and replicate those numbers it would be huge for this team. His stats this season were way better than Hotlby’s.
He could be the best option for Washington. He won’t be too expensive, he’s proven to be a very good backup, and he has NHL experience and playoff experience. He should be able to help the young Samsonov.
Mike Smith
We go from one Alberta goalie to the next. This option is definitely going more veteran than the last option. The last goalie we discussed will be 33 for pretty much all of next season. Mike Smith will be 39 next March.
Mike Smith will be a cheaper option due to his advanced age. Last season his cap hit was at $2m. That and less is doable for the Capitals. The Capitals likely still being a Stanley Cup contender will have to intrigue most guys and I would bet Smith would be no exception. The opportunity to play in a bunch of games, help a younger guy and potential make a run at the Cup is a pretty good deal.
His performances have bounced up and down between good and average at best. This past season he had a 2.95 GAA and a .902 save percentage in 39 games played. The season before that when he played for Calgary he had a 2.73 GAA with a .898 save percentage. However, the year before that he had a good year with a 2.65 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
To finish his Coyotes career, the team he is most known for he had a .916 and .914 save percentages.
He might be getting up there in age. But in terms of experience and what he might cost, this could be the best option.
Craig Anderson
Again, with this one, we’re going veteran heavy. Anderson has not done well in the last three seasons. At the same time, however, he has played on some bad Ottawa Senators teams and even teams caught up in some controversy.
His last three GAA’s are 3.32, 3.51 and 3.25. His last three save percentages are .898%, .903%, and .902%. Honestly for how high the GAA’s are those percentages aren’t that bad.
The last time Anderson played behind a good team was the 2016-17 Senators team. That team went to the eastern conference final and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in game seven, in overtime.
That season he had a 2.27 GAA with a .926 save percentage with 40 games played. In the playoffs that year he was at 2.34 GAA and a .922 save percentage in 19 games. Was that season a last hoorah! from a good career?
Last season he had a $4.750m cap hit. He won’t be making that much again. Whoever he signs with will likely be what the Capitals need. A veteran insurance goalie.
Anderson has been through pretty much everything, on and off the ice. He’s has ups, and he’s had downs. What more do you need to help a young goalie find his way in the NHL?
Thomas Greiss
Greiss is a career backup. That may sound like an insult but it’s not meant to be. Greiss has been in the NHL for 10+ years, he’s only played the majority of his teams games in two of those seasons. One of those was the 2018-19 season where he played 43 games, just barely getting the majority of starts.
He has been a very good goalie for most of his career though. Since his second year in the NHL which was the 2009-10 season he has only had a save percentage below 91% twice. He’s only once had a season with a GAA over three, that was the 2017-18 season which was clearly his worst NHL season with a 3.82 GAA and a .892 save percentage.
The past two seasons Greiss has been a very good goalie for his Islanders teams. In 2018-19 he had a 2.27 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 43 games played. This past season, with 31 games played, his stats took a dip, but still OK. He had a 2.74 GAA, not great, but had a .913 save percentage. Pretty good for that GAA.
The problem with Greiss could be the cap hit. He’s still 34, so he won’t get big bucks and challenge for starting jobs much. His cap hit this past year was $3.33m though. I’m thinking a team out there would be willing to give him that and maybe a little more. If that’s the case it could be too expensive to bring him on board to be a backup.
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But if he is cheaper this could be a very good signing to be Samsonov’s backup.