Paul Holmgren gave a clear indication yesterday that Brian Boucher's job is safe for now, even when the club eventually activates Michael Leighton from IR. The most obvious moves would be either to place Ian Laperriere on LTIR for the rest of the season or to jettison defenseman Matt Walker when possible. However, carrying three goalies is not a good long-term arrangement for the team.

Personally, I think Leighton should be the odd man out in the rotation. I was not in favor of re-signing him in the first place (then again, I didn't think Sergei Bobrovsky was NHL ready, so take it for what it's worth). I'm well aware of how well he played last season after being claimed off waivers from Carolina, and returning from injury in the playoffs to help the comeback against Boston, followed by three shutouts against Montreal in the Eastern Conference Final. We won't discuss the Stanley Cup Final.

But even if Leighton had played better against Chicago in the Final, his back injury, subsequent surgery and ongoing numbness in his left foot would be a major red flag. He's a big goaltender but not particularly mobile or athletically gifted even at full health, and back injuries have a high frequency of recurrence. I also think Leighton's lack of full disclosure to the team about the injury over the summer should be weighed into the trust factor of whether he's being fully honest in declaring himself "basically" healthy at this point.

Beyond that, apart from a couple months of last season, there is not much of a track record of NHL success to inspire confidence that Leighton is a markedly better option than Boucher. Leighton is 29-year-old journeyman backup who has been waived by several organizations (including the Flyers once before). Boucher has done a decent job in backing up Sergei Bobrovsky, and has embraced the challenges of the backup role as he has gotten older.

While competition isn't a bad thing, I don't think the three-goalie arrangement is workable for assessing Leighton vs. Boucher as Bobrovsky's backup. Even at practice, there are only two nets on the ice, and there won't be enough playing time in game situations to get enough work for two backup goalies. My vote is for Boosh.

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