If backup goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky winds up being traded for cap space, it is will be interesting to see who among Michael Leighton, Johan Backlund and Jason Bacashihua will wind up as the second-string goalie behind Ilya Bryzgalov next season.

For the record, I am personally against the idea of trading Bobrovsky right now. I would prefer to see the Flyers waive Jody Shelley in order to gain a little more breathing room under the salary cap. But let's assume that Bobrovsky does get moved at some point.

As a hockey decision, Leighton is the most qualified remaining candidate to back up Bryzgalov. But he's the least likely to get the job as things presently stand. Three reasons:

1) He makes too much money. Leighton's $1.55 million salary cap hit is just $200,000 lower than Bobrovsky's. Yes, every little bit helps, but that's not significant enough cap relief to justify the switch.

2) His health is questionable. Leighton's back allegedly acted up on him again during the playoffs (which is yet another reason why the Flyers' game of musical goalies in the Buffalo series was indefensible).

3) Leighton has never been a very good backup goalie in the NHL. Part of the reason why he has had trouble staking down an NHL job has been that he has not generally performed well in spot duty. As a result, he's been waived numerous times by numerous teams. He has been a very good AHL starter and got on a roll when pressed into starting duty for the Flyers in 2009-10 (after struggling as a backup in Carolina and being waived). He also played adequately as a semi-regular starter in Chicago. A big goalie who is not especially mobile, Leighton has shown a tendency to get rusty if he is not starting regularly.

But the 30-year-old Leighton is also the most experienced option from an NHL standpoint. Leighton played well with the Phantoms last year after returning from back surgery (but, again, he's usually been a very good AHL goalie). He's an unrestricted free agent after the season and will have plenty of motivation to show that he can step in when needed and play to the caliber of his pre-Finals performance for the Flyers in 2009-10.

Johan Backlund was not a healthy player last year. He recovered very slowly from his offseason surgery last summer and was extremely inconsistent on a struggling Phantoms team. Even at his best, he is questionable as an NHL goalie -- even as a backup -- and he's the same age as Leighton. I do think he's shown himself to be an above-average Elitserien or AHL goalie, but that's not the same thing as being worthy of an NHL spot. He has yet to play even one full game at the NHL level.

That said, the Flyers were pretty high on Backlund a year ago, which is why they signed him to a two-year contract extension (which expires at the end of the 2011-12 season). He makes a reasonable salary for a backup NHL goalie ($800,000). Of all the goalies on the list of candidates, Backlund's destination for the start of next season is the most unclear.

Backlund could be the Flyers' backup goalie if Bobrovsky is dealt and Leighton is waived. He could be the Phantoms' starter if he is waived by the Flyers and Leighton is either injured or is with the big club serving as the backup following a pre-season trade of Bobrovsky. As a third option, he could wind up being loaned to a European team (after clearing waivers) if Bobrovsky stays and the Phantoms go with a Leighton-Bacashihua duo.

Bacashihua may be a former first-round draft pick but he has not played a game in the NHL since the 2006-07 season. He has become a decent AHL goalie, although not better than either Leighton or Backlund. The biggest advantage the soon-to-be 29-year-old netminder offers from the Flyers' standpoint is that his contract is very inexpensive and the team has the most flexibility with him of any of the goalies on this list.

If he is a (presumably little-used) NHL backup, he will make just $525,000. Unlike Leighton or Backlund, his AHL salary ($125,000) is low enough that the Flyers could call him up in-season at will without having to worry about re-entry waivers.

While I do not think that either Leighton or Backlund would be claimed even at half-price -- Leighton because of his health concerns and Backlund because of his lack of NHL experience at an advanced age -- you never know what other teams are thinking. The Flyers have been burned before trying to sneak players through re-entry waivers and wound up carrying dead cap space as a result. Considering that the team is already going to have $1.4 million of unusable space because of the bonus overages from last year, the team should be very leery about risking additional space they can't use next season.

When all the options are weighed, I actually think Backlund might have the best shot at backing up Bryzgalov if Bobrovsky is dealt before the season AND if the team makes no additional cap space clearing moves (such as waiving Shelley). If a move is made in season, Bacashihua suddenly becomes the most viable call-up strictly for cap reasons.

None of these options -- Leighton, Backlund or Bacashihua -- inspire any degree of confidence if Ilya Bryzgalov were to get injured next season. Bobrovsky has a higher upside than any of the others. Just because he's the youngest doesn't mean that he can't be a good backup who puts up similar regular season numbers to his rookie performance as a frequent starter. Bob is the only one of the four whom I think could be an effective long-term starter if Bryzgalov went down for an extended period of time.

There's no question that the Flyers do need to shed salary. But as things stand right now, I'd rather it come from the fourth forward line and/or by carrying 7 defensemen and the minimum 12 forwards on the opening night roster.

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