The Penguins need a new goalie and the search for one might lead to some unexpected avenues including players yet to make their NHL debut. Today’s focus is off the professional beating path, but a player with a lot of promise. It is former Minnesota Wild 7th round draft pick, Filip Lindberg.

#mnwild have been unable to come to a contract agreement with goalie prospect Filip Lindberg.

The NCAA champ was drafted as a 20-year-old, so his agent has submitted a 30-day letter so his Wild rights expire at the end of June. He’s free to sign w/another NHL club July 28.

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) June 2, 2021

Lindberg is going the route of previous college players like Justin Schultz, Jimmy Vesey, and Mike Rielly. He is exercising his CBA right to become a free agent. This is a unique opportunity for teams as Lindberg is 22 and comes with quite the college pedigree. He was the starting goaltender for UMass and was the starting goaltender in the national championship this year. He was the winning goalie and even if he wasn’t his numbers jump off the page in his college career.

Here is Filip Lindberg’s stat-line at UMass:

2018-19
17 GP; 11-4-0; 1.60 GAA; .934 Sv%

2019-20
18 GP; 8-5-2; 1.91 GAA; .927 Sv%

2020-21
15 GP; 10-1-4; 1.24 GAA; .949 Sv%

That’s uh... really, really good. He is well worth an AHL deal. https://t.co/aUOxNXwqgz

— Gabe Foley (@NHLFoley) June 6, 2021

You never know with goalies, but I do know that NHL teams usually take too long to give younger goaltenders a chance to play. I believe the players with legit talent are ready sooner than they are usually given their opportunity. Given Lindberg’s unrestricted status he is eligible to start in the AHL and given the starting role immediately. The Penguins goaltender depth in North America is what you would call, suspect. He can play a lot of games right away and the team could learn a lot about his readiness for professional hockey. Hell, if he had a great training camp there's always the chance of making the big club right away.

There will be plenty of suitors for Lindberg given his track record in the NCAA and perhaps the Penguins aren’t the fit he is looking for. Whether he or not he views the Penguins as a fit I think it would be silly for the Penguins to not be interested in a player with his pedigree and the positional need they have. Somebody will pick up a quality goaltender prospect without giving up any assets. That is for sure.



Thanks for reading!

Join the Discussion: » 110 Comments » Post New Comment

» Penguins news and notes

» Getting your Penguins fix

» My thoughts on Penguins thoughts

» It's their fault

» Still alive, for now