A couple of notes on the NHL goalie market to kick off your Friday blog:
Allan Muir of
Sports Illustrated gets in on the fun in
this article, where he includes Cam Talbot, Eddie Lack and Robin Lehner on his list of 10 players most likely to be traded on draft day.
My gut feeling is that this is how the dominoes will fall: once Talbot is moved, the unsuccessful bidders will start to scramble and make sure they don't miss out in the game of musical chairs.
Muir also includes Boston's Milan Lucic on his list. I'd still be surprised if the Bruins say goodbye to a guy who's such a symbol of their team identity.
David Staples of the
Edmonton Journal thinks all this "hot market" talk on Talbot is coming from Rangers' general manager Glen Sather, who's trying to maximize the value for his asset.
Staples doesn't want to see the Oilers give up the 16th pick for a goalie, nor even the 33rd unless Edmonton gets a lower pick back in return. He also points out that Karri Ramo's an unrestricted free agent coming out of Calgary and is in the same sort of ballpark as players like Talbot and Lack in terms of his skillset.
Ramo's a little older—he'll turn 29 on July 1—and as a UFA, he'll command a bigger contract next season than what Talbot and Lack are currently earning. But will the teams looking for goalies want to talk to Ramo when the free-agency discussion window opens on June 25, before they make a deal? They might, if they want to hang on to their draft picks.
One other goalie who's been tossed around this week as a potential trade target was Toronto's Jonathan Bernier—all because his fiancee posted a photo of their baby with a somewhat cryptic comment about why he wasn't dressed in Maple Leafs gear!
The Leafs have now announced that they'll take restricted free agent Bernier to team-elected arbitration, which guarantees he'll be signed to a new deal. Pierre LeBrun says in his
ESPN Rumblings Blog that this is not a sign of trouble between the two sides.
It seems strange to me why more teams don’t do it. It’s a good tool in the CBA that ensures a team will get its RFA signed, one way or another, and in camp with a new contract.
Bernier and his agent, Pat Brisson, have no problem with the Leafs' filing; it's all part of the business and, in fact, Brisson and the Leafs’ front office continue to have good dialogue about a new contract, which would make the arbitration filing a moot point.
My sense is both sides are looking at a two- or three-year contract.
One thing we do know about goalies: the Vancouver Canucks re-signed minor-leaguer Joe Cannata.
After a year spent primarily in the East Coast league, Cannata's aiming for a full-time spot on the Utica Comets next season:
Assuming that Jacob Markstrom does move up to the NHL level as anticipated, Cannata should form a tandem with—Joacim Eriksson? That part's still uncertain. There have been rumours for months that Eriksson would be headed back to Europe at the end of this season.
Would a No. 1 job at the AHL level be enough to convince him to stick around?
Another member of the Comets who's apparently headed for Europe is center Cory Conacher. Acquired at the 2015 trade deadline in exchange for minor-leaguer Dustin Jeffrey, the 25-year-old sounds like he's headed for Bern of the Swiss League.
You may recall, Boucher was the coach that got 24 points in 35 games out of Conacher in his rookie season before they both fell from favour in Tampa Bay. Boucher was replaced by Jon Cooper on March 25, 2013 and Conacher was dealt to the Ottawa Senators for Ben Bishop a week later, on April 3.
After joining the Comets in March, Conacher put up 16 points in 20 regular-season games, along with five goals and eight points in the playoffs. He's a restricted free agent, so the Canucks will retain his rights if he returns to North America down the road.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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