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Who needs Alexandar Georgiev? Possible trade destinations

By Steve Paulus

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 01: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers stretches in warm-ups prior to the game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game One of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 1, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 01: Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers stretches in warm-ups prior to the game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game One of the Eastern Conference Qualification Round prior to the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 1, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/Getty Images) /
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Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers scores a goal against Devan Dubnyk (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers scores a goal against Devan Dubnyk (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Teams looking for a change

There are a number of teams with aging goalies who will be looking to get younger.  Acquiring Georgiev who could grow into the top role in a year or two could make some sense.

In Minnesota, while they have a deep prospect pool, the luster is gone from Devan Dubnyk,  He just had his worst season of his career and turned 34 years old.  The back up goalie is Alex Stalock and he is not the answer.  New GM Bill Guerin is looking to remake the franchise and goal is a great place to start.

As usual, Edmonton is a mess.  One of the last transactions made by former GM Peter Chiarelli was to ink Mikko Koskinen to a three year $13.5 million deal, a signing that raised eyebrows at the time.  The 32 year old goalie has been a decent starter, he split his duties with 37 year old Mike Smith  Koskinen didn’t win any fans with his performance in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, but still has two year left on his deal.  The Oilers could be looking to upgrade.

Other teams potentially looking to get younger in goal include Nashville, Dallas, San Jose and Buffalo.  In Nashville, Pekka Rinne is 37 and is sharing duties with Juuse Saros.

While Dallas has Ben Bishop in goal,  he is 33 and backup Anton Khudobin is a UFA.   Dallas could be looking for a quality second goalie to help ease Bishop’s workload.

San Jose’s Martin Jones has four years left on his deal, but has declined for two years in a row. His back up is Aaron Dell, a UFA who may not be re-signed.

The ever evolving Buffalo Sabres have 34 year old Carter Hutton in net, sharing duties with 27 year old Linus Ullmark.  New GM Kevyn Adams has yet to make his mark on the team and his plans regarding personnel are unknown.

Considering that Georgiev’s best two games in his career came against the Toronto Maple Leafs , they have always been mentioned as a potential trade partner.  Last season they passed on him and traded for Jack Campbell.  Though in big cap trouble, the Maple Leafs still have 30 year old Frederik Andersen in goal and he cannot be blamed for their Qualifier ouster, posting a 1.84 goals against average and  a .936 save percentage.  The Leafs have other, more pressing problems.

Looking ahead

A Georgiev trade would mean the Rangers would need a back up goalie in a year, but by then Adam Huska will have two years as a pro on his resume along with Tyler Wall who is turning pro next season.

There will be a lot of action in the trade market  this off-season, mostly due to the flat salary cap teams will be facing for the next two years.   The Rangers are in an excellent position when it comes to goaltending.  While a Lundqvist move could free up some cap space, if Jeff Gorton is overwhelmed with an offer for Georgiev, he would be hard pressed to turn it down and it would make the Lundqvist situation that much simpler.

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