Jaroslav Halak was placed on waivers by the New York Islanders yesterday, presumably hoping that a team takes a chance on him so that they can clear the croweded crease they have had all season. The Isles have carried three goalies all season - Halak, Thomas Greiss and J-F Berube.
Halak has struggled for the disappointing Islanders, who are tied for last place in the Eastern Conference and for all intents and purposes barring a Columbus Blue Jackets-type run they won't be seeing the playoffs this season with the way the rest of the Metropolitan Division is playing.
So turning to Ottawa, who has crease issues of its own. Everyone knows about the trials and tribulations that Craig Anderson is going through, and there is no timetable for a return, and even when he does rejoin the team he is now at the point where it might take him a week or so of practice to get game-ready. Andrew Hammond is week to week with the dreaded high ankle sprain. Mike Condon has been great as Anderson's replacement but has now played in 13 straight games and is showing signs of fatigue. It is Matt O'Connor's turn to serve as the backup for Condon, but I don't believe there are any plans to put him in the net.
Fortunately, after Sunday the Senators have their five day "bye week" and they won't play again until the following Saturday. It will give Condon a chance to recharge his batteries. Which is fine, but I am sure most of you, along with me, held your breath when Condon collided with Anthony Mantha in the second period of the Red Wings game and spent some time motionless on his back. There isn't a plan B in place right now, and no insurance for an injury to Condon.
So the question is, do the Senators need that insurance policy, and what is available? Well, first of all, with 5 goalies under contract already (Anderson, Condon, Hammond, O'Connor and Chris Driedger) do you really want a sixth? If so, you would probably need one that doesn't require a long term commitment.
That is, unless you can find a deal for a #1 who might take over for short and long term. Those don't grow on trees.
You could trade for an expiring contract like Brian Elliott or Ondrej Pavelec. Let's face it, Elliott was good in St. Louis, but has been mediocre everywhere else and has lost his starting job in Calgary to Chad Johnson due to his ineffectiveness. Pavelec is third on the Jets depth chart and has not exactly lit up the AHL this year with a .906 SP and 3.17 GAA.
Which brings us full circle to Halak. He would be a free pickup on waivers for the next few hours (at the time of writing) or I am sure he would be available by trade. He is owed just over $2.5M for the rest of this year and carries a $5M salary for next season. You could take a chance on him for the rest of this year and then hope that Vegas takes him off your hands in the expansion draft, but that would be a gamble (pun intended) and you could get stuck with Halak and Anderson next year.
Halak is (only?) 31, and played very well for a surprising Team Europe in September's World Cup but hasn't found traction this season with the Islanders. Is that a case of him letting the team down or the fact that it is the Islanders are the Islanders after all and one of the more dysfunctional franchises going? Add in the fact that the 3 goalie system doesn't ever work for very long, and it begs the question of what he really can give you. Maybe he just needs a change of scenery and to get out of a tough situation in Brooklyn.
These are all questions that don't really have an answer. A lot of it relies on how long Anderson would be away. An Anderson - Condon combo for the rest of the season would be fine. Condon - Hammond questionable but probably liveable while Anderson is away, but Condon - O'Connor/Dreidger is playing with fire and would be one Condon injury away from imploding and possibly ending their playoff chances because I don't think anyone would trust an O'Connor - Dreidger duo to carry the bulk of games for any length of time.
The Senators past history dictates that they walk the tightrope and hope, and don't tend to want the insurance policy (see: MacArthur, Clarke) and solve problems before they occur.
Its not my money, but I think I might take the chance on picking up Halak (assuming he were still available to the Senators in the waiver priority order). Condon has been better than expected, but looking back to last year in similar circumstances he struggled after a while after being saddled with such a heavy workload. Adding an experienced player to support him couldn't be a bad thing.
Thoughts?