Anderson Scooper http://t.co/9z9BWdq97a pic.twitter.com/eGy7xMrGtN
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) June 12, 2015
Recently, Calgary Flames President Of Hockey Operations Brian Burke recent said that his team is still need a goaltender that can play north of 60 games per season and accept the responsibilities and rigors that NHL starting goalies are faced with. Burke's Flames made remarkable progress in qualifying for teh playoffs this season after finishing 26th overall in the NHL standings in last season.
In 2014-15, the Flames were in capable hands in terms of their starting goaltending with veteran starter Jonas Hiller. Hiller finished the regular season with a 26-19-4 record, with one shutout. He posted a respectable .918 save percentage and a 2.36 GAA. Karri Ramo played well in his starts as well posting a 15-9-3 record with two shutouts and .912 save percentage and a 2.60 GAA.
On Friday, Elliotte Friedman told Calgary’s Sportsnet 960 that he thinks that Burke will be shaking up his net in order to find the missing piece to the puzzle. Friedman said that the Buffalo Sabres will play a role in this summer’s goaltending market. Every GM in the NHL knows that Murray is in hot pursuit of his next starting goalie right now. Murray's target list is said to include Ottawa goalies Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner. He has also been linked through trade chatter to LA’s Martin Jones, Anaheim’s backup tender John Gibson, and Vancouver’s Eddie Lack and Jakob Markstrom. There is also pending UFA Cam Talbot in The Big Apple.
The Edmonton Oilers and San Jose Sharks are also in search of their next starting goalie and have been linked to the same targets that Murray is coveting.
Murray and Burke are watching one another closely right now to see what the other does to shore up his goaltending situation. Friedman is suggesting that Burke and Brad Treliving may well trade both of their goalies and then go to the trade market to find his next starter.
The Flames aren't satisfied with just making the playoffs. They want to finish the regular season with a high seed and they want to host playoff games and make deep playoff runs. They believe that their goaltending can be better moving forward.
“I believe it wouldn’t be a surprise if both Ramo and Hiller were gone from Calgary next year. “To me, I’m really curious to see what Buffalo’s going to do in goal. And Edmonton. But more so Buffalo.
“Buffalo is a team – I think they want to try to start to get better, but I could see Buffalo as a team if they don’t get who they want – and I think Tim Murray likes Craig Anderson a lot, but I’m not convinced that Ottawa is going to trade him – I could see them maybe going for a short-term stop-gap, whether it’s Antti Niemi or Hiller or something like that.…
Tim Murray's team will not be a 30th place team this season. Murray and Dan Bylsma are committed to taking the Buffalo rebuild to the next level. Gone are the days that the Sabres are tanking for McEichel. With improved goaltending and better offensive production, the young Sabres could make a Calgary Flames type run to the playoffs this season. I'm not saying they will. However, I am saying that anythuing is possible in today's NHL. Especially when the Sabres will have Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, Samson Reinhart, Zemgus Girgensons, Tyler Ennis, Matt Moulson, Marcus Foligno, Zach Bogosian,, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nikita Zadorov, Mark Pysyk, Jake McCabe and others leading the charge.
Murray and Anderson have a very good relationship in hockey. Then Ottawa AGM Murray and his scouts did the homework on a trade that delivered Anderson to Ottawa from Colorado in exchange for Brian Elliott in February 2011. Murray said last week that he has options when searching for hi snext starting goalie. One of the options is to sign a 32-34 year old to tend the bars in Buffalo for the next couple of seasons until star prospect Linus Ullmark is ready to assume the crease in Buffalo. Ullmark will leave his native Sweden to report to AHL Rochester later this year after he fully recovers fully from last month’s double hip surgery. Anderson, 34, has three years remaining on his current contract at $4.2 million per season. Murray may like and respect Anderson’s work, however, he may hate Uncle Bryan’s trade demand. I can’t see Tim Murray sending Tyler Ennis or Matt Moulson to Ottawa, with a second rounder, in exchange for a 34 year old goalie. I think that it’s more likely that Tim Murray would send that compensation package to Anaheim for John Gibson or to L.A. for Martin Jones.
If Burke ponies up and pays Bryan Murray for Anderson, that would leave Tim Murray with an option of signing a UFA like Cam Talbot, Antti Niemi or Jonas Hiller for one or two seasons.
The word out of Ottawa is that Bryan Murray is seeking a steep asking price for Anderson or Lehner in the form of a top six forward and a draft choice. Murray’s inflated ask has caused a chilling effect in the goalie market because it’s a lot to ask for two goalies who haven’t necessarily dominated in the Stanley Cup playoffs the way that Hiller has. Anderson and Lehner are nice players, however, Uncle Bryan’s price may be a tad bit too high for the liking of his nephew Tim, Pete Chiarelli, and Doug Wilson in San Jose. Buffalo, Edmonton, and San could look elsewhere for their next starting goalie. Burke and Anderson know one another through their involvement in Team USA’s Olympic team. Maybe Burke agrees to pay Bryan Murray’s price for Anderson and the two GM’s make a deal. That would leave Lehner as the back up in Ottawa, for the time being.
Would Murray like to take a chance on Hiller? This season, Hiller, 33, led his young Flames to the Western Conference playoffs with an impressive 45 win, 97 point season after they won just 35 games and posted 77 points last season. Was Hiller the answer in Calgary? Yes, he played a huge role in their 2014-15 return to relevancy along with the strong play of Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler. Hiller played in an NHL All-Star Game (2011) and signed as a free agent with Anaheim May 2007? Hiller signed as a free agent by Calgary, July 1, 2014.
I trust that Tim Murray already knows that there will be a market for trade Hiller. Will Tim Murray relent and pay a premium to Uncle Bryan for Anderson or will he load up a fat trade offer for Gibson or Jones?
Tim Murray is a man who likes to have multiple options. He has several options regarding his current net status. Murray can trade for a veteran starting goalie. He can draft Ilya Samsonov with the 21st overall pick later this month. He can sign a UFA netminder. Or, he can make trades for more goalie prospects. My guees is that he and his scouts are leaning towards the trade of a veteran goalie. The Sabres need an extension ladder to climb out of the NHL basement. A goaltending upgrade is the best solution right now.
Murray doesn't like losing either.
Brian Burke isn't exactly Mr. Congeniality either when it comes to losing.