Could Golden Knights, Senators make goaltending moves ahead of the trade deadline?

On Monday’s edition of "Daily Faceoff Live," former NHL goaltender and now analyst Mike McKenna discussed the Vegas Golden Knights’ goaltending situation since Logan Thompson suffered a lower-body injury and if they need to acquire another goaltender ahead of the trade deadline. McKenna also spoke on the Ottawa Senators goaltending fiasco and whether Pierre Dorion should buy or sell. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: Mike, let’s dig into things here starting out West in the Pacific Division with a team you know quite well the Vegas Golden Knights. Logan Thompson is out and is injured, what do you see in the crease there, and does Vegas need to go out and add someone in the next three weeks?

Mike McKenna: You know, I think Vegas is probably wise to stay on pat with what they have between the crease unless things go completely sideways. Here’s the reason why Logan Thompson has been the rock for Vegas and the problem now is he has a lower-body injury. This will keep him out week to week and head coach Bruce Cassidy said that he would probably be back for the regular season but not anytime soon. That’s concerning to me, that’s four to six weeks probably. Cassidy also went on to say that with Laurent Brossoit called up from Henderson of the American Hockey League his playing time would be depended on how he plays during his opportunities. What that says to me is that this is Adin Hill’s crease in Vegas all season long. On the season, he’s 12-5-1 with a .911 save percentage. Now we need to look at this, according to MoneyPuck.com Hill’s saves are above expected are down to 73rd in the league and he’s also faced a weak schedule. So this is a make-it-or-break-it type of deal for Hill and you also have Brossoit as your ace in the hole, which is why you have three goaltenders at a time. He played a lot of last year injured, and had off-season surgery and his .855 save percentage is well off his career .905 in 106 NHL games. He’s played pretty well in Henderson, who’s been a bottom-feeder team in the AHL’s Pacific Division. So, I think Vegas is okay in goal here, Hill and Brossoit should be able to carry the load until Thompson is back. I wouldn’t do anything drastic, but if the wheels fall off, or if there’s a setback in Thompson’s recovery, then maybe Vegas does something. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s head out East and take a look at another team who has dealt with a lot of injuries between the pipes. Saturday afternoon the Ottawa Senators had to watch Anton Forsberg get stretchered off the ice and Bruce Garrioch reported that it sounds like they will avoid surgery, so a two-to-three month recovery timeline that will keep him out the rest of the season and Cam Talbot is already out as well. What do you make of this situation in Ottawa? 

Mike McKenna: I think Ottawa might be wise here to be a buyer and a seller in this situation. Let’s face it, they’re not making the playoffs. Cam Talbot is a pending UFA, he’s played quality hockey, are they going to be able to retain him? Is that the plan? I don’t know if I’m Pierre Dorion I need to move Cam Talbot. Even though he’s coming off an injury, go out and get a piece for Talbot. They don’t have a third-round pick in the next two years of NHL Drafts, so go make a play. Anton Forsberg has a double MCL injury and I can’t even imagine having both blown at the same time, but he’s done for the year and he has two years remaining on his contract at $2.75 million. You know Forsberg will be there next season. So, you start looking down the batting order, Mads Sogaard, and Kevin Mandolese is there. Sogaard I believe needs to be in the AHL, he had a short cameo last year, but he’s had an up-and-down season in Belleville this season. He’s a pretty early draft pick who they should have some belief in, the same goes for Mandolese. If Talbot comes back and Forsberg is out the rest of the year I think regardless the Senators need to pick up a goaltender. They can go two ways about it, they can trade for a warm body that can fill the hole for the rest of the season or, I think they could also go out that maybe fits long term, meaning the next two to three seasons until Sogaard or Mandolese are ready to go in Ottawa.  I think Dorion would be wise to do a bit of selling and buying at the trade deadline. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s talk about another name out East who could potentially be a fit with the Senators and that’s Joonas Korpisalo of the Columbus Blue Jackets. When you factor in just how bad Columbus has been this season, his numbers don’t look bad. What do you think of Korpisalo and is he maybe a fit in Ottawa? 

Mike McKenna: Well, I think it’s maybe a great option for the Senators. Imagine having a Forsberg and Korpisalo tandem for the next couple of years, you could do worse than that. What I like about Korpisalo, is that he came back from a big-time injury and has posted respectable numbers on a Columbus team that allows the second most shots on goal per game. You look at the delta between him and goaltending partner Elvis Merzlikins, to me that .907 save percentage is probably a little bit lower than the ability he’s playing. He’s sitting 27th right now in goals saved above expected which shows he’s outpacing not just his goalie partner but the team’s defensive performance. So, what do you do with him? Well, Merzlikins has four years left on his deal at $5.4 million, and he’s not going anywhere, their other goalie, Daniil Tarasov is on a one-way deal at just over $1 million so to me that means Korpisalo is the odd man out. If they can get a return, why not in Ottawa? A team that needs a goalie and maybe could be their goalie for the rest of this year and into the future. I think he’s shown pretty well this year,  he’s played big-time hockey and I look to Ottawa or San Jose, he might fit the bill for them.

You can watch the full episode here…