San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson said that he has told goaltender Evgeni Nabokov that the team will not be offering him a new contract. Nabokov becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and is sure to be the prize goalie of the free agent market.
Nabokov has been one of the best goalies in the NHL over the past few years, winning an NHL-best 131 games during the past three years. In 10 seasons with the Sharks, he has a 2.39 goals against average.
Wilson said that the Sharks would like to sign their other free agents, including top goal scorer Patrick Marleau.
Now, as far as what the Sharks plan to do with their goalie situation…I don’t care. That’s their problem. What I know is that Nabokov is better than anything the Flyers have on their roster. He’s probably better than anything they could get otherwise for their team.
Is he going to come cheap? Probably not, but as long as it’s a relatively short deal, I’m fine with it. He turns 35-years old in late July, so he could conceivably give you three productive years. Who knows? Maybe more.
If you need to create cap space, trade Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell or both. Yes, I’m going overboard a bit, but if this team has what it takes to win now and if the goaltender is the main missing piece, then go get one that can play.
You just can’t go into next season with Michael Leighton and/or Brian Boucher as “the guy.”
