The offseason goaltending options for the Flyers just took a few interesting turns. First, the salary set from the arbitration hearing for Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup winning goaltender Antti Niemi was set at $2.75 million. This figure should be reasonable enough for the Hawks to sign, as they were rumored to have offered a three-year, $8 million offer previously. That, however, was until free agent goaltender Marty Turco stepped in. Eklund from Hockeybuzz posted recently, ‚ÄúWith rumors abounding Marty Turco is ready to be signed for 1.5, does anyone in their right mind believe the Hawks shouldn’t go the extra 1.25 to get a proven playoff performer, Cup winning, pressure goalie?‚Äù
Apparently not Chicago. According to CSN, Turco texted Tim Panaccio from Scotland tonight that, “We would have loved to go to the Flyers, but it’s not happening.” The Flyers had previously offered the former Stanley Cup winning goaltender a 3 year, $6 million deal at the NHL draft that Turco turned down. In Chicago, Turco would be the #1 starting goaltender in front of prospect Cory Crawford, who could very easily pull a Halak or Rask and win the starting goaltending position mid-season should Turco falter. Where Niemi ends up is anybody’s guess, but for kicks, lets throw out the Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers (who are still waiting to see if Nikolai Khabibulin goes to jail).
As far as Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price is concerned, no further headway has been made. General manager Pierre Gauthier is rumored to be looking to trade him now that a signing seems impossible. As far as I can tell from Eklund, a Price for Anaheim Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller may be in the works. The only other options available for the Flyers at this point are former Washington Capitals goaltender Jose Theodore and, sadly, Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas via trade. Even though the Flyers would likely have to send Jeff Carter to Boston to bring back Thomas, don’t be surprised if general manager Paul Holmgren ends up panicking and making this deal.
