Canucks Free Agent “Frenzy” Preview: 5 possible 3rd-string goaltenders to pursue

Photo Credit: Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports

Now that the Canucks have cashed in their goaltending surplus (however unsatisfactory it way, particularly in light of more recent goalies trade) and have allowed Joacim Eriksson to walk un-tendered to the KHL, they’ll need to refill their AHL-level goaltending ranks. Jacob Markstrom will graduate to the NHL full time next season, leaving the organization with only Joe Cannata – a .913 goaltender in his AHL career so far – in the professional pipeline.

Not only do the Canucks need a veteran AHL-level goaltender, they ideally need a good one. The thing about employing a competent third-string goalie is that it’s not unusual at all for them to legitimately get into some NHL games in any given season. The Canucks, for example, are just one Ryan Miller injury (or re-injury) away from having to ride Markstrom – a guy who hasn’t proven that he can hack it at the NHL level – as a workhorse starter. 

So, yeah, it would behoove the club to go out and find a competent veteran third-string goaltender, the sort of guy you can trust to give you a few games in the NHL if needed. Here a five options available in unrestricted free agency.

Tom McCollum is a name that stands out to me, partly because of his relative youth (he’s just 25), partly because of his pedigree, and partly because he’s become an elite AHL goaltender over the past two years after struggling enormously early on in his career. 

McCollum was drafted with a Detroit Red Wings first-round pick a few years ago, but struggled at both the AHL and the ECHL level out of the gate. He’s a very rare example of a goaltender appearing in an NHL game during their entry-level contract, only to not be offered a subsequent NHL-level deal upon the expiry of their ELC. 

The 25-year-old American-born netminder earned himself a two-way deal last summer by posting a solid .922 save percentage for the Grand Rapids Griffins during the 2013-14 campaign. He followed it up with another .916 season for the Griffins, helping them to the AHL’s Western Conference Final during the Calder Cup playoffs. McCollum also appeared in two NHL games this year, and played very well.

The Canucks have a pretty significant gap between Miller and Markstrom, and promising prospect Thatcher Demko, and McCollum is young enough that he could conceivably help fill it. He’s also a good bet to help the Comets keep winning, and might be able to hold his own at the NHL level (though he’s not exactly tested at that level). McCollum made $110,000 at the AHL level last season, and will probably require demand a raise on the open market this summer.

One of hockey’s ultimate journeymen, the former Canuck and Burnaby, B.C. native is big (6-foot-3) and old (35) and at least decently reliable.

Splitting time between the Anaheim Ducks and the Norfolk Admirals last season, LaBarbera managed a .909 save percentage in five games with the Ducks and was pretty much average in nearly 40 AHL games. Though his AHL results have been on the decline the past two seasons, LaBarbera is a ‘been there, done that’ type veteran who could bring some stability to Vancouver’s organizational pipeline, mentor Cannata in Utica, and give you roughly replacement level goaltending at the NHL level should it come to that.

Richard Bachman is undersized for a goaltender at 5-foot-10, which doesn’t fit with Rollie Melanson’s usual preferences, but he’s an experienced NHL backup who has been generally reliable in the AHL and he has ties to Willie Desjardins from Vancouver’s head coach’s time in Dallas.

As it turns out, the Canucks have already reportedly reached out to Bachman’s camp:

Bachman has managed to get into at least a few NHL games in each of the past four seasons, and with the exception of a tough 13-game run for the Dallas Stars during the lockout shortened campaign, the veteran goaltender has been a full value backup – even when he’s been unlucky enough to play behind the goalie-career ruining Edmonton Oilers defense.

At the AHL level Bachman has been a bit inconsistent, but his career .916 save percentage is well above average for an AHL goaltender, and he was lights out for the Oklahoma City Barons in the 2015 Calder Cup playoff. 

Rob Zepp, 33, was a fun story last season. The former fourth-round pick (back in 2001) spent a decade in Germany, but at the age of 33 become the oldest goaltender in nearly 90 years to win his NHL debut.

Zepp actually won a solid stretch of games for the Flyers, though he didn’t actually fare all that well against NHL shooters. He was decent in the AHL though, managing a respectable .917 save percentage for the LeHigh Valley Flyers. 

He’s not a great option, but you never know with goalies. At least at the AHL level and at times in the show, it sure seemed as if Zepp could stop a decent rate of pucks launched at him by NHL shooters.

In addition to the four veterans we’ve listed, there could be some additional options when the dust settles a bit later in the summer. This actually might be the best option.

Generally speaking there are only 60 NHL gigs for goaltenders in hockey, and when the music stops on July 2nd or 3rd, there could be a serious NHL caliber goaltender just scrambling for a professional job.

Maybe a player like Viktor Fasth doesn’t get an NHL-level deal, and the Canucks can offer him a generous enough AHL salary to keep him from going to Europe? Considering Miller’s injury status (he’s a few weeks yet from being 100 percent) and Markstrom’s enigmatic NHL performance, it wouldn’t be the worst call.