Photo Credit: Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports
The Vancouver Canucks will count on Richard Bachman to replace Jacob Markstrom as the team’s third-string goaltender next season.
The club announced on Wednesday that they’ve locked up the undersized, veteran goaltender with a two-year deal. The financial terms of the deal not disclosed.
We discussed Bachman on Tuesday as a potential target to be the club’s new 3rd-string goaltender:
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.
We also discussed why adding a competent, veteran, third-string guy was so crucial to Vancouver’s chances this season:
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.
Bachman has some familiarity with the Canucks coaching staff, having played goal for Glen Gulutzan and Willie Desjardins during his time with the Dallas Stars. He’s a replacement level goaltender at the NHL level, but at least he’s tested and experienced in the show. At the AHL level he’s posted above average results, which will help the Utica Comets enormously.
That latter factor, helping the Comets win, is crucial for the organization. Not only is it necessary for the team to keep developing prospects in a winning environment – as general manager Jim Benning and company talk about at length at every opportunity – but it’ll also help inflate Comets head coach Travis Green’s stock, which could net the Canucks a second- or third-round pick at some point down the road.