Photo Credit: Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports

Hot shot NCAA unrestricted free agent goaltender Matt O’Connor, 23, had reportedly begun to narrow down his list of suitors and the Vancouver Canucks are still in the running.

The 6-foot-6 netminder is still talking to the New York Rangers, the Ottawa Senators, and the Canucks, according to TVA’s Louie Jean. That would imply that the Edmonton Oilers, who were believed to be among O’Connor’s four finalists last week, are out of the running. 

Jean also suggests that O’Connor’s choice hinges on which goaltending coach the young netminder’s camp believes can take the young, undrafted netminder’s game to the next level.

If the quality of the goaltending coach is a priority for O’Connor, then that should bode well for the Canucks. 

Canucks goaltending coach Rollie Melanson is controversial in some quarters – he famously butted heads with Carey Price, and with Jose Theodore – but there’s no arguing with his results. From Theodore, to Christobal Huet, to Jaroslav Halak, to Roberto Luongo, to Cory Schneider, to Eddie Lack, there’s a lengthy list of goaltenders who have fared very well under Melanson’s tutelage.

The Senators and Rangers have quality goaltending coaches too though. Senators goaltending coach Rick Wamsley has done decent work in recent years with Craig Anderson, Ben Bishop, Robin Lehner, and Andrew Hammond (if you want to credit him for Hammond’s improbable two month run), while the Rangers employ Benoit Allaire – widely believed to be one of the best goaltending coaches in hockey. 

One thing we might note is that Jean’s report actually sounds very similar to the way that Canucks general manager Jim Benning described the club’s pitch to O’Connor at his season ending press conference earlier this week.

“We sold him on our ability to develop good goalies with Rollie (Melanson) and Dan Cloutier,” Benning said of the club’s meeting with O’Connor. “He’s a guy who wants to learn the position and get better and wants to be playing in the American Hockey League and developing until he’s ready to be an NHL player. When he met with us and met with Rollie, I think we (made) a good impression on him.”

The other consideration for O’Connor, surely, will be opportunity related. 

The Canucks do have a good deal of goaltending depth, but as we explained earlier this week, that depth could atrophy in a hurry this summer. 

With Thatcher Demko still a year or two away from turning pro, and the likelihood that the club will move Jacob Markstrom (or non-tender him) in the coming months, the club can easily offer O’Connor the opportunity of at least competing for a starting job in Utica next season. Also with Eddie Lack’s contract set to expire following the 2015-16 campaign, if you squint you can roughly view a linear path that O’Connor could take to being a backup in the show.

The Rangers have roughly the same level of depth in their system as the Canucks do, and with Cam Talbot’s deal expiring following the 2015-16 campaign, the Rangers can offer O’Connor a similarly linear path to a full time NHL job in the medium-term. The Senators have a more crowded situation in the crease, although its been reported that they’ve told O’Connor they’re intent on moving a goaltender this summer. 

Looking over the structural considerations, it looks like the Canucks and the Rangers should have the inside track on landing O’Connor. The 23-year-old netminder is expected to make his decision in short order, so this situation is worth watching closely this week.