After a solid 2012-13 season in which they made the playoffs and pushed the Pittsburgh Penguins to their limits in the first round of the playoffs, the NY Islanders fell back to earth and the bottom of the NHL standings. While some might point to inexperience or a poor coaching staff, the reality is that the Islanders had poor goaltending all season long. Evgeni Nabokov, the team's number one netminder last season was woeful in the playoffs and many thought that general manager Garth Snow would make a play for a better keeper. Instead, he went back to Nabokov and decided to try his fate with prospects Kevin Poulin and Anders Nilsson. The end result is a league worst .893 save percentage heading into Sunday's game with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
For Snow the upcoming summer will be the franchise's final one in Nassau County as the Islanders are slated to leave for Brooklyn in 2015-16. So who can Snow turn to to fix his netminding situation? Here are some possibilities.
Jonas Hiller or Frederick Anderson
The Anaheim goalie looks to be playing his way out of Anaheim. Despite being the team's starter for most of the year, he has slowly lost favor with the emergence of young goalie Frederick Anderson. The team also has John Gibson in the system and many believe him to be the franchise's future in goalie. That would make Hiller expendable. He is a solid keeper and has a career save percentage of .916; he has a .911 save percentage in 2013-14. He is 32-years-old free agent so the Islanders could get him by offering a big payday (he is making $4.5 million a year at the moment) and that might provide the Islanders with an issue. He is a short-term solution but hardly the future in goal.
Anderson might an interesting option, assuming that the Ducks will part with him. If Gibson is the future then keeping Anderson around could potentially harm that goal. Anderson is having a stellar season for the Ducks and it might be wise for the team to sell high on him and retain Hiller to mentor Gibson until the latter is ready to take over the reins in goal.
Braden Holtby, Philipp Grubauer or Jaroslav Halak
The Washington Capitals goaltending situation has been problematic all season long and the team could be starting a fire sale after missing out on the payoffs for the first time in years. The protesting of Michael Neuvirth earned him a trade to Buffalo in exchange for Jaroslav Halak at the trade deadline, leading to the belief that Washington might be intent on signing the 28-year-old and his .919 save percentage to a long-term deal to keep him as the main man in net.
That would make Braden Holtby or Phillip Grubauer expendable. The former was once the team's top goalie prospect but his inconsistent play has made him the outsider at the moment. He has a .911 save percentage this season, but has a career .917 save percentage in 102 games played. Grubauer has a .925 save percentage this season in 18 games and is the younger of the two at 22-years-old; Holtby is 24.
The Islanders could land one of those three depending on what Washington intends to do.
Ray Emery
Snow was seemingly interested in the Flyers netminder last summer and it is possible that he might want to go after him as an emergency plan. Of course, Emery has done little to prove that he is worthy of being a top keeper. He has attitude problems, as evidenced during his time in Ottawa and his fight this year against Holtby, and might not gel with the locker room environment that Snow has worked hard to establish. Furthermore, Emery has a .906 save percentage this season in 26 games; that is hardly an upgrade over Nabokov's .904 save percentage this season in far more games. However, never count out Snow on going after him if he still sees him as a solid fit.
James Reimer
The Toronto netminder has lost favor with the Maple Leafs mainly because coach Randy Carlyle prefers Jonathan Bernier. Reimer has a .907 save percentage in 2013-14, but has a career .913 save percentage and would be a huge asset moving forward for the Islanders. The Maple Leafs are a woeful possession squad, meaning the Reimer faces a lot more shots than he would with the Islanders. He could also come cheap as it seems that the Leafs are being forced to trade him this summer.
Who should the Islanders go after this summer?
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