The Winnipeg Jets goaltending situation became somewhat murky on Free Agent Frenzy Sunday as unrestricted free agent Chris Mason signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Nashville Predators and Jonas Gustavsson (whose negotiating rights were acquired at the NHL Draft) signed a two-year deal, $3 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings.
With starting goaltender Ondrej Pavelec locked up for five years and $19.5 million dollars, Jets General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff must now decide who he is going to use as his teams back-up goaltender for next season. Edward Pasquale, who played for the St.John’s IceCaps this past season, is probably the best option within the organization but he has only played one year of professional hockey and probably isn’t ready for NHL duty just yet.
Illegal Curve has compiled a list of Ten Free Agent Goalies who could replace Chris Mason:
(Player’s age, team he played for last season and statistics are in parenthesis)
1. Al Montoya (27 years old, New York Islanders, 31 GP, 9-11-5, .893 Save %, 3.10 GAA)
2. Dan Ellis (32 years old, Anaheim Ducks, 10 GP, 1-5-0, .911 Save %, 2.72 GAA)
3. Alex Auld ( 31 years old, Ottawa Senators, 14 GP, 2-4-2, .884 %, 3.35 GAA)
4. Andrew Raycroft (32 years old, Dallas Stars, 10 GP, 2-8-0, .898 Save %, 3.52 GAA)
5. Sebastien Caron (32 years old, Nashville Predators, 3 GP, 1-1-0, .897 Save %, 3.11 GAA)
6. Ty Conklin (36 years old, Detroit Red Wings, 15 GP, 5-6-1, .884 Save %, 3.28 GAA)
7. Antero Niitymaki (32 years old, Syracuse Crunch and Worcester Sharks, AHL, 13 GP, 4-8-0, .877 Save %, 3.60 GAA)
8. Nathan Lawson (28 years old, Hamilton Bulldogs, AHL, 44 games played, 19-17-4, .914 Save %, 2.57 GAA)
9. Brent Johnson (35 years old, Pittsburgh Penguins, 16 GP, 6-7-2, .883 Save %, 3.11 GAA)
10. Dwayne Roloson (42 years old, Tampa Bay Lightning, 40 GP, 13-16-3, .886, 3.66 GAA)
