The NHL trade deadline is on Friday, March 8, and it will be the most important one for the Washington Capitals since 2018. For the first time in almost two decades, the Caps will be — or at least should be — unambiguous sellers.
And they’ve got lots to sell. Anthony Mantha, Nic Dowd, and more all could be up for grabs, but to me the most interesting option is goalie Charlie Lindgren. There’s already buzz about Lindgren, who could return “significant value” according to one insider. On Thursday morning, The Athletic’s Sean Gentille put Lindgren at the top of his trade targets in Washington.
Lindgren has had a breakout 2023-24 season, seizing the starting spot from Darcy Kuemper. Though the disaster in Detroit crashed his stats, he remains Washington’s more successful backstop.
| Goalie | GP | Opponent Goals | Opponent xG | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindgren | 28 | 75 | 77.1 | +2.1 |
| Kuemper | 29 | 89 | 86.8 | -2.2 |
Lindgren has saved two goals better than expected given the volume and quality of shots he’s faced. (That is down four goals from the Detroit game alone, but his record is still strong.) And, just as importantly, Lindgren has a very attractive contract.
| Goalie | Age | AAV | Term Left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lindgren | 30 | $1.1 | 1 year |
| Kuemper | 33 | $5.3 | 3 years |
At just over one million dollars against the salary cap, Lindgren could fit on almost any Cup contending team. And with one year left on his deal, Lindgren wouldn’t be seen as just a rental, but as a durable investment for next season.
The demand for a goalie like Lindgren is sky high. I could see as many as six teams vying for a goalie at the trade deadline, and if both Marc-Andre Fleury and Jacob Markstrom are off the table, pickings will be limited. Here, in order from highest to lowest, are the most likely candidates to become a trade partner.
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche rank 8th in points percentage, but their save percentage at five-on-five ranks 23rd. That’s mostly been on Alexandar Georgiev, who has played more than any goalie in the league and struggled in the first first half of the season. He’s been recovering since the all-star break (.910 save percentage in all situations), but the team may still at least want a more reliable backup than Justus Annunen, who got three starts in February.
Edmonton Oilers
After the Jack Campbell fiasco cost Jay Woodcroft his job, the Oilers haven’t been so bad in net. Stuart Skinner has been good (saving two goals better than expected), but he’s also heavily relied upon. Edmonton has given 31-year-old backup Calvin Pickard more starts lately, but as a contending team without any other real flaws, they should be looking to address their biggest weakness.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Canes are terrifying. They shoot more any team in the league and have a top-five power play. They’d be challenging the Rangers for top spot in the Metro if not for goaltending, which is a mess. Carolina has suited up five different goalies this season, and somehow the main guy is now Pyotr Kochetkov, a graduated prospect from the Chicago Wolves. Antti Raanta was struggling (21 goals worse than expected) before missing most of February with a lower-body injury. That pushed Kochetkov and Spencer Martin into the main rotation, and neither of those guys has been able to cement a starting role in the past. Freddie Anderson may yet return from his blood-clot trouble, but I doubt assistant GM Eric Tulsky would be comfortable going into the playoffs without some changes.
New Jersey Devils
Another ex-Cap goalie, Vitek Vanecek, has had a disaster of a season, allowing 13.5 goals more than expected and singlehandedly blowing a few games for his team, allowing 2.5 goals more than expected in six of his 32 appearances. Lately the Devils have been relying on 2020 draft pick Nico Daws to take starts, and he’s been fine (1.1 goals worse than expected), but fine won’t be enough for this underperforming team to grab a wild-card spot. Moneypuck has them at 23 percent to make the postseason, so it might already be too late to make a move. They should have done it months ago.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ex-Cap Ilya Samsonov (13.6 goals below expected) has been one of the worst goalies in the league this season, and that’s assuming Chicago’s Arvid Soderblom isn’t being bad on purpose. It looks like the Leafs are going to give Joseph Woll another shot — had had first start since December on Thursday night and did great, saving 30 of 32 shots. All that plus 34-year-old Martin Jones’s propensity for injury means Toronto has a bunch of question marks in net. And with the media attention on the team at Swiftian levels, there’s a lot of incentive to gain more confidence in net.
Dallas Stars
The Stars have been running Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood as a sort of 1A/1B tandem in hopes one would gain supremacy. That hasn’t happened, as both goalies continue to float around .900 all-situation saving. That’s allowed opponents 15 goals more than expected, which must be driving general manager Jim Nill nuts. The Stars work hard to keep opponents out of high-danger areas (behind only Carolina at limiting those attempts), but goaltending is wasting that effort. The Stars just traded for Chris Tanev, so we know they’re ready to load up, but they have not been identified as a team looking for a goalie.
This list is up for debate. I could imagine the Kings or Flyers trading for a goalie, though Rittich and Talbot have stabilized for the former and the latter seems set on standing pat at the deadline. Even without them, there’s a crowded list of buyers, and that competition would drive up cost. Brian MacLellan has the chance to do something very big here.
Statistics are current as of Thursday, February 29.
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