Former Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had himself a night in Dallas.
Holtby backstopped the Stars to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in his 500th career start. The Holtbeast made 39 saves in the win.
He also accomplished a bit of history with the dub.
Former Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby was named the starter for the Dallas Stars in their season opener against the New York Rangers on Thursday. It didn’t take long for the Holtbeast to make his impact felt during the game with some stone-cold robbery.
Towards the middle of the second frame, the Stars committed a bad turnover in the defensive zone, giving up a chance right in front of the net.
Holtby, like he did for the Caps in Game Two of the Stanley Cup Final, bailed the Stars out with a mind-blowing save on Ryan Strome.
The Dallas Stars took on the Colorado Avalanche tonight in preseason action, Saturday.
Normally, a game like this would be completely inconsequential for Capitals fans. But not tonight.
There was a reunion among two 2018 Stanley Cup champions on the ice.
After a difficult season in Vancouver, Braden Holtby is looking for a fresh start with the Dallas Stars after signing a one-year deal with the club over the offseason.
Holtby is coming off a strange year that saw the goaltender face criticism for an insensitive mask design and his play in front of a hole-y Canucks defense. But the biggest drama of all came weeks before puck drop when Holtby’s tortoises, Honey and Maple, got stuck at the US/Canada border.
While meeting with the Stars press on Thursday, the Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender revealed that he had no such problems this year.
It was a “much shorter holdup at the border this time,” he said.
The greatest goaltender in Washington Capitals history is once again back in DC.
Sunday, Braden Holtby was at Nationals Park, watching the Nats take on the New York Mets. Holtby grew up a huge Toronto Blue Jays fan but became a big supporter of the Nationals during his time in DC — even becoming friends with several members of the team.
A day after being bought out by the Vancouver Canucks, former Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Dallas Stars. He has a repertoire of hats that will make him fit in immediately.
Holtby, who won the Vezina Trophy in 2016, will serve as the backup to Anton Khudobin. Khudobin, after leading the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, went 12-11-7 with a 2.54 GAA and .905 save percentage last season.
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta was the first to report the deal. Darren Dreger later confirmed the signing and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report Holtby’s salary.
By Ian Oland 4 months ago
Former Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby will be an unrestricted free agent for the second time in three years.
Tuesday, Rick Dhaliwal first reported that the Vancouver Canucks are buying the Holtbeast out of the final year of his contract, giving the team several million in salary cap savings a day before the start of free agency.
The Canucks finished dead last in the North Division last year, putting up a record of 23-29-4.
By Ian Oland 4 months ago
The Vancouver Canucks are one of several NHL teams that have been overhauling their roster this summer despite not having much money available to spend. So general manager Jim Benning has gotten creative.
The Canucks traded their 2021 first-round pick to ship out $12 million of salary — Loui Eriksson, Jay Beagle, and Antoine Roussel — to the Arizona Coyotes for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and the rights to RFA Conor Garland (who could end up with an AAV of $4 to $5 million). Vancouver also bought out Jake Virtanen, netting $2.5 million of savings next season, and added RFA center Jason Dickinson from the Stars for a third-round pick.
Now, a year after signing Braden Holtby as an unrestricted free agent, the Canucks are looking to move their backup netminder either via buyout or trade after Thatcher Demko locked down the starting spot. Holtby has a cap hit of $4.3 million.
Former Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had his worst statistical season as a pro with the Vancouver Canucks during the 2020-21 season. Serving as Thatcher Demko’s backup, Holtby posted a 7-11-3 record with a 3.67 goals against average and a .889 save percentage.
But hours before NHL teams must submit their protection lists for the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft (5 PM), the Holtbeast is reportedly a coveted player as some league GMs see value in the 2018 Stanley Cup champion as both a player and a leader in the locker room. Holtby’s season stats also seem skewed when considering how dysfunctional and bad defensively Vancouver was.
9:05 PM update: A source has confirmed to RMNB that Braden Holtby is back in town and this was him at today’s Nationals game. RMNB reader Bernie adds that he saw Holtby and said hello outside Nats Park at Dacha between the first and second game of the doubleheader. Holtby was with his wife Brandi and friends.
Original story: The Washington Nationals took on the San Francisco Giants on Saturday and it appears they had a very special guest in the crowd. Former Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, or his lookalike, attended the game.
The beardy gentleman, who had tattoos on his left arm, was spotted by RMNB reader Zach Wolpoff on the concourse walking to his seats. He wore a Juan Soto jersey, skinny khakis, and sandals.
By Ian Oland 6 months ago
