This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
At most positions in the NHL, you can't really have too much depth. However, goaltender is not most positions. If you have more than a couple that are of NHL caliber, you can't really do much with them. Does a team really need a solid netminder as their emergency backup? The Minnesota Wild may say yes, but for most teams, collecting goalies is a great way to turn a netminder, or two, into value.
The Anaheim Ducks are the poster children for this. Last year, they had four goalies that were capable of handling their own in the NHL. There was long time Duck Jonas Hiller, newish netminders Viktor Fasth and Frederik Andersen, and uber-prospect John Gibson. They had supply, the NHL had demand, and the Ducks decided to take care of business.
First, they traded Fasth to the Oilers. Then, they let Hiller, the veteran of the group, walk and sign with the Calgary Flames. That left them with Andersen and Gibson, two younger, cheaper options. While Gibson is supposed to be the next big thing, so far Andersen has been the story. He has been one of the best goalies in the NHL so far, so much so that Gibson even spent some time in the AHL to see the ice.
Andersen will likely come back to Earth, but when he does, Gibson will be there to step in. In fact, Gibson just posted a shutout of the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the cap space they got from letting Hiller and Fasth go helped them make improvements to their roster, such as signing Ryan Kesler. The Ducks may still be second fiddle to their neighbors to the north the Los Angeles Kings, but the way the Ducks handled their goaltending surplus could end up being the thing that helps them outlast the Kings this year.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Red Wings (Jimmy Howard*) at Capitals (Braden Holtby) 7:30
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Oilers (Ben Scrivens) 10:00
*Confirmed Starters
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW (groin) – Skated Tuesday, doesn't feel confident he will be able to play this weekend.
Capitals
John Erskine, D (neck) – Underwent surgery, expected to be out long-term.
Brooks Laich, C (upper-body) – Will not play Wednesday
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – Still on long-term injured reserve
Aaron Volpatti, LW (neck) – No longer wearing no-contact jersey in practice, but not ready to return.
Predators
Mike Fisher, C (Achilles) – Not expected to return until late November.
Oilers
Viktor Fasth, G (groin) – Now considered day-to-day, but still on IR.
Luke Gazdic, LW (shoulder) – Day-to-day, but may be sent to AHL when healthy.
Nikita Nikitin, D (back) – Will undergo MRI, status unknown.
Hot
Andrew Ladd, LW, WPG – Playing for the Jets may leave Ladd flying under the radar a bit, but he is one of a handful of talented forwards they have up in Winnipeg. After enduring a slow stretch, he's really picked up his play recently, as he has four goals and two assists in his last four games. He's also a plus-5 in those games, and has 17 shots on goal. Ladd has at least 23 goals and 50 points in every full season he has played with the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise (and he scored 18 goals and notched 46 points in the lockout shortened year) so this isn't a fluke. He's good, and more than capable of keeping this up.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, TAM – Kucherov has really broken things open the last few games. He has a game with three assists, and now he also has a game with a hat trick, and then he threw another goal in between those two games to spice things up. Granted, that is where most of Kucherov's points have come from so far this season, but if he is capable of a seven points in three games jag, clearly there is a lot of potential here. He's only 21, and he plays on a team with a lot of offensive talent, and this all makes him quite the intriguing player.
Cold
Mike Smith, G, ARI – Depending on how one wants to look at it, it may seem unfair to call Smith cold. He had a couple nice starts in a row, although he only picked up one win in those games. However, on Tuesday he let up six goals on 33 shots while playing 49:26 before being mercifully pulled. He also let up six goals on October 18, so that's two games out of four where he has let in six goals, and on the year he already has a whopping three games where he has ceded six goals. It has been a bad year, and unless he turns it around Devan Dubnyk may start seeing more playing time.
Justin Faulk, D, CAR – Faulk was considered a promising young defenseman heading into the season, but that has not been on display so far this year. In his last seven games, he has only one point, an assist, and he is a minus-8 in those games. He's playing a lot of minutes, but he's not doing a lot with them, and there is not a ton of talent around him in Carolina. The potential may still be there, but the results are not.
Recommended Pickup
Nick Bonino, C, VAN – Bonino made some noise in his first full season in the NHL last year, scoring 22 goals and tallying 49 points in 77 games with the Anaheim Ducks. He was a fine second-line center, but then the Ducks were able to land Ryan Kesler, and they figured it was reasonable to part with Bonino in order to secure him. Now, Bonino is a Canuck, and so far he seems to have acclimated himself to life north of the border. He has three goals and four helpers in nine games so far. He has no power-play points, which is a little concerning after he had seven goals and 13 assists with the extra man last year, but that could change. Bonino is 26, in the prime of his career, and based on the last year and some change looks like a legitimate fantasy contributor.
