(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
With the NHL's Free Agency beginning yesterday, plenty of goaltenders found new homes.
Ty Conklin found a new job in the Midwest to battle for a starting spot, while Florida rotated backups and sent Anderson to the west. Also moving is former-Oiler/Penguin Matthieu Garon and also former-Oiler Dwayne Roloson.
The full wrap-up of all the goaltending transactions that occurred on opening day of NHL Free Agency is below.
Conklin stays in the region, finds a home with the Blues
The Detroit Red Wings' former backup goaltender, Ty Conklin, shifted from the a great lake to a great river yesterday, signing with the St. Louis Blues to once again battle for a starting spot with last year's breakout goalie Chris Mason.
Ty Conklin had an excellent record with the Wings last year at 25-11-2, and posted an impressive GAA of 2.51. But he did fade down the stretch and in the playoffs.
He will also have to battle for the starting job with the Blues with Chris Mason, who is entering his fifteenth season yet is coming off one of the best years of his career, where he won 27 games and also recorded six shutouts.
Florida rotates backups, inks Clemmensen while losing Anderson to the Avs
The Florida Panthers started the day badly by losing Craig Anderson to the Avalanche.
Anderson was very reliable last year despite playing most of the season behind Tomas Vokoun. He posted a top-five save percentage of .924, and finished the season 15-7-5 with the Panthers.
Colorado snatched up Anderson early by offering a two-year deal worth over $3.5 million.
However, Florida quickly addressed the situation by signing former Devil Scott Clemmensen, who played 39 games for New Jersey last winter while filling in for the injured Martin Brodeur. Clemmensen won 25 of them, and also had a near-league leading GAA of 2.39.
Clemmensen signed with the Panthers on a three-year deal worth $3.6 million.
Oilers lose Roloson but find new stud with Khalibulin
The Edmonton Oilers completely mixed up their goaltending status yesterday by letting Roloson go while signing former-Hawk Nikolai Khahibulin.
It started when the Islanders, looking for a new goaltender to fill in the place of former-star Rick DiPietro, who was a disaster last season, inked Dwayne Roloson to a two-year deal worth $5 million.
On the other hand, though, Roloson had a barely mediocre record last year with Edmonton, posted an unimpressive GAA of 2.77, and is also turning 40 soon. $2.5 million a year was way too much for a goalie well past his prime like Roloson.
Anyhow, the Oilers now needed a new goalie fast, having lost/traded both Mattheiu Garon and Dwayne Roloson in just a few months, and they solved the problem quite well.
Nikolai Khahibulin, who won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in '04 and pushed the Blackhawks to the Western Conference finals last season, was the pickup, and a very good one at that. Last year he went 25-8-7 and had a 2.33 goals-against average with Chicago.
Khahibulin was signed to an extensive four-year contract worth over $20 million.
Mathieu Garon finds yet another home, moves to Columbus
Mathieu Garon, after being traded to Pittsburgh from Edmonton early last March, has moved yet again, this time to backup for last year's rookie sensation Steve Mason in Columbus.
Garon played in just four games for the Pens last season, and was also unsettled in Alberta with the Oilers, where he was 6-8 with a 3.17 GAA and a below-.900 save percentage.
Brian Boucher goes cross-country, heads to Philly
Brian Boucher is now once again a Flyer, as he signed yesterday with his former draft team.
Boucher was good fill-in for Evgeni Nabokov with the Sharks last season, appearing 21 times and winning 12 of them while posting a terrific 2.18 GAA.
In Philadelphia, he signed a two-year, $1.85 million contract to split time with recently re-signed Ray Emery.
LaBarbara stays in the West, finds a desert home in Phoenix
Jason LaBarbara, who played short backup stints in both LA and Vancouver last season, has once again moved to another west-coast team, this time the Phoenix Coyotes. LaBarbara was okay last year, and has decent career stats in 107 games played.
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