NHL Colorado Avalanche: Who Is the Best Solution for the Goalie Conundrum
Now that the season is over for the Colorado Avalanche, we can all start partaking in one of the great activities of the off-season: Speculation over who your team should go after in free agency.
It's no doubt that the Avalanche had a horrible year, and it's equally obvious that the goaltending situation was one of the things that led to our incredibly sub-mediocre finish.
Our defensive futility led to the Avalanche giving up the most goals in the entire league (287) along with surrendering the most goals per game (3.45).
Part of the blame must be laid at the feet of coach Joe Sacco, who mismanaged the goalies all year, killing their confidence and literally driving last season's hero, Craig Anderson, straight out of town.
Nonetheless, goaltending is one of the largest needs for the Colorado Avalanche in the coming season. So who is the best person to lead the Avalanche in goal?
Peter Budaj
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Peter Budaj has been with the Colorado Avalanche his whole career, most of which as a back up.
He had one season where he was the number one goalie. That year, 2008-2009, the Avalanche finished at the bottom of the Western Conference and got the third overall draft pick, which turned into Matt Duchene.
Budaj is, at the absolute most, a decent back up. If you put him in once every 10-15 games, he'll give your team a chance to win; but he is most definitely not anybody's solution in net.
He is quite good in shootouts, but you're not going to keep a goalie just because he can win you a shootout.
With the introduction of Brian Elliott to the team, it seems that the Avalanche are looking elsewhere for goaltending talent, and Budaj will most likely find himself somewhere else next season.
Sorry Boods, but you're not the guy.
Brian Elliott
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Brian Elliott came over to the Avalanche from Ottawa this season in exchange for Craig Anderson, just in case you were under a rock in February.
Since joining the Avalanche, Elliott has played in 12 games. He had decent showings in approximately three of those games and had a goals against average of slightly under four.
It seems that the Avalanche were hoping that Elliott would do for the Avalanche what Anderson ended up doing for Ottawa once he got out of town. Well, that certainly didn't happen.
I think Elliott will probably be around with the Avalanche next season, but not as the starter. You just don't trade your team's MVP from the previous season and then unceremoniously drop the guy you traded him for after 12 games. You'd better be absolutely certain that he's a bust.
That being said, he isn't the solution to our starting problem either.
Ilya Bryzgalov
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Bryzgalov is the sexy name that is out there right now, as far as goalies are concerned. He is definitely the cream of the crop at his position for this free agent class.
Bryzgalov is a legitimate number one goalie. He has done fantastic things with the Coyotes, and has helped solidify that franchise as one to be reckoned with in the Western Conference.
Uncertain ownership and a desire for a bigger pay check might be things that drive him towards a team that has about $16 million dollars of cap space and could afford to shell out some change.
He has the capability to win games by himself, something that the Avalanche would like to have consistently, and haven't had consistently since Patrick Roy retired.
Bryzgalov could go a very long way in helping out a defense that needs to get bailed our a few times each game.
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Tomas Vokoun
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Vokoun made a name for himself while playing in Nashville, helping an expansion team make the transition to a team that actually could win.
Vokoun is the oldest of the available goalies this year, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Vokoun has always been a solid goalie, but has usually played on bad teams, Florida being no exception, and might be wanting to help a young team like the Avalanche get back to a competitive level.
He isn't quite as attractive as Bryzgalov, but that also means that he won't be nearly as expensive. This could be a draw for him as well, since Josh Kroenke seems to be a little bit reticent to allow the Avalanche to spend any money at all.
Vokoun could be a compromise of getting a legitimate number one goalie without breaking the bank, so to speak.
Plus, since he is older, the Avalanche could use Vokoun as a means of easing in their goaltending prospect Calvin Pickard, who has loads of promise but is still very young.
Jean-Sebastian Giguere
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Jean-Sebastian Giguere is a name that I don't think too many people are throwing around when it comes to the Avalanche, but it kind of makes sense if you think about it.
Giguere has fallen out of favor in Toronto, being sidelined for James Reimer. That might make people think that he's washed up and no longer worthy of a starting job. Not so fast.
It wasn't all that long ago that Ilya Bryzgalov dethroned him in Anaheim. What happened there? Giguere didn't only win back the starting job, but Bryzgalov was sent out of town and Giguere helped lead the Ducks to their first ever Stanley Cup.
That is another huge thing. Of all of the available free agent goalies, Giguere is the only one with Stanley Cup experience. Imagine the calming influence that could have on a young team that had a horrible tendency to panic during the season.
Those players know that they don't have to be absolutely perfect all the time, because they have a championship goalie that can bail them out if need be. People made that same comment about Patrick Roy all the time.
Plus, you get the same type of transitional style goalie with Giguere that you would get with Vokoun. How great would it be for Calvin Pickard to be able to learn from a Conn Smythe winning goalie in his first couple of seasons in the NHL?
The Verdict?
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In the end, the person who has the biggest influence on who the Avalanche will go with is Josh Kroenke. Many Avalanche fans, myself included, are very hopeful that the addition of Joe Sakic to the front office means that they more willing to pull the trigger on spending, but just want somebody who is better at evaluating NHL talent.
In my opinion, the best option for the Avalanche at the goalie position is Ilya Bryzgalov, but he is also the one that will cost the team the most money. Even so, he's the way to go.
If I were to rank them in order, here's what it would look like.
1. Ilya Bryzgalov
2. Jean-Sebastian Giguere
3. Tomas Vokoun
4. Brian Elliott
5. Peter Budaj
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