NHL Trade Rumors: 9 Teams That Could Win a Cup With Miikka Kiprusoff in Net

The Calgary Flames’ previous success is due in large part to the veteran goaltending presence in their net: Miikka Kiprusoff. Unfortunately, since the Flames are struggling this year, Kiprusoff is as well.

This season, Kiprusoff is one of the targets of fans’ ire, unusual for the fan-favorite. Kiprusoff won’t be winning a Stanley Cup with the Flames this year, but here’s a list of teams he could win one with.

9. Philadelphia Flyers

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 25: Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky #35 of the Philadelphia Flyers defends the goal during an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Wells Fargo Center on January 25, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul B

The Flyers fell in the Stanley Cup Finals last season because their defense seemed to tire out. Part of it was the goaltending. The team performed well through various injuries to their starting and back-up goaltenders.

This season, they have a great goaltender in rookie Sergei Bobrovsky and have Brian Boucher healthy, for the time being at least. They waived Michael Leighton because of Bobrovsky and Boucher.

But, if Boucher becomes injured again, can the Flyers rely on the rookie to guide them through the playoffs? See Semyon Varlamov and the Washington Capitals in 2009.

To avoid such a scenario, the Flyers should add another veteran goaltender as a safety net.

8. Montreal Canadiens

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 25: Goalie Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens makes a save in an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 25, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Gett

The Montreal Canadiens managed to upset typical Eastern conference powerhouses Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins with the amazing performance of Jaroslav Halak. Following their season, they inexplicably traded away Halak, leaving the net to Carey Price.

Price has been a great goaltender this season, but as evidenced from his performance in the playoffs last season, he can be inconsistent. The Canadiens should have another reliable goaltender in case Price goes into a funk again.

7. Phoenix Coyotes

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GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 22: Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov #30 of the Phoenix Coyotes makes a save during the NHL game against the Los Angeles Kings at Jobing.com Arena on January 22, 2011 in Glendale, Arizona. The Kings defeated the Coyotes 4-3. (Photo by C

Despite the Phoenix Coyotes’ past woes, they remain a playoff contender, currently sitting at the 6^th spot

 in the West. Last year, they were no match for the Detroit Red Wings. They could use the goaltending experience that Kiprusoff has.

6. San Jose Sharks

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - JANUARY 20: Goalie Antti Niemi #31 of the San Jose Sharks makes a glove save against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period in NHL action on January 20, 2011 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Im

Kiprusoff began his first three years with the Sharks, before becoming a Calgary Flame. The Sharks have previously a good team, with Nabokov in net.

Many analysts believed they were in line to get their names on the Cup. Then their goaltender Evgeni Nabokov left the NHL for his native Russia.

This year, the Sharks are struggling defensively. They could use another solid goaltending presence. Perhaps they should reinvest in Kiprusoff?

5. Chicago Blackhawks

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CHICAGO, IL - JANUARY 25: Corey Crawford #50 of the Chicago Blackhawks follows the puck against the Minnesota Wild at the United Center on January 25, 2011 in Chicago, Illinois. The Wild defeated the Blackhawks 4-2. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The defending Stanley Cup champs shipped many members of their Stanley Cup-winning squad away during the off-season. One of them was their goaltender Antti Niemi.

Granted, it was their defense that won them the Stanley Cup last year, but they don’t even have Dustin Byfuglien anymore to park in front of the net to block shots.

If they want another Cup, they’ll need a better goaltender.

4. Colorado Avalanche

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DENVER, CO - JANUARY 18: Goalie Craig Anderson #41 of the Colorado Avalanche makes a save against the Vancouver Canucks at the Pepsi Center on January 18, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Canucks 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Doug Pensi

The Colorado Avalanche are currently sitting at the 9^th spot in the Western Conference. They’ll be looking

 to make a playoff push and they’ll need a solid goaltender to help them there.

 It seems like they’re not going to find it in Craig Anderson, whose save percentage varies between barely over .900 or below it. Those numbers aren’t going to win a Stanley Cup. Kiprusoff has better career numbers, maybe he could help.

3. Detroit Red Wings

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DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 22: Jimmy Howard #35 of the Detroit Red Wings gets set to stop a incoming shot in a game against the Chicago Black Hawks on January 22, 2011 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Hawks defeated the Wings 4-1. (Photo by Cl

Since Chris Osgood is out with an injury, the Red Wings were looking for stability to back-up Jimmy Howard. They thought they could get Evgeni Nabokov, but obviously that fell through.

 They should look to Kiprusoff to back-up Howard in net.

The Red Wings are one of those elite organizations that are probably always going to have a playoff berth, but they’ll get farther with Kiprusoff backing Howard up than Joey MacDonald backing him up.

2. Washington Capitals

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WASHINGTON - JANUARY 14: Semyon Varlamov #1 of the Washington Capitals makes a save against the Vancouver Canucks at the Verizon Center on January 14, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

The Capitals have seemed like “the team to most likely win the Stanley Cup next,” the past couple of years. But after winning the President’s Trophy last year, then falling in the first round of the playoffs to the Montreal Canadiens, management made a lot of changes.

One of those changes was to not re-sign veteran goaltender Jose Theodore, leaving the net in the hands of young and inexperienced playoff goalies Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth.

If the Capitals want to win the Stanley Cup, they will need a better goaltending presence, especially a veteran with playoff experience.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning

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TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 25: Dwayne Roloson #35 of the Tampa Bay Lightning makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Pete Times Forum on January 25, 2011 in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning defeated the Leafs 2-0. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The Lightning have had inconsistent goaltending in Mike Smith and Dan Ellis. Yzerman brought Dwayne Roloson to town to try to rectify that.

Roloson has played extremely well with the Lightning since his arrival, but at 41 years old, how much more can the Lightning expect to get out of them?

The Lightning are building a franchise and will be Stanley Cup contenders once they get the kinks ironed out. They should invest in a goaltender who can be their number one guy for a number of years.