NHL Predictions: Ray Emery and 5 Backup Goalies That Could Steal Starting Jobs

Few things get fans and media pundits wound up like a goaltending controversy.  The circumstances are predictable—the results are anything but.

We've seen it time and time again.  The situation in Chicago last season is an outstanding example.  The Blackhawks went into the season with Corey Crawford backing up the newly signed Marty Turco.  Turco was heralded as the veteran answer to Antti Niemi's departure for San Jose.

But that isn't what happened.  Crawford seized the starting job as Turco struggled out of the gate and never looked back.  He started 57 games, winning 33 of them.

Here are six goaltenders that could "pull a Crawford" and end up winning the starting job for their respective squads.

Starter: Corey Crawford, Usurper: Ray Emery

Odd that Corey Crawford could be overthrown for the starting job seeing as to how he just won it.  While he was outstanding last season, it wouldn't be the first time a goalie buckles under the pressure of the sophomore slump.

If Crawford finds himself mired in said slump, the 'Hawks won't hesitate to roll Ray Emery.  He is a more than capable backup as he showed in Anaheim last season, and he has the talent to seize starts in Chicago.

Maybe I am reading too much into it, but if Chicago had the utmost confidence in Crawford standing tall in his second season, they would have been comfortable with Alex Salak as the backup.  But the idea of rolling two netminders that don't have a whole lot of experience appears to have made the 'Hawks a little nervous.

Starter: Steve Mason, Usurper: Mark Dekanich

This is likely Steve Mason's last chance to prove that he can be a starting goaltender in the NHL.  Word around the league is that the Blue Jackets don't win hockey games because of their defense, because they don't score enough goals, because of whatever you've heard—because the hockey Gods know Columbus doesn't get airtime on Versus or NBC.

But none of these things are accurate.  The Jackets don't win because Steve Mason has flat out stunk since his outstanding rookie season in 2008-2009.  A team doesn't have the chance to be successful when their netminder is giving up an average of three goals per game.

If Mason slips to that GAA, Columbus will turn to AHL standout Mark Dekanich who has a good pedigree and has been a gamer in every league he's played in.

Starter: Rick DiPietro, Usurper(s): Evgeni Nabokov/Al Montoya

I Googled "Rick DiPietro Injury" and my computer crashed due to the sheer volume of results the search returned.

Let's be real here: DiPietro won't finish the season as the starting netminder on Long Island.  Every year the team hopes that he can avoid the injury bug and every year he fails to do so.  The crease is there for the taking, and the battle for the backup position between Al Montoya and Evgeni Nabokov is in all reality a battle to be the eventual starter.

The Islanders are carrying three goaltenders on their roster right now, and while Nabokov is rumored to be on the market he provides a valuable insurance policy for the Islanders.  

Out of all the scenarios I list here I find this one to be the most likely.

Starter: Jose Theodore, Usurper: Scott Clemmensen

There was a point in time when Jose Theodore was considered one of the top netminders in the NHL. That was in 2002—so long ago that it probably feels like an eternity to the journeymen goalie.

Since he got his start in Montreal, Theodore has made a career out of that potential that teams hope is just laying dormant waiting for the right opportunity to surface.  That's how he landed in Colorado and Washington as the starter.  He put up two 30 win seasons with the high-powered Capitals, but all he had to be was average on a team that put up 239 goals per game.

Florida might be his last shot at being a starter in this league, and while he looked good in his first start for the Panthers, Scott Clemmensen is breathing down his neck for starts.  Once he returns from injury the heat will be back on Theodore in the Sunshine State (wait, that is Florida, right?).

Starter: Mike Smith, Usurper: Jason LaBarbera

Until Phoenix figures out a way to fuse Mike Smith and Jason LaBarbera into one goalie, the post-Bryzgalov period is going to be rough for the Coyotes.  It's very difficult to replace a top notch goaltender, but that is what the squad was tasked with over the summer.

The answer was Mike Smith.

No disrespect to Smith, but since his days as a highly touted up-and-comer in Dallas things haven't worked out so smoothly for him.  He was the centerpiece of the deal that sent Brad Richards to the Stars, and Tampa decided not to re-sign him, rolling with Rollie the Goalie instead.

If Smith plays like he did for the Lightning his days as the number one guy in the desert will be numbered. LaBarbera has been waiting in the wings for the starting gig in Phoenix for a while now, and once he has the opportunity he's likely to seize it with outstanding play.

Starter: Nikolai Khabibulin, Usurper: Devan Dubnyk

Taylor Hall.  Jordan Eberle.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.  Nikolai Khabibulin.  Magnus Paajarvi.  Linus Omark.

One of these players is not like the others, one of these players just doesn't belong.  Can you guess who it is?

If you answered Khabibulin, you're absolutely correct, and it isn't because he wasn't a first-round draft pick.  He is one of the only pieces on the Edmonton Oilers that just doesn't make sense.  He's a dinosaur compared to the rest of the lineup, which would be fine if he were winning hockey games.  But he isn't and hasn't since he became an Oiler.

His days are numbered as the starter in Edmonton.  While Devan Dubnyk may not be the guy for the Oilers, he's more of the guy than Khabibulin.  Just like his nickname implies, he got knocked to pieces in due time and fell apart brick by brick.