Media Bytes: Everything's Coming Up Goalies, Garand, Fox, Lafrenière, Dorofeyev
A three-team goalie trade that could land Karel Vejmelka in New York, the prospects Utah wouldn’t part with, and a blunt fix for Pavel Dorofeyev’s slow start.
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Helle of a Deal
1. Steve Valiquette joined Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne on Real Kyper & Bourne this week to discuss potential goaltending options for the Rangers, adding another name to the ever-growing list: Karel Vejmelka.
"I'm hearing Vejmelka's name a lot being linked to the Rangers," Valiquette told listeners, floating the possibility of a three-way trade involving the Rangers, Utah Mammoth, and Winnipeg Jets. In that scenario, New York would acquire Vejmelka, allowing Utah to land Connor Hellebuyck from Winnipeg.
"That's the one I'm hearing more than [Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen] coming to New York," he continued. "It has to be a fit for three teams. That's what's going to make this Hellebuyck move very unique."
Two Much Money?
2. Valiquette went on to praise Vejmelka as "a really good goalie," offering an interesting statistic to illustrate his value. Of the teams that made the playoffs last season, Utah was reportedly the only one that didn't get 25 points from its backup goaltender—a testament, in Valiquette's view, to how much Vejmelka carried the load himself.
"He did it on his own," he said. "He's a game-eater, and he can play."
The potential long-term fit is more complicated, however. Valiquette questioned whether pairing Vejmelka with Igor Shesterkin would make financial sense, with the two goaltenders potentially costing the Rangers around $15 million combined.
Vejmelka carries a $4.75 million AAV, with four years remaining on his current contract.
"In the future, if it was Vejmelka and Shesterkin, for around $15 million total, I don't know if that's something that works," Valiquette continued. "But I keep going back to the fact that once upon a time we did see [Dominik] Hasek in the same net as [Curtis Joseph] when they were both in Detroit. Teams find a way to figure it out."
