The recent events in the NHL have dropped the value of goaltending measured in cap dollars to an all time low.
The recent successes of the Detroit Red Wings, and the recent lack of success of teams with premier goaltending have pushed GM’s to abandon their highly paid goaltenders.
Which brings me to the problem of a backup. The value of a backup is NIL. You see in the playoffs, you only use one goalie. Which means any dollars spent on the backup are dollars that could have been spent on guys on the ice. Essentially you can view the backup goalie dollars as a tax on your team’s CAP. If your cap is 59.8 million dollars, and your backup consume 2 million dollars, then your effective CAP in the playoffs is 57.8.
In an era where teams are no longer dominant that 2 million can be the difference between winning and losing the damn thing.
Which brings me to the Price vs Halak debate…
The value of a very talented backup is also NIL. If the backup is good enough to be a starting goalie, then that means you are missing players that could play during the playoffs. Because regardless of how valueless a goalie may be, everyone needs a starter, and if you’re backup is one of the top 30 goalies, then there is a team that is willing to give up some talent for him.
Ultimately one of Price and Halak had to be traded. And because the CAP dollars devoted to goalies is at an all time low… the right decision was to keep the cheap guy and trade the expensive guy for some front-line talent.
A great, great, great deal.
