* Written before Devan Dubnyk traded to the Avalanche
San Jose in a strange position on the playoff bubble
Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News: San Jose has about $12 million worth of projected cap space until the end of the regular season. Assistant general manager Joe Will put it this way:
“It’s an asset right around the trade deadline,” Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will said of the team’s cap space. “It not only gives you the flexibility to recall players freely, it gives you the ability to acquire, it gives you the ability to make moves at the trade deadline and have that kind of financial flexibility.
“Going into it this year, that certainly is something that we can look at using.”
Again, do not expect Doug Wilson to do anything. San Jose will have just a handful of road games left after the deadline. They also will likely be around or slightly above .500 and just a few points out of a playoff spot. Could Devan Dubnyk (traded to Avs) or Marcus Sorensen be moved since they are pending UFA’s.
Goaltender position to be in higher demand at trade deadline
Kevin Woodley of NHL.com (independent): It seems injuries to goaltenders and some bad play has led to the position being in elevated demand this trade deadline more than any. With cap space crunches, fits become more important in the final month than anything else.
Fit is important this time of year. Not every system is tailored-made for a goaltender – especially for a backup coming in for a month basically maybe a little longer. Expect James Reimer to be on this trade list at some point as Carolina sorts out its three-headed goaltender situation. He offers this:
“There is not always a good fit,” Reimer said in 2018. “If you’re a good goalie you can probably have success in any scenario. But just like any player, there is a perfect scenario for you. There is a sweet spot.”
Again, this is very true. Goalies like Devan Dubnyk and James Reimer expect to generate interest before Monday’s 3:00 pm EDT trade deadline. Do not forget about Jonathan Bernier as well. These are three goaltenders who likely could be moved by then.
