LA Kings: Evaluating the UFA goalie market

As the summer inches closer, the LA Kings have two goaltenders under contract for the 2023-24 season. However, one of those is journeyman veteran Pheonix Copley, who is coming off the best season of his professional career, and Cal Petersen, who, in the first year of a three-year, $15 million contract, was waived and sent to the Ontario Reign of the AHL.

While the Copley story of last season was nice, the Kings would be hard-pressed to enter next season with him and a struggling Petersen as their two netminders, particularly when LA has aspirations of making the playoffs and advancing past the first round.

The elephant in the room is the $10 million owed to Petersen over the next two seasons. If Rob Blake is going to try to move that contract, it’ll be costly in the way of a future asset(s). Even with that, it’s not easy to identify teams with the cap space and willingness to take on that much money for a struggling goaltender who will be 29 as the season begins. Oh, and Petersen has a No-Movement clause to boot.

All that to say, Blake has his work cut out for him.

In this first part of scouring the goaltending market, we’ll take a look at some options that could be available via free agency for the LA Kings’ general manager. In Part 2, we’ll try to identify some trade targets.

Top Options

Joonas Korpisalo, LA Kings

The best option for Blake and the Kings just might be the goaltender they acquired at the trade deadline in Joonas Korpisalo. He finished just outside the top ten in GSAx (per MoneyPuck) in the regular season and was steady down the stretch for LA, posting a .917 save percentage (SV%) after joining the Kings. His postseason started off great but didn’t end so. His expiring contract paid him just $1.3M on a one-year deal. I’d expect Korpisalo to at least double that contract and potentially be the most costly of the bunch, which could be tricky for LA.

Semyon Varlamov, New York Islanders

The 35-year-old Semyon Varlamov has been a solid NHL goaltender for nearly 15 years. In 2022-23, he was 11-9-2 with a 2.70 goals-against average (GAA) and .913 SV% playing as Ilya Sorokin‘s backup. In the past six seasons, only once has Varlamov had a save percentage below .910 (2018-19, .909). Given his age, he’s probably not a goalie to whom you’d give a heavy workload, which could suit LA just fine. Whether they are able to shed Petersen’s contract or not, they could go the route of splitting the net, as we saw toward the end of last season. I think Varlamov could handle that type of load. He shouldn’t cost anywhere near his $5M AAV contract that is expiring.

Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes

Andersen is coming off a season where he went 21-11-1 with a 2.48 GAA and .903 SV%. After suffering a lower-body injury in November, Andersen returned in January and was the go-to option in the playoffs, going 5-3 with a 1.83 GAA and .927 SV% in the postseason. His current contract pays him $4.5M AAV, but he’ll be turning 34 in October and carries a bit of an injury history. That, along with his -3.5 GSAx (per MoneyPuck), he should come in around half that. With Pyotr Kochetkov inking a four-year deal last season, I don’t see how Carolina can bring back both Andersen and Antti Raanta (more on him later). The oft-injured Andersen has insisted he wants to stay, but with more pressing needs to fill, we’ll see if the Hurricanes are able to do it.

Proceed with Caution

Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry is seeing his three-year, $10.5M deal come to an end this summer, and with a new GM in the Steel City, it’s uncertain what Jarry’s future with the club will be. The timing of free agency isn’t great for Jarry, who is coming off the worst year of his career with just a .909 SV% and a -2.8 GSAx (per MoneyPuck). Jarry also dealt with multiple injuries in the second half of the 2022-23 season. Of the goalies in this tier, he is who I am the least interested in.

Antti Raanta, Carolina Hurricanes

Freddie Andersen’s teammate, Antti Raanta, also missed some time last season with an upper-body injury. As usual with Raanta, when he was healthy, he was solid. In 27 games, the Finnish netminder went 19-3-3 with a 2.43 GAA and .910 SV%. The problem is he’s often injured. He’s only played in 30 games three times in his NHL career. Not unlike Varlamov, Raanta is a good option for a goaltending tandem in that he won’t have to handle a heavy workload. The 34-year-old is coming off a deal that paid him $4M over two years. I wouldn’t expect him to get any more than that as a free agent. He’s not my favorite option, but he certainly isn’t my least favorite, either.

Adin Hill & Laurent Brossoit, Vegas Golden Knights

I’m lumping the two Golden Knights together because while Logan Thompson is under contract, it’s conceivable that Vegas will go with the less expensive options, leaving the other to hit the market. I know what you’re thinking; Adin Hill has helped carry this team to the Stanley Cup Finals; why wouldn’t they bring him back? I’ll remind you that Vegas doesn’t operate like that. There’s little loyalty in Sin City – and frankly, it’s served them well.

Hill was an underrated addition last offseason and quietly had a good regular season, posting a .915 SV% in 27 games. He’s adding a few extra zeroes to his contract with his playoff performance to date as well, where he sits with a .937 SV% in 11 games.

Laurent Brossoit had the sixth-best GSAx (min 10 GP, per MoneyPuck) in 2022-23. He played so well that the Golden Knights tabbed him to be the starter heading into playoffs. However, he suffered a lower-body injury and hasn’t yet returned to skating.

Ultimately, none of the guys in this tier are ones I would trust as my “starting goalie.” I think they could all serve beneficial in a tandem.

The Rest

Jaroslav Halak, New York Rangers

Halak is a good goaltender but much better suited for a clear backup role. If LA had a legitimate number-one, Halak would be higher on this list.

Anthony Stolarz, Anaheim Ducks

In 19 games, Stolarz had a higher GSAx/60 than Logan Thompson and was right behind Adin Hill. It was a decent season on a terrible Ducks team for Stolarz. The 29-year-old will likely hit the market with John Gibson still there (for now), and Lukas Dostal is climbing the ranks. There are worse options, but I wouldn’t feel great about this one.

Cam Talbot, Ottawa Senators

Like Halak is a good option as a clear-cut backup, but I don’t think Cam Talbot is quite as good. Not a fit for me.

James Reimer, San Jose Sharks

He was among the worst goaltenders in the league in GSAx (per MoneyPuck) in 2022-23. No, thank you.

Martin Jones, Seattle Kraken

There was a brief time this season when Martin Jones was a thing for the Kraken. But at the end of the day, with a .887 SV% and -6.9 GSAx, we don’t need to revisit this.

Alex Nedeljkovic, Detroit Red Wings

Are you a believer in a reclamation project? After posting a .932 SV% in 23 games in 2020-21 with the Carolina Hurricanes, Nejeljkovic has really struggled in Detroit. In 2022-23, the 27-year-old had a .895 SV% and was sent to the AHL. This is one instance where I do think the environment matters. Carolina is one of the better places to be a goalie. The Red Wings in the past few seasons are almost the exact opposite. Could Nedeljkovic find his game again with a better defensive structure in LA?

Stay tuned for Part 2, where we look at potential trade options.

Contract figures per CapFriendly.

(Main Photo Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)