Free Agent Goalie Market Is Quite Slim This Summer

According to a report out of Canada, Ilya Samsonov will not return as a Golden Knight next season. The 28-year-old Russian posted a decent record of 16-9-4, but his play deteriorated as the season progressed. Despite being healthy throughout the entire playoff run, Samsonov did not serve as the backup for a single game.

Bruce Cassidy, along with goalie coach Sean Burke, has been steadfast in his belief that a modern-day goalie tandem should involve both goalies starting at least 30 games. So, that leaves an opening in the Golden Knights’ everyday roster and in the VGK net quite often. Unfortunately, the market for goalies is incredibly slim this summer.

Jake Allen
Allen was a highly touted goalie early in his career in St. Louis, earning an All-Rookie Team nod in his first season and starting 40+ games each of the next four years. However, once Jordan Binnington came along for the Blues, Allen has struggled to find a home as a starter. He’s posted a 72-96-20 record since 2019, mostly as a backup, but age hasn’t quite caught up to him yet, as he had his best year in a while last season in New Jersey with a .906 save percentage and an excellent 18.4 goals saved above expected (9th best in the NHL). He’s probably the most reliable goalie on the open market, but there’s no upside as a potential starter.

Vitek Vanecek
You may have noticed Vanecek toting the Stanley Cup around after the Panthers clinched their second straight title, but the backup goalie had little to do with the repeat. Vanecek came over from the Sharks at the deadline and started just seven games, going 2-4-1. His numbers in San Jose were unsurprisingly terrible, but didn’t get much better in Florida. He was, however, a solid starter a few years ago for the Devils and was selected in the 2nd round by the Capitals back in 2014.

Ville Husso
There was a time when Husso was expected to be the next big thing in the net for the St. Louis Blues. That got stalled by Binnington’s emergence in 2018 and Husso didn’t see a full season in the NHL until 2021-22. He was excellent that year, winning 25 of his 38 starts and posting a brilliant .919 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average. He even earned Vezina votes, finishing 7th. It hasn’t gone too well since he was traded to the Red Wings and then Ducks and has barely played the last two seasons. There’s an injury history to contend with as well after he missed time with the same injury on three separate occasions in 2023-24.

Joel Hofer
The 24 (soon to be 25) year-old is an RFA this summer and could be the perfect candidate for an offer sheet to pry him out of St. Louis. He’s 42-26-6 in his NHL career as a youngster and has shown plenty of flashes of brilliance. For those concerned about Adin Hill’s long-term status as the Golden Knights’ starter, Hofer would offer a heck of an option not only as a backup but to potentially usurp Hill as the starter. It would probably cost a 2nd round pick and a salary somewhere around $4 million but if Vegas are having second thoughts on Hill, there’s no better option out there.