This morning, media outlets around North America began buzzing with the news that the most anticipated goalie import of the year would be playing in hockey’s biggest market. Jonas Gustavsson announced today that he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 1-year, $810,000 with a additional $90,000 available in bonuses (making it the max contract of $900,000 total). Obviously, Stars fans have been pretty disappointed with the announcement, but at the very least, it will allow the Stars to move forward with finding a backup netminder.
Here are some of the options available to the Stars:
Out of all of the choices available, I think I’m most inclined to choose Brent Johnson or Antero Niittymaki. Both players are relatively young (32 and 29 respectively) and have had been successful backups before. And, both would come with reasonable price tags. The cost of someone like Marty Biron or Manny Fernandez will be well over $3 million per year, and most likely with Biron, closer to $5 million. I really want to like Kevin Weekes as an option, because he’s great with fans and good in the community, but on the ice, I haven’t been overly impressed with his stints in New Jersey and New York the last two years. But, perhaps this would be a good environment. We’ll all have to wait and see. Oh, and if the rumors are true, would could also go with this veteran goalie:
