Below Market Value
Joined: Nov. 2015
Posts: 1,426
Likes: 1,324
I really like Grubauer. He's been one of the more consistent backups for the past few seasons. I was expecting him to find a starting job this season with a different team, especially with all of the goalie swaps that went on during the offseason. He obviously doesn't have a shot at starting in Washington, so he'll likely have to wait until the offseason to find a new home. There aren't going to be nearly as many open positions this offseason as there were last offseason.
One place I could see him headed is Calgary. With Eddie Lack becoming a UFA and Mike Smith (age 35) only having one more season after this, there could be an opening. However, Smith has looked really good this season and Calgary has quite a few prospect goalies they'll be looking to give shots to.
Buffalo could a possibility if Lehner doesn't pan out. Johnson is a career backup on an expiring deal, and if Lehner flounders they could be looking for someone new. It's getting close to panic time in Buffalo, and they may be looking for an immediate answer in net; with Luukkonen years away from being a viable option, they may take a chance on Grubauer.
Detroit is known to be having issues with Mrazek, as they protected friggin Jimmy Howard over him. Howard is getting older and Mrazek has been known to have attitude issues. They may look to move him and pick up Grubauer as the heir apparent since they don't look to be rebuilding at all.
If Raanta falls flat in Arizona, there could be a place for Grubauer in the desert. Domingue doesn't look to have a future as an NHL starter and Raanta is a UFA. If he falls flat, they may not want to take a risk signing him to a longer term deal and go for the safer, RFA Grubauer.
After this season, Cam Talbot has one more year before he's a UFA. He's definitely looking to be a top tier goalie and with Edmonton's cap situation they may not be able to give him the money he wants. They do have the young Laurent Brossoit as the heir apparent, so it'll probably take one more year to evaluate him; likely too late to hop on the Grubauer train.