Tampa Bay Lightning Offseason: What’s the goalie situation, anyway?

The 2016-17 season saw two goaltenders leave the Tampa Bay Lightning organization while adding two goaltenders that will be unrestricted free agents on July 1. Ben Bishop was sent to the Los Angeles Kings with Peter Budaj coming back in the deal to back up Andrei Vasilevskiy for the rest of the season. Adam Wilcox was traded to the Florida Panthers for Mike McKenna.

The Lightning currently have two goaltenders under contract for next season; Vasilevskiy and Connor Ingram. Kristers Gudlevskis will be a restricted free agent. We are left to wonder how the goaltending situation will look next season. It’s a certainty that Vasilevskiy will be the starter in Tampa while Ingram will likely be the backup in Syracuse.

With the way that Budaj played to end last season he would be a likely candidate to be re-signed to back up Vasilevskiy. Steve Yzerman recently stated in an interview that he had interest in bringing Budaj back. From all reports, Budaj fit in well with the team. He  had his ups and downs in seven games with the Lightning, but he played well enough to deserve a look.

If Budaj isn’t brought back, then Yzerman will likely be looking to the free agent market for a veteran backup to Vasilevskiy. Some possible options would be Ryan Miller, Steve Mason, Ondrej Pavelec, Darcy Kuemper, Curtis McElhinney, Mike Condon and Jhonas Enroth. Some are older guys reaching the end of their careers, some are guys that were starters and had rough seasons. It will also greatly depend on how much money any of those players are going to want and how much term.

Someone like a Mason or Pavelec could look at it as a possibility to rebuild their value and reenter the market next summer looking to become a starter somewhere. Miller is 36 years old and could be looking for a team where he can be a backup and have a possibility of winning a Stanley Cup. Others though would be looking for situations where they could be a starter and would only be options if they failed to find such a situation on the free agent market.

For the Crunch, Ingram will likely serve as the backup or 1B type starter. He’s a developing goalie and will get his fair share of starts. Even if he’s the backup, it’s not like he’ll only be getting 20 games. More like 30-35 while the starter gets 35-40 games.

So the question is, who will be his partner? Kristers Gudlevskis is an obvious option. However, he seems to have fallen out of favor with the organization. Gudlevskis has put up impressive games throughout his career. But he’s also put up some real clunkers. He seems to be a goalie that struggles with the mental side of the game. He’ll go on hot streaks where he looks like he can be an NHL starter and then goes on cold streaks that make it look like he shouldn’t even be in the AHL. The one thing that Gudlevskis has been very consistent with is his inconsistency.

With the Lightning bringing in McKenna at the trade deadline and playing him as Syracuse’s number one goalie in the playoffs, it likely spells the end of Gudlevskis’ days in the Lightning organization. There is a small chance that Las Vegas takes a gamble on Gudlevskis due to his history and pedigree. It’s more likely though that they’ll take someone else from the Lightning in the expansion draft.

If so, Yzerman could look to trade Gudlevskis, likely for a low round pick, or let Gudlevskis walk. If Yzerman non-tenders him, Gudlevskis could sign with any NHL organization. If Yzerman does tender him a contract to maintain control of his rights, then Gudlevskis could leave by signing with a team in Europe.

Last offseason, there were rumors around Gudlevskis that a Swedish team had offered him a contract but he ultimately re-signed for another year with the Lightning. He could look to both the Swedish SHL and the Russian KHL as possible venues for his return to Europe.

I have a strong feeling that the Lightning will retain McKenna as the Crunch’s starter. He’s a 34-year-old veteran that has played a long time in the AHL. He’s also done very well in the AHL over his years. The big concerns are how he would do as an NHL backup in the event that Vasilevskiy or whoever is signed to back him up becomes injured. You need to have some confidence in your number three goalie to be able to play at least a handful of games in the NHL.

Even with that, McKenna would be a good fit. He’s already getting an opportunity to get to know Ingram during the playoffs. He would be expected to mentor the young goaltender and help him on his way in his development.

My prediction for next season’s goaltender situations is Vasilevskiy as starter in Tampa, Budaj as backup in Tampa, McKenna as starter in Syracuse and Ingram as backup in Syracuse. The fifth goalie could be Nicola Riopel, who was signed to an AHL deal last summer and spent the year mostly in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings. He could be re-signed or another goalie in a similar situation as him could be brought in to be the fifth goaltender.

What goalie tandem should the Syracuse Crunch have next season?