So as a Hawks fan, you may be asking “Why do I care?” Here’s why you care. Currently, the Blackhawks have 2 goalies in Cristobal Huet and Nikolai Khabibulin who are both playing really well (outside of what some Hawk fans will tell you). Khabibulin is ranked 10th in both GAA and Save % (2.38 and .919 respectively) while Huet is ranked 12th in GAA and 13th in Save % (2.73 and .910 respectively). It’s a good mess to be in…for the time being. At some point, we’re going to have to ship one of these guys away. And most likely, it’s going to be Khabibulin and his $6.75M.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Khabibulin. However, I ultimately think it will benefit the Hawks…especially, Cristobal Huet. Once he is officially the #1 goalie in Chicago and starting the majority of games, I think we’re finally going to see what he’s capable of (similar to what we saw on Saturday night @ Columbus with 48 saves on 51 shots).
I looked over the Devils roster and I’m not really sure what/who would benefit us and who the Devils are going to be willing to trade. But I have to think that the Devils are going to be shopping for another goalie now that Brodeur is officially out for a good chunk of the season. Unless they want to stick with Kevin Weekes, but I just don’t see that happening.
Dealing for Khabibulin may put the Devils in a tricky situation when Brodeur does return, but if Khabibulin is playing well for the Devils, he would probably be pretty easy for them to unload him at the trade deadline. 3-4 months is a long time to lean on your backup goaltender. If the Devils are smart, they’ll at least take a long look at acquiring the Bulin Wall.
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