San Jose Sharks
What I’m Hearing About Trading Reimer, Hill’s Health (+)
What’s taking so long for the San Jose Sharks to trade a goalie?
Since the last Trade Deadline, when the Sharks acquired Kaapo Kahkonen from the Minnesota Wild for Jake Middleton and a fifth-round pick, San Jose has carried three starting-caliber goalies in Kahkonen, James Reimer, and Adin Hill.
It wasn’t a big deal last year – Hill missed the rest of the season with a lower-body injury, so Kahkonen and Reimer shared the workload. But it will be a big deal next year – it’s not normal for teams to carry three netminders capable of regular NHL duty. For starters, that’s one valuable roster spot taken by a third keeper who doesn’t dress for games and still counts against the salary cap.
25-year-old Kahkonen is signed for two more years with a $2.75 million dollar AAV, 34-year-old Reimer has another season with a $2.25 million AAV, and 26-year-old Hill has one more year with a $2.175 million AAV. The Sharks might be able to fit all three goaltenders under the $82.5 million cap, but it’s going to be a tight squeeze.
We can presume Kahkonen is safe.
“Kaapo has shown potential to be a number one goaltender in the NHL, and impressed us when he joined our team in the last part of the season,” GM Mike Grier said in a press release after the Sharks re-signed Kahkonen three weeks ago.
But between Reimer and Hill, I’ve heard a couple important items recently.
