As trade rumors swirl, struggling Kiprusoff gets start in Columbus
Mar 22, 2013, 3:34 PM EDT
Getty Images Of all the NHL goalies with at least 10 starts this season, not one of them has a lower save percentage than Calgary’s Miikka Kiprusoff (.869).
Kiprusoff started yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Predators in Nashville, surrendering five goals on just 23 shots. Yet the Flames will reportedly have the 36-year-old back in net again tonight in Columbus.
Not that Calgary has an obvious alternative — veteran Joey McDonald is the backup, and he hasn’t been fantastic either.
Besides, Kiprusoff has been a rock for the Flames for around a decade.
Like teammates Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester, Kiprusoff has been forced to address trade rumors as the April 3 deadline gets closer and Calgary remains out of the playoff picture.
“I try to stay out of that,” he said recently. “I try to keep it simple, still. I try to help team here. Try to win games.”
Kiprusoff has one year remaining on his contract, which features a big cap hit of $5.83 million. However, it’s worth noting his salary for 2013-14 is just $1.5 million, a figure that could make him attractive to a club with budget constraints.
Just to throw it out there — might Florida be interested in acquiring Kiprusoff to act as a mentor for young Jacob Markstrom?
According to the Calgary Herald, Chicago and Toronto are rumored to be “sniffing around” as well.
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- philly4lyfe - Mar 22, 2013 at 5:56 PM
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with the kind of season chicago is having, why would they mess with their two current goalies who are doing fine by bring in a struggling/aging kiprasoff? makes no sense.
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- blackhawksdynasty - Mar 22, 2013 at 8:52 PM
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Agreed. Hard to justify this idea. Gotta wonder if the source of that rumor has any real credibility. Hawks don’t need goaltending improvement. They need a 2nd line center who can win more than 45% of his draws (which would be an improvement over 3/4 of their current centers)
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- trick9 - Mar 23, 2013 at 9:52 AM
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I hate it when people blame the goaltenders for teams struggle when it’s obvious that they are getting absolutely no help from the d-man’s.
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- nananatman - Mar 23, 2013 at 9:55 AM
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Rock in net eh, yeah I could score 5 goals on 23 shots on a rock in night.
