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List of UFA goalies a long, interesting one

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James OBrien

From CapGeek, a list of pending unrestricted free agent goalies:

Goalies

Why post this list now? Well, Jaroslav Halak doesn’t seem to be loving life in Washington, and you have to wonder about Jonas Hiller’s future in Anaheim. Either of those two could be picked up this offseason as a proven NHL starter, or at the very least an experienced backup with the ability to step in should the No. 1 falter.

The big name at the top of the list, Ryan Miller, has said he’s open to re-signing in St. Louis; however, nothing’s been agreed upon yet. The other current Blues goalie, Brian Elliott, is enjoying an excellent season after a down 2013 campaign. If Miller re-signs in St. Louis, what are the chances Elliott would do the same? Probably pretty slim.

Meanwhile, could backups like Chad Johnson and Thomas Greiss be worth rolling the dice on, inexperienced at the NHL level as they may be? Johnson plays behind Tuukka Rask in Boston; Greiss behind Mike Smith in Phoenix. Which is to say, they probably won’t be starters anytime soon if they stay with their current teams.

Remember that the goalie market is a completely different animal than the one for skaters. There are only 30 No. 1 jobs, and most of them are already filled. So it’s possible to get a bargain between the pipes. The only problem is, if you roll the dice and lose, you can be in big trouble.