The Pittsburgh Penguins enter into the offseason after being eliminated by the Boston Bruins, failing to win one game in the Eastern Conference finals. The series certainly did not go as the Penguins were hoping. They entered the postseason as a Stanley Cup favorite and were held to just two goals in the Bruins season. Now they have plenty of questions to answer in the coming months and one of those could be a change at the goalie position.
It is no secret that Marc-Andre Fleury struggled in the playoffs. The veteran was replaced by Tomas Vokoun midway through Pittsburgh's first-round series against the New York Islanders and never saw the ice again. Even when the team was struggling against the Bruins, Fleury was never put back in. This could be a sign of changes to come for the team. However, head coach Dan Bylsma still supports Fleury's future with the Penguins.
"Marc-Andre Fleury is a guy who's going to come back to our team, and he's going to be the No. 1 goalie. He's going to be our franchise goalie. He's going to be this franchise's goalie," Bylsma said.
Fleury remains under contract with the Penguins. He is scheduled to be a $5 million hit against the cap over the next two season. Even with Bylsma's support of the goalie, his cap space hit does not bode well for his chances at staying with the team.
Vokoun did not come out of nowhere with his brief postseason success. The 36-year old veteran has an established career as one of the better goaltenders in the league. He proved he can still compete at a high level. He is the highest-paid backup goalie in the NHL with a two-year, $4 million contract that he signed last offseason. While Fleury has a Stanley Cup on his resume, four straight postseasons of disappointment overshadow that. Comparing numbers, Vokoun has the better all-around stats since 2005.
If the Penguins decide that it might be time to make a change and go against Bylsma's endorsement of Fleury, they have option. The team could get something in a trade, but not likely someone fit to be a starter. They could sign a decent option in free agency like Mike Smith or Anton Khudobin or they could use one of two amnesty buyouts. Pittsburgh needs the salary cap space and that could be the best option.
The reality is the Penguins currently have $10million committed to the goalie over the next two years. For someone that was not considered good enough to start even when the team was playing their worst, that is a lot of money. When it comes to Vokoun against Fleury, Vokoun might get another vote of confidence.
