Seeking a free-agent goalie upgrade this offseason? Bad news: the options are sparse

This season, NHL general managers have been handing out goalie contract extensions like Oprah Winfrey giving prizes to her live studio audience.

You get a contract!

You get a contract!

Twelve NHL regulars have signed contract extensions worth a combined $437.95 million. The latest came on Friday morning, when the Vegas Golden Knights inked Adin Hill to a six-year extension with an average annual value of $6.25 million. He joins the long list of pending unrestricted free agents whose teams chose to lock them in before they could test the market this summer.

The Utah Hockey Club signed Karel Vejmelka less than two weeks ago. The Washington Capitals signed both of their expiring-contract netminders — Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren — to extensions, and the Vancouver Canucks committed to Kevin Lankinen for the next five years in late February.

All of these contracts have left the upcoming free agency class of goaltenders looking extremely sparse, which means teams looking to upgrade in the crease this offseason could be forced to delve into the trade market.

Here’s an overview of all the goalie extensions signed this season, in order of total dollars.

Some of these deals may look rich when compared to the depreciated goalie market we had seen since 2020, but projections for the salary cap to rise considerably over the next several years have re-set the market. That, combined with what is looking to be a shallow overall free agent class this July, motivated general managers around the league to secure their goaltending now.

Here are the top goalies currently set to hit the open market this offseason.

If your team is in need of a reliable, veteran backup, you’re in luck. There will be plenty of those, and a few rather good ones. If you’re looking for a bonafide starter – or even a goalie to lead a tandem with a 50-50 split – there won’t be much available.

The Carolina Hurricanes’ Frederik Andersen could be the top option. He has put up elite numbers over the majority of his career, but rarely has been available to the Hurricanes lately due to a combination of injuries and other medical issues. Andersen has made only 29 starts over the last two seasons combined, has reached the 35-start threshold only once in the last five years, and will turn 36 before the 2025-26 season begins.

Even with all of that, Andersen’s numbers when healthy are good enough that he should draw some interest. Over the last four seasons, he has saved 56.1 goals above expected, which ranks seventh in the NHL between Andrei Vasilevskiy (62.33) and Jacob Markstrom (54.27) according to Evolving-Hockey. Andersen shouldn’t cost much, so if he finds a way to stay on the ice he could be a major steal, but he carries quite a bit of risk.

Jake Allen is having an excellent season for the New Jersey Devils. The 34-year-old is a quintessential backup goalie at this stage in his career. He’s a consummate professional, a great goalie partner and, most importantly, he can still play. Allen actually has a higher save percentage (.910) and GSAx (17.73) than his partner, Markstrom.

Alexandar Georgiev and Ilya Samsonov are both interesting options. Both Russians have experience as starters, but profile as a better fit as a backup or 1B option in a tandem. Georgiev is having a nightmare season for the San Jose Sharks with a career-low .876 save percentage, but led the league with 78 wins from 2022 to 2024. If nothing else, it shows he is good enough to win behind a strong team. These two won’t be viewed as upgrades for most teams, but can be a strong second goalie.

Dan Vladař is the youngest of the group at 27, but hasn’t been overly impressive this season for the Calgary Flames, especially in comparison to rookie sensation Dustin Wolf. In four full seasons with the Flames, he has yet to produce a save percentage above the league average.

Alex Lyon, 32, was a late bloomer, not finding his footing in the NHL until his 30-year-old season, but has since put up relatively impressive numbers behind two different teams. He had a breakout 2022-23 season with the Florida Panthers and started three playoff games before eventually being replaced by Sergei Bobrovsky. He’s since put together two respectable seasons for the Detroit Red Wings. He also won’t be viewed as a starter, but could have a higher ceiling than some of the other options.

David Rittich, Anton Forsberg and Vitek Vanecek are all proven commodities capable of handling a reasonable workload. They’ll be options for teams searching for an NHL goalie at a low cap hit.

As you can see, options are slim. It’s one of the reasons that general managers in Vegas, Utah, Washington, Vancouver and Colorado all opted to lock their pending UFAs up early, rather than waiting and potentially missing out in free agency. It also explains why goalies with relatively short resumes, such as Mackenzie Blackwood, Lankinen and Vejmelka, were able to secure five-year contracts. The demand for starting NHL goalies is higher than the supply, so when you find one you believe in, you sign them long-term.

This dynamic should create an active trade market in the crease this summer. We saw significant moves last June, with Markstrom traded to New Jersey and Linus Ullmark traded to the Ottawa Senators, and we could be heading toward something similar this year.

The obvious place to start is with the Anaheim Ducks’ John Gibson, who has been on The Athletic’s trade Big Board for what feels like forever. The biggest reason Gibson hasn’t been moved to this point is his contract, which runs through 2026-27 with a $6.4 million AAV, but every year that becomes more palatable to absorb. He has struggled with injuries but has performed well with a .909 save percentage and 10.67 GSAx. With Lukáš Dostál’s emergence as Anaheim’s clear goalie of the future, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek could lower his asking price.

There have been no signs the Montreal Canadiens are willing to move Samuel Montembeault, but he’s worth making a call on, when it comes to contenders looking to upgrade. He is just finishing the first year of a three-year extension he signed with Montreal, but considering the Canadiens’ timeline for contending and the number of talented young goalies in the pipeline, it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility to trade Montembeault.

The Canadiens have Jakub Dobeš, 23, who is having a nice rookie campaign; Cayden Primeau, 25, who is dominating the AHL since being sent down; and Jacob Fowler, 20, who is a star at Boston College and is one of the top goalie prospects in the world. It wouldn’t be cheap to pry Montembeault away, but it could happen.

Thatcher Demko’s future in Vancouver is another interesting storyline that could throw a wrench into the goalie market. Demko isn’t even a year removed from finishing runner-up to Connor Hellebuyck in the Vezina Trophy voting, but has dealt with serious injuries lately – and throughout his career.

The Canucks may have shown their hand by signing Lankinen to a five-year deal last month. That contract runs through 2029-30 with a cap hit of $4.5 million. While that isn’t true starter money, it could make things tight when Demko’s current deal expires in 2026. If Demko isn’t in the Canucks’ plans beyond that and they receive the right offer, Demko could be a high-risk, high-reward trade candidate.

Finally, if a team is willing to take on an inflated contract, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins ($5.4 million AAV) and the Boston Bruins’ Joonas Korpisalo ($4 million AAV) are both options. While neither has lived up to their current deals, they’ve both shown flashes of brilliance as starters. They wouldn’t normally be considered great options, but with this free agent class as thin as it is, contenders in need of upgrades could be desperate.

(Photo of Jake Allen: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)