Imo there's no point in acquiring Driedger. Goalies like that have random hot streaks all the time for no reason and there's basically no reason to expect he'll play like that for us.
See Hamburglar. Or even Huet played like a God for us after we got him and we snuck into the playoffs then he went back to sucking for the rest of his short NHL career.
Yet it's also one of those obvious hindsight moves they tend to make. They haven't done so in net for some time but I'm reminded of the Halak trade. Halak was a lot more proven but nonetheless I think there's still a desire to upgrade or at least make a statement if possible.
What's the best a second rounder and Panik can net them? They stick out as the most logical pieces to move. Would Florida have interest in a Driedger deal? Q coached Panik in Chicago and their forward depth isn't great. He'd seem to fit what they're building. In part the Caps may go goaltending just because they don't really know what direction to take with the rest. It's sort of a swing for the fences that doesn't rock the boat much. They could use another winger for the third line but I'm not sure any third-line winger does as much or presents as much upside. Not that I'm totally pro goalie add but I can see it.
If they can't move Panik then it comes down to whatever fits into $1.075M or so. Driedger still fits, although I don't entirely know why they'd move him right now even with Knight signing. Glendening could fit with retention for More Grind. Carl Soderberg? Haula? Rieder? Hardly a needle mover in that group so not impossible they do nothing, although upgrading the taxi squad may have value. Not sure the Caps are in the contender class to tweak that small but some of them may be pretty cheap adds.
