Devan Dubnyk (Vezina & Masterton Finalist!)

[Sharppi]

Would love Lehtonen, but not happening unless Dallas takes some of the cap hit. Too expensive. I want this team to have a real, solid starter, although several average goalies have succeeded for the Wild lately. A legit starter with a good pedigree would hopefully give the team some confidence, while the goalie would get to enjoy the nice defensive system in front of him. It's time to stop the goalie carousel.

Sources have said that Lehtonen can be had for a very reasonable price. If we can set up a deal for Lehtonen with Bäckström and maybe even Cooke going back, I'd be really happy. That's not going to happen though, as they actually want an asset for Lehtonen.

 

[Wild11MN]

I'm feeling confident in GMCF here. Not that he'll sign Dubnyk, that he'll figure out the goalie situation. I still think Dubnyk's walking, which is fine. But then he needs to trade for someone or sign someone (Niemi?). If it's a trade, you have to think either Kuemper or Backstrom (hopefully) goes back the other way, or we get rid of Backstrom in a separate change.

Not sure why I'm confident he'll figure it out, as he hasn't really ever in the past (though not all his fault either).

 

[gphr513]

I just can't imagine who would even want to trade for Backstrom.

 

[Bruce Granville]

I just can't imagine who would even want to trade for Backstrom.

Backs, Pommer, Cooke to Arizona for a 7th.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Backs, Pommer, Cooke to Arizona for a 7th.

Why would we do that? Arizona isn't interested in paying bigger contracts either.

 

[Wild11MN]

Backs, Pommer, Cooke to Arizona for a 7th.

Yeah, let's trade our 2nd leading scorer for a 7th! (cap dumps aside)

 

[J22*]

When Dubnyk and his agent even mentioned $5M everyone knew that there was zero chance he would be signed here before the start of free agency. Fletcher will find out the price for other options and he will make sure(Russo) that Dubnyk knows that he's shopping around.
IMO- there's zero market for Dubnyk in the $5M range, and there are still more starting caliber goalies than there are starting spots available.

Dubnyk and his agent know that there are only a few teams that would be willing to give him any kind of term. They also know that 2(EDM, BUF) of those options are not that appealing. If Fletcher does decide to go in a different direction, It's basically San Jose or a tire fire for Dubnyk. Dubnyk might see this offseason as his chance to cash in, but if he isn't careful, he could easily find himself out of options very quickly.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Why would we do that? Arizona isn't interested in paying bigger contracts either.

They still have quite a ways to go to get to the floor.

 

[Wild11MN]

They still have quite a ways to go to get to the floor.

Wow, they have $34M+ in cap space, and only 3 players making more than $3.2M/yr. I know that's swayed by trading Vermette and Yandle.

 

[Minnesota]

When did Pominville all of a sudden inherit negative value?

 

[Arturia Pendragon]

When did Pominville all of a sudden inherit negative value?

No kidding.

Off-season trade proposals in full effect

 

[Minnesota]

Russo:

Dubnyk is looking for north of $5 million on a long-term deal. That could be significantly more than the Wild’s willing to stomach after seeing Dubnyk play for 3 ½ months, particularly with the cap issues the team faces this offseason with Dubnyk, Mikael Granlund, Erik Haula and Christian Folin still unsigned.

However, with Matt Cooke looking like he’ll be the NHL’s first buyout casualty, the Wild would save $2 million in cap space this year and thus have about $12 million now in space.

 

[Dee Oh Cee]

North of $5 mil on a long term deal? good freaking god. He had a 'decent' run with Edmonton and obviously a great run with us - for what, four months? That's insane to me. No way we should be the ones to give him that.

If he can get that, then good for him though. This might be his only chance to cash in. I see where both sides are coming from.

 

[tomgilbertfan]

Yeah I'll be ok letting Duby go if that sort of deal is what it takes to keep him.

 

[Bruce Granville]

'North of' means colder like in temperature dropping, right guys?
Right?

Guys??



So, what is it with those scandinavian guys? Lack, Lehner, Niemi, Raanta, Rämö?
With 5M we should two of them.

 

[J22*]

Dubnyk and his agent are playing with fire. If they don't come down off of that number before the draft, he could lose a lot of money.

 

[Randy BoBandy]

I hope Fletch lets him go. I would like to see us spend 3 mill or less on a goalie considering we might end up with Backstrom for another year.

 

[gphr513]

North of 5, and long term? Yeeeahhhh, no thanks.

Appreciate the boost into the playoffs, Dubs. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Don't fault him for trying to cash in, but you have to pass on that if you're Fletch.

 

[Minnesota]

Bye Dubnyk.

 

[Generic User]

Damn. I really thought something like $12m/3 years would be a done deal without any hiccups. Hope we don't make a colossal mistake.

 

[saywut]

So even excluding the top end/elite guys (Price, Lundqvist, Quick, Rinne), here are other starting goalies in the league:

Smith $5.6
Hiller $4.5
Scheider $6
Lehotonen $5.9
Halak $4.5
Howard $5.3
Fleury $5.75
Varlamov $5.9
Anderson $4.2
Bishop $5.9
Mason $4.1

And some people want to walk away if Dubnyk gets > $3? That number is in no way, shape or form realistic for somebody in his situation. If that's the case, he is long gone, and we'd better come to grips with the idea that our next couple of seasons are resting on somebody like Enroth or Ramo.

Dubnyk wasn't worth anything before we acquired him, and his playoff performance isn't worth anything either. I respect that he saved our season but I wouldn't want to risk term on him, and with our cap situation its unlikely we could work out something short-term either. Give him 5 years and its another Mike Smith contract IMO.

 

[TaLoN]

Russo:

At that price? Walk away, and walk away FAST! He will not get that on the open market!

 

[plock]

If we are going to pay over $4 million a year for a goalie it should be Niemi.Niemi has a long proven track record of good numbers and consistency.

 

[Arturia Pendragon]

Well, I suppose you can't blame the man for wanting to cash in. But my goodness...
My concern with Dubnyk and this whole "savior" mentality is, well... yes, he played in front of a desperate team fighting for it's playoff hopes, but lets not forget that a good majority of starters (and even backup) tenders would look absolutely spectacular to a management group and fan base who'd witnessed the body of work Kuemper and Backstrom orchestrated together.
When you're that desperate for a run of the mill save, when that's the difference between winning and losing... any goalie that can come in and do the job he's supposed to do will, for a short time, appear like a Lundqvist reincarnate. For nearly two months the media picked apart Keumper's inability to stay mentally strong in a game. The contrast was ready to be set, all we needed was a goalie to do his job.

And while, yes, it's not to say Dubnyk didn't make some spectacular saves, I (to be frank) didn't see star caliber play coming from him on a consistent basis. And, again, it's not to say he isn't capable of such play, but rather, that it hasn't been proven consistently (yet... perhaps). The sentiment of whether Dubnyk's 3.5 months of play with us is indicative of future performances is a very real concern. Player's playing for a contract is a very real concern.
Call me a jerk, or what have you, but these contract negotiations smell an awful lot like a guy who realizes he just did something spectacular (partly thanks to him no doubt, and partly thanks to a great defensive team), and wants to reap as much as he can from it because he knows it may not happen again (I know this is a little facetious, so go easy on me haha). Sure, I'd be OK with giving him 5Mpy if it was for one year; Or 4.5Mpy for two years; 4Mpy for 3 years, and so on.
He just hasn't proven enough to command both money AND term. If I'm Fletcher, I meet Dubnyk on one or the other, committing to both would be cap seppuku (as already stated).

 

[TaLoN]

I wouldn't even give him $5mil for ONE year. $4mil tops on any term IMO. The longer the term the lower the per/year number.