Posted in Transactions 2 Comments June 30th, 2007
Two Finns, an American and a Hispanic skate onto the ice…
Tonight, reports are that the Bruins have pulled the trigger on a deal which they hope will solve their immediate goaltending questions by sending Petr Kalus and a future 4th round pick to Minnesota for Manny Fernandez. Confirmations are sketchy at this time (Fernandez said he wasn’t notified of any trade), but the Minnesota Star Tribune reports the trade will be announced Sunday.
If the deal goes through, this will be the 83rd goaltender currently in the Bruins organization.
Color me underwhelmed on this one. Do I like Fernandez? Sure. I think he’s a darn good goaltender. Is he an upgrade? Ehhhhhhh, if he is, he’s not a big one. His numbers are better than Tim Thomas, but he’s also played in a more defense-oriented system the last few years. Plus, he’s probably not a franchise option….he’s roughly the same age as Tim Thomas (32) and he’s had a knack for never really being able to outshine the other goaltender on his team…at least not enough to claim the fully claim the #1 job as his own. Last year it was a timeshare between him and Nicklas Backstrom and the years before that it was with Dwayne Roloson (correction: Fernandez had his season cut short due to injury last year and Backstrom shone in his absence). Plus, Kalus is a fairly big piece to give up.
However, this move may be somewhat beneficial to the Bruins. As much as Fernandez probably despises the scenario, a timeshare between Tim Thomas and Fernandez might help the team. If Fernandez doesn’t take over the #1 role, he can at least provide a solid backup to Thomas for this season until Rask or Toivonen are ready (hopefully ONE of them will be by next year). But, if that’s the way it pans out, does it justify moving Kalus for a #2 goalie?
