Desperation comes in all shapes and sizes. It’s something that all used car salesmen prey on. It’s why college coaches write 6 digit checks to 17-year-olds to play football for academic institutions. It’s even the reason why ugly people get drunk and stay at the bar until 2:00 in the morning. It’s everywhere.
"I shall wait until I smell desperation. Then pounce on my prey."
As the season goes along, we’ll watch those acts of desperation spread to the world of hockey as well. We’ll watch teams with no chance at winning the Cup make desperate moves in hopes of saving their already hopeless season. Teams that talk about building for the future will trade prospects and draft picks in hopes of earning the 8th seed. There will be General Managers that do stupid things and General Managers that take advantage of others’ desperation. It happens every single year—and as sure as a Daniel Carcillo brain cramp, it’ll happen this year as well.
One of the areas where desperation is most visible is when an average team acquires a goaltender at the deadline in hopes that he’ll get hot and lead them on a magical playoff run. It’s the trap that we find teams falling into every single year—we’re only one player away. And hey, what position is more important than goaltending? But honestly, if the goaltender was that good, why would they be available in the first place?
On that note, there’s an interesting scenario that is setting up for this spring while teams prepare themselves for the stretch run towards the playoffs. There’s a goaltender out there that is STILL available that has proven that he can play at the highest level in the NHL. He has played with 3 different teams. He has put up very good numbers at every stop and has 143 wins to show for his efforts.
So how long until someone signs Manny Fernandez?
The interesting part of this situation is that the Road of Desperation is a two-way street. Usually it’s the team acquiring the goaltender that is the desperate party (and make no mistake about it, they will be desperate). But this time, we’re going to get to watch how a desperate player reacts as well. Does Manny Fernandez really want to play in the NHL this season? Is he willing to settle for less money than he expected as a free agent in the offseason? Or is he truly prepared to fade into involuntary retirement?
Before we get into the teams that could be interested in his services, let’s take a look at what Manny Fernandez has done in his career (and can offer to potential suitors).
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This picture was taken so long ago that Ed Belfour hadn't discovered alcohol yet, nor had he offered police officers ONE BILLION DOLLARS.
After being drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, Fernandez played behind Ed Belfour in his early NHL years with the Dallas Stars. In his one season as Belfour’s primary backup (1999-2000), he had a 2.13 GAA and .920 save percentage. Any questions about him translating his potential to performance at the NHL level were answered.
He played as the back-up in Dallas until the end of the 2000-01 season. As the Stars went with Marty Turco to be their goalie of the future, he went to the Minnesota Wild via trade before he was lost in the expansion draft. The next question: Would he be able to thrive as the #1 guy for an NHL club?
He only played in 42 games in 2000-2001 in his first season with the Minnesota Wild as he split goaltending duties. Who played with him? Jamie McLennan played in 38 games with a sparkling 5-23-9 record for the Wild. All the sudden, Fernandez’s 19-17-4 record, 2.24 GAA and .920 save percentage looked pretty damn good.
Instead of outright earning the job with his sparkling statistics, Jacques Lemaire and the Wild chose to add another goaltender to the mix. Dwayne Roloson arrived in 2001-02 from Buffalo and shared time with Fernandez for the next 3 and a half seasons in Minnesota. The arrangement worked for the organization as both Fernandez and Roloson put up good numbers while playing a limited amount of games.
The two netminders split time in Minnesota until Roloson was moved for draft picks at the 2006 trade deadline. The move left Fernandez to finish the season as the undisputed #1 goalie in the Twin Cities. Sometimes people forget—but Manny Fernandez actually beat out Roloson as they came back from the lockout in 2005-06 to keep his job in Minnesota. His 2.29 GAA and .919 save percentage were both better than Roli the Goalie and were the reasons that he kept his job and wasn’t shipped to a team at the deadline.
How good was the guy that he was sharing time with? Roloson went onto lead the Oilers to the Stanley Cup Finals with some spectacular goaltending throughout the playoffs. Not bad company.
Yet again, Fernandez’s time as the undisputed #1 goalie was short-lived. This time, his netminding supremacy lasted all of one month before Niklas Backstrom made his way from Finland—again forcing Fernandez to share the #1 spot. That’s the same Niklas Backstrom who is playing for Team Finland in the Olympics—AGAIN. (However, it is different than the Nicklas Backstrom who is playing for Team Sweden). Once again, Fernandez thrived as part of a goaltending duo as the two won the Jennings Trophy for the 2006-07 season.
Sales Point #29: He can do the splits
As Backstrom earned the trust of his coaches, teammates and fans, he earned the #1 spot leaving Fernandez in limbo. He was traded to the Boston Bruins after the 2007 season. He had some knee and back problems last season (and an injury two years ago that cost him almost the entire season). He was hinting at retirement, but then backed off the talk and was looking for a job when July 1st came around. He was prepared to take a pay cut from his $4.33 million salary.
Fernandez struggled down the stretch last season. He had been battling injury problems for the last two seasons and was likely overpaid during his time in Boston. I’m not sure how many offers the 35-year-old netminder actually received as he waited for his phone to ring. It might be bad luck for Fernandez to win the Jennings Trophy. He won it in 2007 with Niklas Backstrom and in 2009 with Tim Thomas. In both instances, he never played another game for that organization. Maybe if he could stop winning the Jennings Trophy, he might be able to keep his job?
Career Statistics
143-123-24-11 (wins-losses-ties-OTL)
.912 save percentage
2.50 GAA
15 shutouts
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Now that we know what Fernandez is capable of doing on the ice, what other goaltenders might be the object of a GMs affection? It’s been well publicized that there might not be enough room in Montreal for both Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak. Carey Price has been billed as the next Patrick Roy; which has lead to the obvious assumption that Halak will be the odd man out.
But who knows if Jaroslav Halak is going to be on the trading block—the Habs can’t even decide which young goaltender they want between the pipes. 38 save shutouts like the one Halak had last Thursday increase his trade value—but just make it that much harder to trade him as well.
In fact, Halak earned Molson Cup player of the month for the Montreal Canadiens in December.
“Halak had a 6-3-0 record in nine games in December, with a 2.66 goals against average. He also stopped 335 of the 359 shots he faced for a .933 save percentage. He was also named the NHL First Star for the week ending on December 27 with a 3-0-0 record, a 1.97 goals against average and a .959 save percentage, stopping 140 of the 146 shots he faced.” –All Habs
A glance at the standings gives us a clue about some of the other goaltenders that could be available in March. Tomas Vokoun and Scott Clemmensen are both good goaltenders playing for a team near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. JS Giguere and Jonas Hiller are a couple of goaltenders sharing time in Anaheim. If they remain in the basement of the Pacific Division, they may look to convert one of their goaltending assets into defensive help via trade.
But the thing that could make Manny Fernandez so appealing this season is that the team doesn’t have to give anything up to acquire him. While the other goaltenders on the market would be acquired via trade, Fernandez would only cost the weekly paycheck they sign him to. No draft picks. No prospects. No young players with potential. All they have to do is pay the man. Not only that, but the longer teams wait, the less his salary will affect their salary cap. The joys of a prorated contract!
When you see that a team has offered Manny Fernandez a contract, remember that he’s a GOOD goaltender who has put up good numbers over his entire career. Any team that is brave enough to sign him as a tandem goaltender will be happily surprised with the quality of play of this forgotten player. I’d love to see someone give him a chance to show everyone that he’s still got it.
But don’t fool yourself—it’s still a desperate act by a desperate team.
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