Dallas Stars: Khudobin May Be the Back-Up Dallas Has Been Looking For
By Summer LeBel
The Dallas Stars have had a back-up goaltending problem for years now, and it seems like they may finally have found their solution.
Anton Khudobin, who the Dallas Stars signed in the offseason, has looked solid in his first few games with the team.
Of course, it’s still early and he’s only got four games under his belt so far, but he’ll get his fifth start tonight against the Sharks.
He has a 2-1-1 record in those four games, and he’s sitting at a .929 save percentage and a 2.22 goals against average. Those numbers are technically better than Ben Bishop‘s .921 and 2.40, but Bishop has had more games and some of the harder assignments.
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There’s a long list of back-up goalies that the Stars have tried out and moved on from. Antti Niemi got the longest shot, but the double-pronged attempt with Kari Lehtonen simply didn’t work. Lehtonen himself got a year as the number two after Bishop came in last year, and while he did a decent job, it wasn’t meant to be a long-term fit.
There have been quite a few prospects drafted by the Stars who haven’t worked out, like Jack Campbell and Dan Ellis. The Stars have also gone out and brought guys in for short stints, like Tim Thomas, Anders Lindback, and Jhonas Enroth.
None of them were the right fit for various reasons, and Khudobin seemed like he might be yet another back-up goaltender that comes in and doesn’t work out. However, he’s had a great start to the season, and actually seems promising.
When the Stars brought him in, he was coming off of a good year in Boston as a back-up to Tuukka Rask. He played 31 games, and had a .913 SV% and 2.56 GAA. Those numbers are in line with his career numbers, .916 SV% and 2.47 GAA over 151 games, and they made him one of the best available free agent options this past summer.
A lot of Stars fans had their eye on Carter Hutton instead, who was by far the best option, but he was ready for a starting job somewhere. That wasn’t what the Stars needed, but Khudobin was the perfect fit of a goaltender to take up the vacancy behind Bishop.
It’s also great that he came in on a more reasonable contract, because that was a major problem the last few seasons. The Lehtonen/Niemi tandem cost the Stars $10.4M per season for their two years together. Last season was even worse, as the combination of Lehtonen and Bishop plus Niemi’s buyout cost the Stars $12.3M. Now, the Stars are looking at a $2.5M contract for Khudobin instead of Lehtonen’s $5.9M. That means Bishop and Khudobin cost a combined $7.4M for the pair, though there is still this last year of the $1.5M Niemi buyout as well.
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It’s still early to declare this duo a definite success for the Stars, but at this point, they’re winning games for the Stars while the Stars are struggling with offensive production and a lot of injuries. They may not be perfect every game, but they’re looking so much better than things have been on the goaltending front in previous seasons.