The Dallas Stars have a very unusual dilemma coming up at the trade deadline in 2022. If Ben Bishop is healthy by then, we will have four goaltenders on the active roster which is excessive and someone has to go. I know it wont be Oettinger since he’s the future in net for the Stars. My guess is Anton Khudobin will be the odd man out and heres why.
3. Can easily trade Khudobin’s contract
He is currently under contract for the next 3 seasons for 10 million dollars. You could easily trade his contract for minor league players. Braden Holtby is currently under a one year 2 million dollar contract and can basically buy it out if Dallas wants Bishop and Oettinger as their goaltenders. I’m sure a team thats making a playoff push would take his contract.
2. He is currently the worst goaltender on Stars roster
This season Khudobin has a .873 GAA which is a pretty terrible statistic if you are a goaltender. With the way Oettinger and Holtby are currently playing, I would keep those two as the tandem until Bishop gets back. It’s the only way that the Stars can get back into the current playoff race.
1. It would save the Stars some money for next offseason.
The extra money we would get by offloading Khudobin’s contract could go towards signing another veteran player at a different position. It could go towards another veteran defenseman or it go towards resigning Klingberg if we don’t trade him at deadline this season. I know it will be hard to part if Khudobin since he’s a fan favorite here in Dallas but it’s the best option for the future of the franchise.
Conclusion
Anton has constantly given his all when his name gets called to be the goaltender for the night. He led us to the Stanley Cup Finals when no one thought we had a shot in the playoff bubble. At the end of the day, his contract would hinder us developing for the future and its why he’s the odd goaltender out.