Stars' Veteran Goalie Clears Waivers

Dallas Stars goaltender Anton Khudobin has officially cleared waivers. As a result of this, the 35-year-old will be heading to the AHL to play for the Texas Stars.

When it was announced that Khudobin was placed on waivers Monday afternoon, it certainly grabbed the attention of hockey fans. Over the last few seasons, he's become a pretty popular name, but especially because of his excellent play during the 2020 postseason. Yet, for now, he will be an AHL goaltender. With this, the Stars will officially be running a Jake Oettinger and Braden Holtby tandem.

Although it seemed possible that a team would take Khudobin, a major reason why that didn't happen is because the veteran is struggling this season. In seven games thus far, he has a 3-3-1 record, 3.73 GAA and .873 SV%. With that, he also carries a $3.33 million cap hit for the next two seasons, so there certainly was a clear risk taking him in. That's a lot of salary for a goalie who isn't performing well.

However, Pierre LeBrun has reported that teams are still talking to the Stars about a potential Khudobin trade. This would allow teams to send a contract the other way and/or have Dallas retain some of Khudobin's salary.

Teams have kicked tires on Khudobin so the Stars do have some interest out there. But obviously teams would rather trade for him and have Dallas eat some of the salary or take a contract back. In meantime, Khudobin will go play some AHL games https://t.co/ejZxKIBtm8

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) December 14, 2021

We'll have to see if Khudobin has a new home soon. Based on his previous success, one has to wonder if he can bounce back. If he does, he could be an excellent backup for a contender.

Photo Credit: © Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports