3 Goalies Who Could Be Traded Shortly After 2023-24 Season Starts

Goalies aren't the easiest pieces to move around and most teams have three capable goalies to use this season. The way the NHL is heading, nearly every team has acquired a third-string goalie with NHL experience to either be called up when an injury occurs or if one of the top two goalies struggle. Last season the teams that had this option recovered better than the teams that didn't. There are a few teams that have three stronger goalies and are looking to move one. This might not come until shortly after the season starts, but they're worth looking at regardless in case a trade happens sooner.

Dan Vladar

The Calgary Flames have Jacob Markstrom as the starter and they are hoping he will bounce back. When he struggled early last season, backup Dan Vladar was able to step in and provide quality starts. He is under contract for two more years at $2.2 million AAV and it is a good deal for a backup of his skill level. Ever since Dustin Wolf has shot onto everybody's radar, rumors have started to come up that Vladar will likely be the goalie moved to make room for Wolf. The young goalie had a strong NHL debut and doesn't need any more time in the AHL to get better. He has already dominated that league for two consecutive seasons. Vladar is still relatively young for a goalie and could be a strong option in net if given more playing time elsewhere.

Casey DeSmith

The Montreal Canadiens acquired Casey DeSmith in the three-team trade involving Erik Karlsson a while ago. This was smart on multiple levels for the Canadiens. It gives them even more goalie depth in case Cayden Primeau is picked up off of waivers, but also gives them a trade asset/goalie option for this season. It's not out of the question that DeSmith wins one of the Canadiens' roster spots as he had a better season than both Sam Montembeault and Jake Allen last season (on a better team as a backup), but the likely outcome is a trade. Since nothing has happened yet, the Canadiens might have to wait until games get underway.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

The Buffalo Sabres were once very high on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and then he didn't put up great numbers and Devon Levi came along. Everybody knows that Levi is who the Sabres are already counting on to lead them into the future, and now that the team has Eric Comrie on top of the other two, there's a bit of a logjam. The team ran three goalies last season while Craig Anderson was still playing, but that isn't a viable option all season long this year. Levi will likely start the most games, and that leaves the Sabres to decide between Luukkonen and Comrie. Luukkonen has more trade value and doesn't seem to really want to be there anymore with the lack of opportunity, so Buffalo could seek a trade if they already haven't. We'll see what happens in training camp in Buffalo.