Could Tampa Bay Lightning Take A Flyer On Kaapo Kahkonen?

It is no secret that the goaltending of the Colorado Avalanche has been horrible this season. It forced the team to try and turn to a three goalie system that didn't last very long after one poor start by Kaapo Kahkonen.

In the long run for the season, there won't be too many options for the Avalanche who are searching for help in net, so giving up on their starter Alexandar Georgiev or having him sit too long wasn't the route the team was willing to go. Kahkonen has since been placed on waivers, having played just one game for the Avalanche and allowing four goals on 20 shots. There have definitely been some worse games in Colorado this season that didn't see the same treatment.

It is possible that Kahkonen gets picked up on waivers as he's on a one-year, $1 million AAV contract and is a serviceable goalie. One team that should be taking a look is the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is the undisputed starter in Tampa Bay, but the team could use some help behind him. Jonas Johansson has not had a great start to the season with a 4.51 GAA and .866 SV% in three games. While this is also a smaller sample size, the 29-year-old also had a 3.37 GAA and .890 SV% in 26 games last season. For a playoff-bound team, that is just not good enough as a backup and Matt Tomkins is struggling in the AHL this season as well.

Kahkonen, who would not hurt the Lightning to pick up, had a 3.81 GAA and .895 SV% on the worst team in the league last season in 31 games. Once traded to the New Jersey Devils, Kahkonen posted a 2.51 GAA, .923 SV%, and one shutout in six games. He is a backup with the ability to hold down the net if something were to happen.