Given the uncertainty about Hasek's return and the Wings' apparent commitment to keeping Jimmy Howard stashed in GR another year, this is pretty relevant.
From AP via ESPN:
He also said it's "highly unlikely" that goalies Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala both will return for next season. Both are proven NHL netminders who shared an uneasy platoon until Toskala got hurt this spring, and Wilson fully intends to trade one of the goalies before training camp -- though he failed to find a similar trade last summer.Although Nabokov is the more proven, he is also the more expensive. It's not his 5.375M price tag that concerns me, it's that it runs through the next three seasons. Toskala is only on the hook for one year at 1.375M (is there something significant about the ending .375 for these Sharks goalies?) Toskala could be a good 1a-1b stopgap with Osgood next year, and if he knocks our socks off we could re-sign him and bring Jimmy up to apprentice under him. If he sucks, let the Jimmy Howard experience begin early. As long as the Wings have Osgood, we really have a lot of flexibility, as far as taking risks with goaltending (see: Hasek, Dominik)
Of course, Dom is still my number 1 choice. I think...
(Salary info from Hockey Analysis)
