On Thursday, the Stars signed a quality backup goaltender to stabilize their immediate future in the net without spending a dime. Well, technically they spent $2 million on Thursday to sign Scott Wedgewood to a two-year deal through 2024.
But there’s more to it. What seems like a relatively minor signing of a backup goaltender has ripple effects for the Stars.
What this means for Wedgewood
Wedgewood made it clear at the end of last season that he was looking for a multi-year extension. As much as money was a factor, stability also was front of mind for Wedgewood. It’s something he hasn’t had much of in his professional hockey career. Since his first season as a pro in 2012, Wedgewood has only once played two consecutive seasons for the same team, and that was the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, in which he played only for the Albany Devils in the AHL. Outside of that, it’s been a lot of bouncing around, between the minors and NHL as well as from franchise to franchise.
“Stability is going to be a big benefit to the family. Wife and I have always been on the edge of our seat each year, it’s felt like,” Wedgewood told The Athletic in a text message. “Started in NJ last season and didn’t even bring my car with me, with the feeling something would change once the other goalies got healthy, so coming into a situation with a clear mind will help in every way possible.”
Wedgewood, who turns 30 in August, has earned this in Dallas. He arrived in Dallas at the trade deadline after the Stars’ goaltending depth was shot. Ben Bishop’s career had ended, Anton Khudobin had season-ending hip surgery and Braden Holtby’s lingering injury resulted in a premature end to his season on long-term injured reserve. In the middle of a heated playoff chase, the Stars were relying heavily — a little too heavily — on 23-year-old goaltender Jake Oettinger. The heavy workload was taking a toll on Oettinger but there was no NHL-caliber backup to turn to for the Stars.
Enter, Wedgewood.
In his first game as a Star, Wedgewood almost singlehandedly stole two points in Carolina, stopping 44 of 47 shots with a few highlight-reel saves mixed in throughout the shootout win. Over the final month of the season, Wedgewood started seven games, going 3-1-3. He only lost one game in regulation, earning nine crucial points to help the Stars get into the postseason and give Oettinger enough of a breather to get him back on track for the first-round series against the Flames.
Wedgewood finished with a .913 save percentage after coming to Dallas. For the season, which began in New Jersey but was spent mostly in Arizona and included stealing a game for the Coyotes against the Stars, Wedgewood had a .910 save percentage. It was the third season in which Wedgewood started at least 15 NHL games. His save percentage has jumped each season, from .893 in 2017-18 to .900 in 2020-21 to .910 last season. With the defensive structure the Stars have had in place, and should continue to have under new head coach Pete DeBoer, Wedgewood is in a goalie-friendly spot in which he can continue to improve.
Goaltenders have unique, sometimes strange, paths in their development. Wedgewood was drafted in the third round in 2010 and he’s proven that he belongs in the NHL. Stars coaches and players raved last season about his presence in the locker room as well, so he makes for a smooth fit in the goaltending room with Oettinger.
What this means for the Stars and for Anton Khudobin
For the first time in three seasons, there will be no questions about who the No. 1 goaltender is for the Stars. With Wedgewood in the loop at a $1 million cap hit next season, the Stars potentially cleared the way for more than $2 million in salary-cap space. At the least, they’ll have more goaltending depth but won’t allocate any more money to the backup goaltender spot than they had planned to otherwise.
There’s no question that Wedgewood is the better option to back up Oettinger than Khudobin. Last season, 81 goaltenders started at least five games in the NHL. Khudobin, who had seven starts, ranked No. 77 out of the group. Only four goalies had a worse save percentage than Khudobin’s .879. Khudobin also turned 36 a couple of months ago and is coming off of a serious hip injury, so there’s no element upside.
If the Stars were going to ride him as the backup next season, it would strictly be because of the contractual conundrum they find themselves in. Khudobin has one year left on his deal for $3.33 million.
The Stars could buy out Khudobin and swallow the pill, as they’ve invested $2 million for the next two years in the backup goalie spot: $1 million each season for Wedgewood and then the $833,333 cap hit this season for Khudobin and $1.25 million next season. That would open up $2.5 million in cap room this offseason for the Stars to use. The buyout period this offseason is July 1 through July 12.
The other way to save over $2 million in cap space this season would be to find a trade partner for Khudobin. Khudobin won’t be viewed as a solution for any contending team with goaltender question marks but he could be of interest to a team looking to reach the cap floor, similar to why the Buffalo Sabres took on Ben Bishop’s contract this month. Like the deal with the Sabres, the Stars would likely have to toss in an asset to sweeten the pot, whether it be a lower-level prospect or a draft pick. There are teams that could be interested in this sort of transaction, including, ironically, the Coyotes.
A buyout or a trade are the avenues to creating cap space. The Stars have to decide if it’s worth it, at the cost of a depth prospect/low draft pick or $1.25 million next season. If the Stars don’t want to, or can’t, do either, they’re still upgrading the backup spot while adding organizational depth at the position.
Khudobin is expected to be ready for training camp. If he makes a full recovery and the Stars keep him as a backup because of his contract, they would be allocating $3.33 million to the backup spot, as that is his cap hit this season. If he’s healthy and Wedgewood is the better option, as would appear to be the case, the Stars would waive Khudobin and send him to the minors, as they did last season. They’d be able to shave off $1.125 million off and Khudobin’s cap hit would be $2.208 million. Combine that with Wedgewood’s $1 million and the Stars would be spending $3.208 million behind Oettinger but would have two NHL-caliber options.
If the Stars keep Khudobin and he isn’t healthy by the start of the regular season, they would aim to fit Oettinger, Wedgewood and Khudobin under the cap before the season. Then, they’d place Khudobin on long-term injured reserve after the season begins. This would create $3.33 million in cap space for the Stars to use in-season, only until Khudobin was fully healthy again.
Since the fall of 2019, when the tandem was Bishop and Khudobin, so much around the Stars’ goaltending depth chart has been a question mark. Wedgewood is not the only one who gained stability on Thursday. Barring injuries, the Stars also have some stability in the crease for the next couple of seasons with Oettinger and Wedgewood. As outlined this week, the Stars don’t have a lot of room to play with when it comes to cap this offseason. They have spots at all three levels in need of upgrading. By signing Wedgewood, they addressed the goaltending and ensured that the third-round pick they sent to Arizona for him at the deadline wasn’t just for his services for a month but for the foreseeable future. Now, they have options to create space to help some of those other areas of need.
(Photo of Scott Wedgewood: Darren Yamashita / USA Today)