Goaltender moves highlight the opening of NHL free agency

James Reimer got things started right at the ding of the bell that opened up the market.

It was a big day for free agent goaltenders looking for new homes, particularly because there were so many of them testing the market this July 1. Here are the most impactful goalie moves so far in free agency and what the moves mean for their new teams.

Chad Johnson
New Team: Calgary Flames
What It Means: Johnson heading to Calgary says less about him leaving Buffalo and more about the Flames trying to fix their goaltending problem from seasons past. They already got veteran Brian Elliott from the St. Louis Blues and now have Johnson inked to a one-year gig to see if he is solid insurance as a backup. Bonus: The 30-year-old Calgary native logged a .920 save percentage last season for the Sabres, which got a bit lost in Buffalo’s lackluster campaign. It is a definite upgrade to Calgary’s arsenal of netminders.

Carter Hutton
New Team: St. Louis Blues
What It Means: Hutton’s departure from the Predators was expected, and the dynamic in St. Louis could present him with more starting opportunities. The 30-year-old Ontario native registered a 2.33 goals-against average and .918 save percentage with two shutouts  in 17 regular-season starts (7-5-4) as Pekka Rinne’s backup in Nashville last season. As Adam Vingan of the Tennessean pointed out, Hutton will be going from backing up a vet in Rinne to a fresher face in Jake Allen, who started 44 games last year “after entering it with 45 career starts.” There is a potential for Ken Hitchcock’s farewell tour to kick off with a goalie tandem and a fight for the starting job.

Anton Khudobin
New Team: Boston Bruins
What It Means: Boston has been in need of a reliable backup to Tuukka Rask for a couple seasons now. Khudobin isn’t just a solid choice as a backup — he already has a history with the B’s. As NESN.com summarized, the Russian netminder was Rask’s backup during the truncated 2013 lockout season, where he went "9-4-1 in 14 appearances that season, posting a 2.32 goals against average and .920 save percentage for a B’s team that reached the Stanley Cup Final.” With Rask suffering a bit of a dip on the stats sheet over the past couple of years, it behooves Boston to have a reliable backup.

James Reimer
New Team: Florida Panthers
What It Means: Reimer was clear long before the market opened up that he wanted a starting job somewhere. His signing a five-year deal with the Panthers might have raised some eyebrows at first, given that Florida already has a starter in Roberto Luongo. But with Luongo coming off of hip surgery this summer and the Panthers expecting to not have him back to full health by the start of the next campaign, Reimer will then have plenty of time to squeeze in and put up an argument for a definite starting job. He certainly has a good résumé from last season, posting a 1.62 goals-against average and .938 save percentage with three shutouts in eight regular-season starts (6-2-0) with the San Jose Sharks.