posted December 15, 2006 at 13:53 EST in NHL Articles

Round and round goes the goaltender carousel.

One of the frustrating things about handicapping a hockey team is that you’re never really sure who is going to be the starting goaltender. That’s true for every sport, but in hockey, so much of the outcome depends on the performance of the goalie that it’s imperative for handicappers to know the identity of the man behind the mask.

There was a time when teams had just one goalie on the roster, and he played every minute of every game, barring injury. Now, every team dresses two goalies, and, with the league expanded to 30 clubs, there are only so many quality keepers to go around. So when the Columbus Blue Jackets dealt proven workhorse Marc Denis to the Tampa Bay Lightning this summer for forward Fredrick Modin and little-known Euro veteran goalie Fredrik Norrena, it was seen as a huge vote of confidence for emerging star netminder Pascal Leclaire.

Funny how things turn out. Columbus had an active offseason and finally looked ready to make the leap to respectability. Then they went through a goal-scoring drought, and the blue-chip Leclaire wasn’t helping. After a strong start to the season, Leclaire posted a lousy .877 save percentage during his ten November starts, during which the Jackets went 2-8 and coughed up 6.09 units against the moneyline.

Funny how things work out sometimes. Norrena has turned out to be much more valuable than most trade throw-ins. The 32-year-old “rookie” has taken very well to the NHL, recording a sparkling .922 save percentage and guiding the Jackets to a 5-4 record in nine starts – good enough for 5.91 units of profit on the moneyline. His current four-game winning streak coincides with a lower-body injury to Leclaire that should keep him out of action for at least a week. If he were a football quarterback, Leclaire would get his starting job back. This isn’t football.

Norrena happens to be in the right place at the right time. The Jackets fired coach Gerard Gallant in November and hired respected former Stanley Cup winner Ken Hitchcock, who had recently been let go by the slumping Philadelphia Flyers. Hitchcock preaches a defensive-oriented approach to the game, and since his hire the Jackets are 6-3. Leclaire was in net for all three losses, but he wasn’t at fault, posting a sizzling .942 save percentage before suffering his injury – a mild knee sprain, as it turns out.

 

It looks like Columbus has the kind of goaltending problem that most teams would love to have. As for the Lightning, their situation appears to be the exact opposite. Denis has endured his own struggles in his Tampa Bay debut. He has a career-low .879 save percentage, ahead of only L.A.’s Dan Cloutier among NHL regulars, and the Bolts are just 6-9 in his starts.

Tampa Bay thought it had discovered its own Euro veteran up its sleeve. Johan Holmqvist, a former New York Rangers prospect who spent the past two seasons in the Swedish Elite league, filled the breach by winning eight of his first 10 starts. But Holmqvist has hit the skids of late, allowing 11 goals in his last three starts – two of which saw him pulled from the game.

Holmqvist might not get the chance to prove his early success was no fluke. Denis, a native of Montreal, has been having trouble sorting out his visa status and was unable to travel back to Canada, forcing the Bolts to use third-stringer Karri Ramo in relief of Holmqvist during their Dec. 2 loss at Ottawa. Those visa problems have since been taken care of; Denis has regained his No. 1 job just in time for a five-game road swing through the Great White North.