NHL

Need a goaltender? Get in line

By TOM JONES
Published January 1, 2006

The Lightning isn't the only team with questions about goaltending.

While coach John Tortorella and general manager Jay Feaster wring their hands over whether John Grahame and Sean Burke can get the Lightning to the promised land, three other teams with high hopes have goaltending concerns.

In Vancouver, former Lightning goalie Dan Cloutier is out for at least the regular season with a knee injury. Meantime, David Aebischer hasn't been able to replace the legendary Patrick Roy in Colorado. And Edmonton has three goalies but desperately seeks a reliable one.

If the Lightning is so inclined to go after a goalie - and no one is saying it is - it might have a slight advantage. That's because the best two who might be available are Minnesota's Dwayne Roloson and Manny Fernandez. If the Wild hangs around the playoff race, it probably will keep both. But if the Wild doesn't, it will be willing to trade either because both are due to become unrestricted free agents next summer. Plus, Minnesota has a kid in the minors ( Josh Harding) who it would love to promote to the NHL.

The thing is, the Wild likely would not deal either to division rivals Colorado, Edmonton or Vancouver. Fernandez, 31, is often moody and can be streaky, but at times, he is spectacular. Roloson, 36, is the humble, good teammate who might not outright steal games, but he almost never blows a game with a soft goal. The best news is both come relatively cheap. Each is making $1.6-million this season.

Other goalies who might be available in the coming weeks include Buffalo's Martin Biron and Washington's Olaf Kolzig.

ON FIRE: Wednesday marked the third anniversary of the Flames handing over their organization to coach/GM Darryl Sutter. In the 165 games since Sutter took over, the Flames were 22 games over .500 and an overtime goal away from winning the Stanley Cup. In the 165 games before Sutter arrived, the Flames were 15 games under .500 with no postseason appearances.

"The attitude, the accountability, had to change. I saw that right away," Sutter said. "As long as the big guys were scoring some goals or they beat Edmonton once in a while, everyone seemed to think that everything was fine; that everything was okay. Well, it wasn't."

Flames president and CEO Ken King, who hired Sutter, said, "He's a results guy. And he has vision. He's looking two games from now, two years from now and, if he and I have our way, 10 years from now. This is someone who, if he had decided to be a politician, would be running a country."

LONG SEASON ON LONG ISLAND: The Islanders are a game under .500 and looking little like the team that made the playoffs in 2004.

"I'm not happy with our team," GM Mike Milbury said. "If we don't turn things around soon, and I mean very soon, I'm going to have to do something."

But that "something" will not include a coaching change. Milbury likes Steve Sterling and has no intention of firing him and running the show himself. Just last week, Milbury was asked what he thought of Devils GM Lou Lamoriello taking over as coach after Larry Robinson resigned, and he said, "Better him than me."

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: With Philadelphia's Wachovia Center being used for Disney on Ice, WWE wrestling and 76ers basketball, the Flyers are on an 11-game, 10-city, 21-day trip. Depending on how you break it up, it's believed to be tied for the longest in NHL history. The Flames had to head out of Calgary during the 1988 Olympics and had an 11-game trip but were actually gone for 25 days.

While an 11-game trip doesn't sound great, remember several games are same-day trips to Washington, Boston, the Rangers and New Jersey.

And anyway, the Flyers are 11-3-3 on the road.

MISCELLANY: The Penguins dressed nine rookies Thursday against the Devils, including four first-round picks: Colby Armstrong (2001), Ryan Whitney (2002), Marc-Andre Fleury (2003) and Sidney Crosby (2005). ... The Coyotes are riled up because someone at the Staples Center, home of the Kings, shined a bright red spotlight on goalie Brian Boucher after each goal he gave up Dec.17 in L.A.'s 4-1 victory. The Coyotes might decide on a little payback when the Kings visit Feb.2. ... Ottawa goalie Ray Emery was booed every time he touched the puck last week during a road game against the Islanders because he faced away from the U.S. flag during the national anthem. "No disrespect to anyone," Emery said. "I just didn't know where the flag was."

Information from the Calgary Herald, Newsday and the Ottawa Citizen was used in this report.

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:29:14]