Keith Kinkaid will be challenged this season by a strong goaltending core to backup Cory Schneider. A looming expansion draft also raises questions about Kinkaid and the New Jersey Devils goaltending future.
There is no doubt about who the New Jersey Devils’ starting goaltender will be when the puck drops October 13th and the Devils face-off against the Florida Panthers (*cough* Cory Schneider *cough). But with the upcoming NHL expansion draft and a plethora of New Jersey goalie prospects, there are questions to be asked surrounding Keith Kinkaid.
First, who will backup Cory Schneider this upcoming season?
Ever since MB30’s departure from the Devils, Keith Kinkaid has been the consistent number 2 in New Jersey. However, Kinkaid is coming off a mediocre season backing up Schneider. His 9-9-1 record, 2.81 GAA, .908 SV Pct is certainly not going to raise any eyebrows. That being said, the abundance of goaltending prospects for New Jersey could challenge Kinkaid for the backup role to Cory Schneider.
The first contender to challenge Kinkaid would be Mackenzie Blackwood. The Devils’ 42nd pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, and the top rated North American goalie of the 2015 Draft, has shown a ton of promise at the tender age of 19. Coming off a stellar season for the OHL’s Barrie Colts, Blackwood (28-13-0, 2.72 GAA, 0.921 SV Pct) received OHL Goalie of the Year honors. His strong positional play and his calm demeanor are shades of what we see out of Schneider every night. His only issue with challenging Kinkaid for the backup role is his age. Shero & Co. may want to keep Blackwood down to give him more time to develop properly.
The strongest challenger to replace Kinkaid would be Scott Wedgewood. Wedgewood had a strong 2015-2016 campaign (14-3-3, 1.55 GAA, 0.933 SV Pct) for the Albany Devils backing up Yann Danis. Wedgewood’s impressive numbers and relief performances for the New Jersey Devils (2-1-1, 1.25 GAA, 0.957 SV Pct) this year will definitely put him in the running for backup ‘tendy. Furthermore, Wedgewood has youth on his side as well, as he is 3 years younger than Kinkaid. All that being said, Wedgewood has certainly earned his stripes and his opportunity to get into “The Show”.
However, there is a cloud hanging over this goaltending controversy, and that is the upcoming expansion draft.
Each of the 30 NHL teams can “protect” up to one goaltender from being a part of the expansion draft. That choice for the Devils is obvious. But the monkey wrench of this situation is what goaltender will the Devils offer up to draft? And this is where things can get a little hairy for the Devs.
Puck Prose
First off here are the requirements for goaltenders:
- Each team can protect up to one goaltender.
- First and second year professionals will be protected from the draft (i.e. Mackenzie Blackwood)
- One goaltender who is under contract through 2017-2018 is required to be exposed.
As stated before, Schneider is obviously protected from being exposed at the expansion draft, and so is Blackwood. However, as of right now, Kinkaid could not be used as draft bait since he will be a UFA at the end of this upcoming season. If Shero cannot sign Kinkaid to an extension, or sign an additional goalie to expose, Wedgewood is the only remaining goaltender that can be offered up to expansion draft. This would be a loss to the Devs’ goaltending core. But this is assuming Wedgewood would be actually taken in the draft. But that will prove to be very unlikely since every team has to offer up at least one goalie, and goalies like Jimmy Howard, Marc-Andre Fleury and either Kari Lehtonen or Antii Niemi will likely be taken first.
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Overall the best course of action for Shero & Co. for this ‘tendy situation would give Wedgewood a fair shot at securing the number 2 spot behind Schneider, give Blackwood one more year to develop, and if Wedgewood earns it, let Kinkaid walk at the end of the year. This would also mean Wedgewood would be exposed for the draft, but by the time that happens he will either not be taken, or Blackwood will be ready to be brought up and groomed.
Long story short, Kinkaid’s time in New Jersey may be numbered.