Searching for a Net Minder

After the celebration had subsided from last nights Blackhawk’s 6-5 OT win against the Flames a very uneasy feeling came over me.  It is no secret that the

Christy, noooooooo

Hawks are going to score a lot of goals this season.  With a group of high octane front liners and a solid (not you Brent Sopel, you suck) group of defensemen who can score (see Seabrook’s winner last night) putting the puck in the back of the net should not be a problem for this group.

The issue remains, as it was during the off-season, in training camp and in the preseason that if they Hawks want to make it to the Stanley Cup they are going to have to overcome bad goaltending.  Now I know it’s early and that Christy Huet can right the ship and become the goalie he is being paid to be or that Antti Niemi could bust out and have a huge year, however the early indicators have not been good for either guy.

If Stan Bowman and crew really want to make this push happen they are going to need to test the free agency waters later this year to find a new net minder, and like always we here at Roman is Burning would like to lend a helping hand.  Here are 5 potential free agents that we feel would be a good fit for the Hawks.

Jim Craig

Craig was the goalie for the 1980 Goal Medal winning USA Hockey team.  Now granted he is probably in his 40s or 50s these days we feel he’d be a good fit because he has played and won big games in his career.  Plus any guy who can rattle off Herb Brooks’ speeches like Craig can could really fire up a locker room.

USA, USA, USA

Julie ‘The Cat’ Gaffney

One of the most glaring weaknesses in Huet’s game is his glove side.  Opponents continually take aim for just over his glove hand and routinely are successful on their attempts.  How do we fix that you ask?  Well we go out and sign the goalie that once shut down Gunner Stall as he tried to go glove side.  Ovechkin will think twice before thing to go top shelf on Julie The Cat.

How quickly before her and Burish would be dating?

Darren McCord

McCord was the character played by Jean-Claude Van Damme in the movie Sudden Death.  For some strange reason McCord, who is trying to stop a terrorist from blowing up the arena during the Stanley Cup, ends up in full pads playing goalie for the Penguins.  In true Van Damme fashion he makes a huge save then shares a semimetal moment with his son.  Got to love McCord as a possible option here because he’s played in the Cup Finals and loves his children, you can’t get much better than that.

Garth Algar

Okay so Garth already has the Hawks jersey so that could save the front office some money right there, and as long as Wayne isn’t playing for the other team Algar gives you a solid option between the pipes.  I mean come on who wouldn’t want to watch as Garth got all nervous every time the Ice Hawk Girls game on the ice during a timeout, plus the UC would be rocking each time play resumed with a resounding, “Game On!”

Casey Jones

In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie we never actually see Jones on the ice at any point; however he does have a sweet mask and goalie stick so we can only assume he knows what he is going.  Jones would be the biggest risk out of this group because we don’t really know his exact hockey skill level; however he is a tough guy and a good fighter so we have a good feeling about him.

He's on the team if he wears that mask