DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Mike Heika reports former Stars goalie Marty Turco texted him to say nothing was currently going on regarding his efforts to sign with another NHL team. While the Philadelphia Flyers were rumored interested in Turco their negotiations with winger Nikolai Zherdev could prevent Turco from signing there. Heika suggests the netminder could be forced to accept a one-year, $2 million contract and prove next season he's worth more.
The Habs rushed to get Alex Auld as a backup to Carey Price. While that definitely assures everybody that Price will be the #1 goaltender in Montreal next year, what happens if Price gets hurt and/or struggles? A month ago I was discussing with some friends what would be the ideal goaltending situation for the Canadiens in the event that Halak had to be the one to go. This is what I wrote:
If Halak was just too good in the playoffs and priced himself out of what Montreal can pay him relative to his demands, and the organization wants to stick with Price after investing so heavily in him, a trade to Dallas is in the offing. Trade Halak for Jamie Benn and/or James Neal (pending RFA) and the rights to Marty Turco, who is about to become a UFA (can somebody try this on NHL '10 and see if it gets accepted? Send me a message if it works). It maximizes the return on Halak's stock in getting a blue-chip prospect while also giving Price the veteran mentor that he might just need to excel. Plus, if Price falters, Turco, at only 33 years old, is still capable of playing a lot of minutes. Whether Turco wants to accept a more limited role is of course still up in the air, and he may feel that he can get one last big contract as a legitimate #1 goalie.
Unfortunately that didn't happen, though the Habs did get a blue-chip prospect in Lars Eller, and Ian Schultz could prove to be a sleeper pickup (a la Tommy Pyatt), in return for Halak. Nine days into free agency, Turco is still available but Montreal has already made their move for a goalie. I read that they didn't want to spend more than a million on a backup, which they didn't, but I still think that they rushed to get a serviceable goalie when they could have waited things out and got a pretty good goalie for a little more.
Of course, they do still have to sign Carey, something that Gauthier hopes to do "by training camp". That unnerves me a little. But that's a different story for a different day.
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