2 Teams That Could Sign Philipp Grubauer This Offseason
Those big-money players may leave Grubauer in the lurch. If Colorado has trouble bringing him back, here are two teams that will be happy to give him a new contract.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers' struggles in net are well documented. While Mike Smith had an astounding season this year and will likely be brought back, he turns 40 years old in March. It's one thing to lean on the veteran goalie for 32 games like they did this year, but expecting him to be a starter for a full 82-game season is too tall an order. Meanwhile, Mikko Koskinen has not lived up to his contract and may have played himself out of a job. Bringing in a goalie as talented as Grubauer would certainly alleviate those concerns, allowing them to split playing time between him and Smith, or even lean a little more on Grubauer when needed. Grub is used to playing on a similarly offensive-minded team in Colorado, and the prospect of playing with fellow German superstar Leon Draisaitl may draw his attention.
Washington Capitals
The Caps still believe that Ilya Samsonov is their goalie of the future. That said, both he and Vitek Vanacek struggled in the post-season, leading to the team's first-round exit. Bringing in a more stable netminder to allow Samsonov to grow into the starter's role may be just the ticket for the aging Caps, who are looking for one more Cup run before their star players start thinking about calling it a career. Grubauer played backup for Braden Holtby in Washington for three seasons before they traded him to Colorado. Now that he's proven himself to be an elite NHL starter, the Capitals may want to give him another look between their pipes.
Where do you think Grubauer plays next season?
Photo Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
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