NHL DEPTH CHARTSWith Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final taking place tonight in Chicago, it’s a perfect time to post this month’s update of the NHL Depth Charts. There has been some “off-season” movement already, as the Black- hawks, despite being busy with their run for Stanley’s Cup, have signed Finnish superstar Antti Raanta to an entry-level contract. The Jets lost pending UFA Mark Dekanich to the KHL, the Flames lost pending UFA Danny Taylor to the Swedish Elite League, and the Islanders decided not to toll Tim Thomas’ contract, making him a full-fledged UFA. There was also some significant movement in the coaching realm, as Pete Peeters retired, the Avalanche hired Francois Allaire, Pierre Groulx was not brought back, and Gilles Meloche stepped down. That will open JUNE 26, 2013 up some doors heading into the NHL Draft, which takes place June 30! ALTERATION MARKS LEGEND Alteration Marks reflect a goaltender’s progress during the previous month. Progress is defined as a goaltender’s statistical on-ice performance combined with the change in their overall reputation, upside, and long-term value, as perceived by McKeen’s Hockey director of goalie scouting Justin Goldman. $ SURGING: Monthly performances well above average. Fast-rising CRASHING: A monthly performance in which the goaltender lost the momentum in the areas of skill, potential, opportunity and statistics. $ role with their team, or damaged their reputation due to very poor play. Monthly performances that reflect moderate progress. This RISING: CLOSE EYE: This goalie is worth watching very closely because his & includes improved momentum and stats from the previous month. N long-term value could skyrocket at any moment due to deceptive skill. STEADY: Monthly performances consistent with the previous month, " or an overall steady progress, despite slightly lower or higher stats. h INJURED: Goaltenders that were injured for at least half of the month. $ FALLING: Monthly performances well below average. This includes # ( a losing record, low save percentage or a severe lack of consistency. COLORS: Red marks indicate a change. Black indicates no change. R/U “R”: Restricted Free Agent “U”: Unrestricted Free Agent ANAHEIM DUCKS CONSULTANT: Dwayne Roloson Pete Peeters & Jonas Hiller 2-12-82 6-2, 190 Pete Peeters announced his retirement on June 5, so the door opened for " Viktor Fasth 8-08-82 6-0, 198 the Ducks to hire Dwayne Roloson on June 10 as the new Goaltending & Frederik Andersen 10-02-89 6-4, 245 Consultant. No word on if they will hire an assistant to work in Norfolk. Either way, Anaheim remains as one of the top teams in terms of goaltending depth. ( Igor Bobkov 1-02-91 6-4, 192 John Gibson blew everyone away with his performance in the 2013 World R Marco Cousineau 11-09-89 6-0, 195 Championships, helping Team USA earn a Gold Medal. The big question is N John Gibson 7-14-93 6-3, 205 how much he’ll play in the AHL, because he’s definitely turning pro. BOSTON BRUINS COACH: Bob Essensa R Tuukka Rask 3-10-87 6-3, 169 Rask has been electric for the Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs, getting U Anton Khudobin 5-07-86 5-11, 203 more and more comfortable as the days roll along. He is now 12-4-1 with a & Niklas Svedberg 9-04-89 6-2, 176 1.75 GAA and .943 SV% (1st overall) in the post-season. Khudobin has not been called upon to appear in the playoffs. Svedberg went 6-6 in the AHL Michael Hutchinson 3-02-90 6-3, 185 R playoffs with a 3.29 GAA and .889 SV%, which was sub-par considering he & Malcolm Subban 12-21-93 6-1, 187 was the AHL Goaltender of the Year as a rookie. Lars Volden’s rights were & Zane Gothberg 8-20-92 6-1, 180 not retained by the June 6 deadline, so he re-enters the draft and likely " Adam Morrison 2-09-91 6-3, 194 becomes a free agent in July. This is good news for Zane Gothberg’s future. BUFFALO SABRES COACHES: Jim Corsi, Bob Janosz N Ryan Miller 7-17-80 6-2, 175 Eyes continue to focus on Miller’s whereabouts this summer, as he could be & Jhonas Enroth 6-25-88 5-10, 166 potential trade bait heading into July. Enroth says he is ready for a starting U David Leggio 7-31-84 5-11, 179 gig and proved himself in the World Championships by leading Sweden to a Gold Medal. He posted a 1.15 GAA and .956 SV% in seven games, R Matt Hackett 3-07-90 6-2, 179 including two shutouts and a shootout win in the semifinals. Leggio is likely " Connor Knapp 5-01-90 6-5, 215 to hit free agency without a deal, while Hackett will have a chance to be the " Nathan Lieuwen 8-08-91 6-5, 192 starter in Rochester next season. That puts Knapp and Lieuwen in the same N Andrey Makarov 4-20-93 6-1, 193 place they were last summer -- fighting for an AHL spot. Makarov is eligible " Linus Ullmark 7-31-93 6-3, 198 to be an over-ager, so he could steal that backup role to Hackett as well. CALGARY FLAMES COACHES: Clint Malarchuk, Jordan Sigalet N Miikka Kiprusoff 10-26-76 6-1, 185 Still no word on a potential decision from Kiprusoff regarding retirement. ( Joey MacDonald 2-07-80 6-0, 197 MacDonald will play a role with the Flames next season, but now that word Karri Ramo 7-01-86 6-3, 207 is trickling through that Calgary has indeed signed Karri Ramo to a deal, it’s N unclear if Joey will have any chance of playing in the NHL. Many believe Reto Berra 1-03-87 6-4, 200 & Berra is a lock for a backup spot after posting a 1.00 GAA and .967 SV% in U Leland Irving 4-11-88 6-0, 177 four games for Switzerland in the World Championships. There will forever " Joni Ortio 4-16-91 6-1, 183 be questions surrounding Leland Irving, but will he want to hang around for & Laurent Brossoit 3-23-93 6-3, 200 another year without a legit NHL role? Ortio is still developing in Finland. & Jon Gillies 1-22-94 6-5, 215 Brossoit could turn pro next season, thus making Irving even more obsolete. CAROLINA HURRICANES COACH: Greg Stefan h Cam Ward 2-29-84 6-1, 185 It may be time for the Hurricanes to add a second goalie coach to their staff, U Dan Ellis 6-19-80 6-1, 191 as not only is this a big summer for Cam Ward, but there is a need for the ( Justin Peters 8-30-86 6-1, 205 organization to begin developing from within. That’s not to say Justin Peters can’t evolve into a starting goalie, but his progress has been slower than Mike Murphy 1-15-89 5-11, 161 U expected. Mike Murphy is a relatively unknown entity moving forward as R John Muse 8-01-88 5-11, 175 well, as it’s unclear if the club wants him back or not. Muse is an RFA but has & Daniel Altshuller 7-24-94 6-2, 175 no upside beyond the AHL in my opinion. Altshuller and Olson have bright " Collin Olson 4-04-94 6-3, 196 futures with solid windows of opportunity in their respective leagues. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS COACHES: Stephane Waite, Andrew Allen & Corey Crawford 12-31-84 6-2, 208 Crawford has the edge on Rask in the GAA department (1.74 to 1.75) but his U Ray Emery 9-28-82 6-2, 196 save percentage is a tad weaker at .935 (compared to .943). So while Rask may have the edge heading into the Stanley Cup Finals, there’s no debating N Antti Raanta 5-12-89 6-0, 187 that Corey has been a stalwart for the Blackhawks. Chicago also made a U Carter Hutton 12-19-85 6-1, 210 huge splash when they announced the signing of the best UFA Euro goalie U Alec Richards 6-29-87 6-4, 210 available in Antti Raanta. The Finnish stud won every award imaginable in ( Kent Simpson 3-26-92 6-3, 200 the SM-liiga this season, and then posted a 2.09 GAA and .927 SV% in & Mac Carruth 3-25-92 6-3, 182 seven games in the World Championships. This means Henrik Karlsson, Carter Hutton, and Alec Richards are all likely headed out, which comes as & Brandon Whitney 5-11-94 6-5, 192 no real surprise. If the Hawks also choose to part ways with Emery, expect a " Matt Tomkins 6-19-94 6-2, 174 veteran UFA to sign as the #3 guy, just to provide insurance behind Raanta. COLORADO AVALANCHE CONSULTANT: Francois Allaire & Semyon Varlamov 4-27-88 6-2, 209 With the hiring of Patrick Roy and his subsequent hiring of Francois Allaire & J-S Giguere 5-16-77 6-1, 202 as the new goalie consultant (part-time), the Avalanche organization has essentially gone from being a goalie graveyard to a goalie gold mine. The Calvin Pickard 4-15-92 6-1, 208 & influence of Allaire could be exactly what Varlamov needs to learn to trust & Sami Aittokallio 8-06-92 6-1, 172 his positioning and not get caught being overly aggressive. Giguere will & Kent Patterson 9-15-89 6-1, 195 finish out his career surrounded by two highly influential goalie guys, and the & Kieran Millan 8-31-89 6-0, 190 future of Pickard, Aittokallio, and the two college grads is better than ever.