3. Anton Khudobin
At 33-years-old, Anton Khudobin has been the epitome of a fringe starter goalie his entire career. Khudobin has never held the full-time starter role in his 11-year NHL career, however, he’s made over 30 starts in a season three times in his career and is currently at 25 this season.
So far, in 29 games this season, Khudobin is sporting an impressive 2.22 GAA, .929 SV%, and .720 QS%. He is one of, if not, the best backups/fringe starters in the league sporting a career GAA of 2.46, .919 SV%, and .584 QS% in 217 games.
Although he has never started half the games in a season before, Khudobin played in half the games last year and started a career-high 37 games. It was one of his best seasons, finishing with a 2.57 GAA, .923 SV%, two shutouts, and a .622 QS%.
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For the Sharks, Khudobin isn’t the answer to replace Jones. However, he is a legitimate platoon option and, with some friendly competition, may be able to push Jones back to his level of play prior to last year.
With Khudobin being a bit older and lacking starting experience, he probably won’t be asking for much. He’s coming off a two-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $2.5 million.
If he hits free agency he’ll probably be looking for a two to three-year deal worth between $3 million and $4 million.
With Khudobin being a cheaper option, the Sharks wouldn’t have to make as many moves regarding their salary cap situation. This isn’t the best option for the Sharks, but it’s probably the easiest.