Tough Life for Netminders This Summer

When it comes to NHL Free Agency, teams look at every available player at every position and see what is a best fit for them.

Every year, it seems that teams do everything they can to get the best goalie on the UFA market. This off-season, the biggest goaltender movement happened when Jaroslav Halak was traded by the Montreal Canadiens to the St. Louis Blues and then signed to a multi-year deal worth a lot of money.

However, after that, it's been pretty quite as netminders such as Martin Biron (New York Rangers), Dan Ellis (Tampa Bay Lightning), Chris Mason (Atlanta Thrashers) Antero Niittymaki (San Jose Sharks), and Evgeni Nabokov (KHL) all found new teams/leagues to play in.

One big UFA netminder yoo do not see mentioned in the above paragraph is Marty Turco. Turco had lots of success in Dallas even though he stumbled in the playoffs more often than not.

With that being said, however, it's hard to imagine why he is still on the market. Many hockey fans and pundits figured that by now, he'd have been signed by the Philadelphia Flyers. Now, this can still happen but a few weeks ago, the team re-upped Michael Leighton for two years.

If you're a Flyers fan, is Michael Leighton who you want to be your starting goaltender? Why not sign Turco, who can handle a ton of games, to a short-term deal?

Another UFA netminder who is still on the market is Jose Theodore. Unfortunately, it's tough to figure out where he will go as there has not been much talk about him this summer.

Theodore had a solid year with the Washington Capitals last season and had a terrific Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens before getting pulled in Game 2 after allowing a few goals in the first period and handing the reigns over to Semyon Varlamov.

And while not a UFA, Tim Thomas's name keeps being brought up as possible trade bait given that Tuuka Rask is now the clear cut No.1 goaltender for the Boston Bruins. Thomas is a guy who won the Vezina Trophy in the 2008-09 season and can still be more than a serviceable backup to any team in the National Hockey League.

However, as is the question with Turco and Theodore, which teams need them?