In the midst of the Tyler Seguin/ Rich Peverly trade, the Nathan Horton departure, the question of will Jaromir Jagr return next year? And the speculation over an impending mega deal to resign Tuukka Rask, the name of Bruin backup net-minder Anton Khudobin has failed to cross the minds of well anyone.
Nevertheless after a season and postseason where the focus of peoples goal-tending attention, directed towards the Bruins was largely fixated on star goalie Tuukka Rask, it was an unsung hero in Khudobin that really did play a huge role in bringing this team through the regular season a positioning them for this deep 2013 playoff run.
In the 14 games this now 27 year old started for Boston this year, Khudobin went 9-4-1 accounting for 29% of the Bruins final record and allowing just 31 goals against to constitute a GAA of just over 2.30.
You see the point of a good backup is not just to give your starter rest (if that were true, the Bruins would have only won 20 games this year and finished out of the playoffs) the backup is supposed to give you a chance to win and that is just what Anton Khudobin did this season.
After years of paying his dues down in Providence, Khudobin was finally given the chance to become a regular goaltender and while stats can be misleading, anyone who watched this 2013 Bruins team could recognize that Khudobin HAS proved that he could easily become a guy paid far more than he already is and a guy who, so long as he is placed on an average goal tending team, could reasonably be in the running to become a starting goaltender in the NHL.
Nevertheless at just after 4 PM today, speculations of Anton Khudobin being on the move became a reality when he signed a one year 800,000 dollar contract with the Hurricanes. Now this is where things get a little weird. Coming into the off season, Khudobin was expected to, if he was moved; go to a market where he would be competing for more money and a starting role. That isn't going to happen in Carolina.
Fact is, Khudobin signed for 75,000 dollars less than what he was paid this year and signed with a team that already has Cam Ward: a 29 year old stud that is still showing no signs of slowing down.
Yet this is not Raligh, this is Boston and after a pretty awful month in Boston sports (Hernandez, the Bruins losing the cup, and a bunch of Celtics trades) there might be an upside to this Khudobin departure, and that upside has a name: Niklas Svedberg.
Niklas Svedberg
Born on September 4th 1989, a now 23 year old Svedberg was signed into the Bruins organization back in May of 2012 binding him as an undrafted goaltender slated to play as starter in the Bruins AHL affiliate Providence.
Originally playing over in Sweden, Svedberg spent 8 years is various European leagues even making the Olympic team at one point before eventually making a name for himself as he eventually managed to compile a combined GAA of 2.55 (2.86 in Olympic hockey) all before finally making his debut in Providence back in October.
Energetically leaping into American hockey, Svedberg quickly began to turn heads as he exploded out of the gates winning 5 straight games before getting handed his first AHL loss. Still dominant as ever, Svedberg was named to the AHL All-Star game in January before finishing the season with a win-loss-OT loss record of 37-8-2 and a GAA of 2.17 that is actually sizably better than the final season in Providence of current Bruins starter Tuukka Rask.
Table comparing Tuukka Rask and Niklas Svedberg's final seasons in Providence
GAA | Win | Loss | OT loss | |
Tuukka Rask | 2.50 | 33 | 20 | 4 |
Niklas Svedberg | 2.17 | 37 | 8 | 2 |
In a way you can say that the Bruins really did run away with this trade off, I mean, bringing in a guy who if he performs like he did in the AHL could oust Tuukka Rask (although after hearing of the contract Rask will sign, that is never going to happen) and letting go of a goalie who in a few years could easily be demanding a multi-million dollar deal seems like a more than fair trade for Boston.
Niklas Svedberg is the perfect guy to backup Rask, it just fits the deal, "the backup shouldn't just rest your starter, it should give you a chance to win" and that is exactly what Niklas Svedberg of Sollentuna, Sweden will undoubtedly perfect, right down to an art.
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