The New York Rangers' goalie search reportedly included Anaheim Ducks netminder Ville Husso, and the Rangers could use the help as they sit on a three-game skid.
That's the word from Elliotte Friedman, speaking on the FAN Hockey Show on Tuesday. He called Husso another goalie the Rangers looked at.
Friedman also pointed to the other side of it. Anaheim, he said, doesn't have a lot of depth, which makes a deal harder to picture.
The Rangers (7-6-1) enter Sunday's home game against the Edmonton Oilers having lost three straight. Their last outing was a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, October 26.
Six goals against in one night tells you why the crease is a talking point in New York. The team has allowed 42 goals in 14 games, against 44 scored.
Husso is 31 and 6'3, a fourth-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2014. He has played 5 games for Anaheim this season.
Over his NHL career, he has 170 regular-season games and 10 more in the playoffs. That's a body of work Mike Sullivan and Chris Drury can scout without much guesswork.
Why a Ducks trade for Husso is a hard sell
Anaheim is 5-7-1 and sits 26th in the NHL. The Ducks lost 7-6 to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, so they're hardly a team with goaltending to spare.
Joel Quenneville's group has allowed 50 goals in 13 games, a -7 goal differential. If Husso is moved, Anaheim has to be comfortable with what's left behind him.
Friedman's comment about depth is the real obstacle here. A seller with thin options in net doesn't usually part with a goalie cheaply, if at all.
For Husso, the contract matters too. His cap hit is $2,200,000 and he's set to be a UFA when the deal expires after this season, which makes him a rental-type option.
Friedman's report was a hint at who New York kicked tires on, and he noted that Husso was one of the names the Rangers considered.
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New York's road record is 1-5-1, a problem that no goalie addition fixes alone. The Rangers host Edmonton on Sunday, November 1, and Anaheim hosts Ottawa the same day.
Should the Rangers pay for Ville Husso while Anaheim has no depth to spare?
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