Top 3 goaltenders still available on the free agent market.

We have made it through the entire month of July and through the first week of August as well but there is still plenty of time before fans in the National Hockey League get to experience meaningful games once again. That also means that there is still plenty of time for NHL organizations to tweak their rosters before next season, even though most of the work has already been done. 

In spite of the fact that most of the teams around the league already have a pretty good idea of what their rosters will look like come the start of the 2019 - 2020 NHL regular season, there are still some potential additions out there that could prove to be difference makers for a number of teams. Today we will be taking a look at the top available players remaining in free agency at their respective positions, however this time around it would be hard to argue that the players on this list will be big impact players come the 2019- 2020 NHL regular season.

For this list we are going to take a look at the best goaltenders that are still available on the free agent market, but to be blunt the picks this late into the summer at the position have become very slim indeed. 

#1 Cam Ward.

The fact that a goaltender who is rumored to be muling retirement is at the very top of the list should tell you everything you need to know about the current state of the free agent market for goaltenders. Ward is coming off of his worst season since his rookie debut in the National Hockey League, although how much of the blame for his performance should be placed at the feet of the Chicago Blackhawks defense is a subject worth debating. The Blackhawks defense was not good last season but even then Ward's 3.67 goals against average and .897 save percentage over 33 games last season did nothing to impress NHL general managers. If Ward does get another shot in the NHL I would suspect he will have to prove himself on a professional tryout offer. 

#2 Chad Johnson.

We have reached number 2 and with all due respect to Chad Johnson we are already crapping the bottom of the barrel here. Johnson of course has proven himself to be at least a serviceable backup during his NHL career, however he is now coming off of 2 consecutive seasons with save percentages under .900. You would be hard pressed to argue that Johnson hasn't had the opportunity either, in 2017 - 2018 he was on an underwhelming Buffalo Sabres team to be sure, but this past season he flunked his way out of the St. Louis Blues roster. Over 10 games Johnson recorded a 3.55 goals against average and a .884 save percentage leaving the door wide open for Jordan Binnington to eventually come in and lead the Blues all the way to the Stanley Cup Championship. Like Ward I would expect that a PTO is his best hope this summer. 

#3 Scott Darling

You could probably interchange a lot of names in this spot, but Darling is probably the most established name still out there. Of course there are a ton of red flags surrounding Darling, including his total collapse and eventual buyout from the Carolina Hurricanes, but it was not so long ago that he stood on his head for the Chicago Blackhawks as a backup. Without knowing more of the behind the scenes details of his problems in Carolina it's hard to judge how likely a return to the NHL is for Darling at this time, or if he even wants to come back, which is why he ranks so low on the list.