San Jose Sharks fans can finally breathe. It had been expected for some time that the team would be parting with their goaltender Antti Niemi, and the feeling was probably mutual. With the Sharks and Niemi consciously uncoupling, general manager Doug Wilson was left with Alex Stalock and Troy Grosenick between the pipes. Grosenick had only spent his first season with the AHL-affiliate Worcester Sharks last season, but he did have a whopping two NHL games when injuries plagued Niemi and Stalock. Although he demonstrated poise and potential for a very young and inexperienced net minder, he would not be a viable option even as a back up, if Wilson values developing goaltenders at all.
During the draft, there were rumors that Wilson had been pursuing New York Rangers goalie Cam Talbot tenaciously. However, negotiations were not fruitful, and Talbot was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks seemed to be right back where they started, and fans began to feel anxious. Then on Tuesday afternoon, Wilson came through, trading a 2016 first-round pick and prospect Sean Kuraly, a fifth-round pick (133rd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, to the Boston Bruins for goaltender Martin Jones, who had been part of deal that sent Milan Lucic to the Los Angeles Kings. In a way, it was almost a ménage à trois of a deal. Jones was a Bruin for all of four days.
The trade that sent Jones to Boston was a surprise because goaltending was not a problem for the Bruins with Tuukka Rask, Niklas Svedberg, and Malcolm Subban. Most analysts speculated that either there would be major changes at goaltending which was in line with the roster changes being made around draft day, or general manager Don Sweeney would become Jeff Lewis and flip Jones, which is exactly what he did.
With the Los Angeles Kings, Martin Jones was a solid back up who may have only played thirty-four games at the NHL level over two seasons but showed tremendous promise. He has a record of 16-11-2, a 1.99 goals against average, and a .923 save percentage. Oh, and of those thirty-four games played, seven are shut outs. He played an important role in the Kings road to the 2014 Stanley Cup Championship season, proving his value when Jonathan Quick was out with injuries at various times. He was able to step up and kept the Kings in playoff contention.
His numbers did slip a little in 2014-15 with a 2.25 goals against average and .906 save percentage in fifteen games played but still had three shut outs. The slip in numbers is understandable since the Kings did not play as well and had a number of problems on defense. Considering the Sharks defense is not as strong as the Kings defense, these may be more realistic expectations, but Jones is motivated at the opportunity to contend for the number one spot after spending the past two seasons in Quick’s shadow. This certainly is not to say that Stalock is not similarly motivated after playing second-string to Niemi. This is a great 1A/1B goaltending situation for the Sharks, and fans should be very excited. Is it October yet?
