Vancouver Canucks General Manager Jim Benning may have broken the hearts of many, as the team announced a deal that sends goaltender Eddie Lack to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a third round pick this year (66th overall) and a 7th round pick in 2016.
BREAKING: Eddie Lack has been dealt to the #hurricanes. http://t.co/bGH3aJEuxf pic.twitter.com/oYrkljtLjM
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 27, 2015
Hockey fans knew a deal would be made between one of Lack or Jacob Markstrom, as Benning confessed during an interview on TSN 1040 Radio that he was going to keep starter Ryan Miller around and trade one of the two youngsters. “I want to keep an older experienced goalie and Ryan is that guy. Then we are going to decide on either Lack or Markstrom. I don’t feel comfortable going into the season with two young goalies. Ryan for sure will be back.”
It seems like the petition created by Canucks fans went unheard, as one was started by the Vancouver faithful to have their voices heard that they wanted to keep Lack with the Canucks team, avoiding another possible goaltender fiasco. The first being the loss of both Roberto Luongo (Florida) and Cory Schneider (New Jersey). To view the petition, click here. In 82 career regular season games and four post-season appearances, Lack has developed certain aspects of his game and has turned his career around, going from a decent back-up to becoming a possible starting goaltender with a team that needs a stable presence between the pipes.
Lack, 27, played in the majority of the games during the time Miller was out with an injury. Posting a record of 18-13-4, Lack’s .921 save percentage was a career-high. His numbers were an improvement, mostly across the board with the exception of a slightly higher goals against, compared to last year’s 16-17-5 record in 41 starts. The Swedish netminder also faced some playoff exposure but struggled in the four games he started, going 1-3 and posting a .886 save percentage and a 3.03 goals against. To be fair, the team struggled defensively in front of Lack and the Calgary Flames were in the midst of a remarkable run.
With the move, Benning will now focus on re-signing restricted free agent Markstrom as the official back-up behind Miller. Markstrom, 25, is slightly less experienced, starting 50 career games spanning over five seasons with the Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks. His career average of .896 save percentage and 3.18 goals against will need to see improvement if he wishes to continue holding onto the job, especially if Miller faces another injury and Markstrom has to start more games than he is expected to.
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