5 goaltenders who could replace Arvid Soderblom next season

Kaapo Kahkonen is showing that he is better-than-advertised

Since his trade to the New Jersey Devils, Kaapo Kahkonen has turned his season around. We knew he’d be better with the Devils despite their struggles, but Kahkonen has a 0.934 save percentage, a shutout, and a 2.17 GAA in three starts with Jersey. No, it’s not a large sample size, but it’s also a good starting point, especially if he continues to play the way he has. 

There is also a chance he impresses the front office enough to stick around in Newark, but at the time of this writing, he is a pending unrestricted free agent and a younger one. Like Samsonov, Kahkonen would cost more than the cheaper goaltenders on a previous slideshow, but he’s more than worth taking a long look at should the Blackhawks want someone more experienced to split time with Mrazek. 

Also, like Samsonov, Kahkonen could make for a good combo with someone like Stauber or Commesso if Davidson wanted him in the Windy City and was willing to bring him in longer than one or two seasons. 

Someone like Kahkonen is also a resilient goaltender, something he had to be since he was playing in San Jose earlier this season. Patience will once again be required for all Blackhawks goaltenders, and Kahkonen would be quite familiar with the situation he’d be skating into.