Trade Deadline Targets- Who to Add and Who's Just Bad- Goaltenders

There's been a lot of talk about the Wings making a move to get a backup netminder, someone who can give Jimmy a little more rest heading into the playoffs. By writing this article, I'm not endorsing this. I don't think it's a good idea to give up anything for a backup goalie, but maybe I'm putting too much faith in Ty Conklin and Joey MacDonald. I'm not sure, but there will be an article later this week that looks at their numbers and helps in objectively assessing whether we really need to make a move in this area. Meanwhile, let's breakdown the numbers of a much-discussed trade target.

Most of what I've been hearing has surrounded acquiring Evgeni Nabokov from the Islanders, a player we tried to pick up off of waivers last year (before he was unceremoniously picked off by the aforementioned Coliseum dwellers). Nabokov has been solid this year, and adding him will likely cost more than just a draft pick. How good has he been? Let's check the numbers.

Nabokov has played in 26 games this year and allowed 44 goals at even strength. He's allowing an average of 2.26 goals per 60 minutes of even strength ice time. To add a little perspective, the Islanders are allowing an average of 6.60 goals per 60 minutes of regular strength ice time when Nabokov isn't in net.

4-on-5 play is another strength of Nabokov's, especially compared to the teammates he shares the net with. Nabokov has allowed five goals this year when opponents are on the powerplay for an average of 2.59 per 60 minutes of penalty kill time. The other three goalies the Islanders have used this year haven't fared as well, allowing an average of 12.08 goals per 60 minutes of penalty kill time. To put it simply, Nabokov's a pretty good goalie.

As I mentioned above, later this week I'll break down the numbers of Detroit's backup netminders in order to try to gain some insight into what should be done with the deadline approaching. In the meantime, check out the incomparable behindthenet.ca. All of the stats in this post (and the previous two posts) have come from there, and you won't find more in depth hockey stats on the internet. Believe it or not they aren't paying me to say any of this, I just like the site that much.