The Demise of Marty Turco

The Dallas Stars might be one step closer to fixing their goaltending problem after trading a draft pick and top prospect Vishnevskiy to the Atlanta Thrashers for net minder Karl Lehtonen. What does this mean for current Stars goalie Marty Turco? Well one thing is for sure this doesn’t help his future with the team, which has been in question since last season.

Lets take a look at the contracts and stats of the Dallas Stars Goalies so that we can get a clear picture of what the teams goaltending future will hold. The stat I am interested in is the Save Percentage, the reason for this is that goals against average is more of a team defense statistic.

Marty Turco Bio – Contract – Statistics
Age: 34
Height: 5-11
Weight: 189
Save Percentage:
06-07: .910
07-08: .909
08-09: .898
09-10: .911 season in progress

Marty Turco’s Future with the Dallas Stars
Dallas Stars Goalie Marty Turco will be a free agent at the end of this season. He will receive 5.7 million dollars this year, and most fans do not think that he is worth it anymore. I defended Turco from the naysayers before, but can’t do it anymore. At his age he is on a slow decline, so prayers that Marty can return to the form he was in while setting the modern day goals against average will probably go unanswered. His stats have been on the decline since the 06-07 season and has also had his fair share of struggles in the post season.

My belief is that with the arrival of Karl Lehtonen, Joe Nieuwendyk and the Dallas Stars front office are actively shopping Turco before the trade deadline. A rumor that he was going to the Flyers has gone cold, but expect him to be traded before the deadline. And if Turco isn’t traded I don’t think he will be resigned unless he is willing to take a major cut in pay and playing time.

Karl Lehtonen – Contract – Statistics
Age: 26
Height: 6-4
Weight: 215
Save Percentage:
06-07: .912
07-08: .916
08-09: .911
09-10: N/A Back Injury

Karl Lehtonen’s Future with the Dallas Star
The Dallas Stars newly acquired goalie Karl Lehtonen is definitely positioned to be the Stars goalie moving forward. Out of the 3 goalies the Stars now have on the roster, Lehtonen is the only one that will be a restricted free agent after this season. Both Turco and Auld are unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. Lehtonen is owed 3 million for this season.

Lehtonen has posted better save percentages than Marty Turco since the 06-07 season, and has done it while playing for the Atlanta Thrashers who aren’t that good. The only knock on Karl Lehtonen is that he is injury prone. If he can play at the same level he did before his back surgery and stay healthy the Stars will vastly improve their current goaltending situation.

Alex Auld – Contract – Statistics
Age: 29
Height: 6-5
Weight: 221
Save Percentage:
06-07: .888 Florida Panthers
07-08: .919 Boston Bruins – .880 Phoenix Coyotes
08-09: .911 Ottawa Senators
09-10: .894

Alex Auld’s Future with the Dallas Stars
Journeyman goalie Alex Auld was signed for this season as an insurance policy in case Marty Turco couldn’t hack it this season. Auld posted good numbers with the Bruins and Senators, but those are two pretty salty squads.

Lehtonen has been given chances to take over the starting position this year, but has not done much to impress with his chances. I think that the Stars will probably let him walk after this season. He signed a one year contract for 1 million and will be an unrestricted free agent at the seasons end.

Conclusion
I would definitely recommend against buying a Turco jersey right now, it looks like he may not even end this season as a Dallas Star. I don’t know why you would, but I would also recommend against buying an Auld jersey as he has not done much to secure a spot for next season.

My hope is that the Stars will part ways with both Turco and Auld and make Lehtonen the starting goalie and bring up a goalie prospect as the Stars backup next season. However with Lehtonen’s injury history Auld or another journeyman / veteren goalie will probably be the backup next season.

Resources:
Defending Big D – Dallas Stars Hockey Blog
Yahoo! Sports – Player Statistics
Hockey Buzz – NHL Salaries