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Another Stop for Dwayne Roloson?



Bruce Garrioch suggests that two main possibilities for the Senators backup job are former Oiler Ty Conklin and current Oiler Dwayne Roloson. Here's the quote:

Now that goaltender Ray Emery is officially gone after clearing waivers yesterday, Murray is expected to bring in a goalie to stand behind No. 1 Martin Gerber next season.

Two viable options are unrestricted free agent Ty Conklin of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers veteran Dwayne Roloson.


If I were a betting man, I'd think the Senators go the Conklin route. Or the Auld route. Or the less-than-3M-per-annum-UFA route. Of course, that's just my take, but I really have difficulty seeing the Senators gambling on Roloson's contract.

I rather expect that Roli will be an Oiler next season, at least until the trade deadline, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I am uncomfortable with the prospect of Jeff Deslauriers as the backup to Mathieu Garon. While unlikely to implode as spectacularly as the Cloutier-Brochu tandem did a couple of years back in Vancouver, it isn't a confidence-inspiring team. I think Garon is a legitimate starter; I also think he breaks down and needs a backup capable of playing 25-30 games, and while Deslauriers has been good at the AHL level, he hasn't done anything in the NHL yet and he isn't a can't-miss guy. Roloson, for all his faults, is still a legitimate goaltender. In a perfect world, Roli is moved for a pick and the Oilers sign Auld to be the backup, but it isn't a perfect world, and given the choice between Garon-Roloson and Garon-Deslauriers, I'll go with the first option 10 times out of 10.