Tuesday we looked at a proven option, the veteran route, for a starting goalie as we profiled Craig Anderson. Today, we go the opposite direction, the unproven route. Last year, the Oilers went this direction with Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth, and while it failed, it was still a reasonable bet. This year, one of the top options from that class is LA Kings backup netminder Martin Jones.
Jones is young, only 25 years old, and has only played in 34 NHL contests. That said, he’s a favorite of the media in Edmonton, and has been linked to the Oilers for a few months. Granted, the link came during the MacTavish days, but it’s still an avenue worth looking at.
Why Is He Out There:
The short answer? Jonathan Quick is the reason why Jones is on the table as a trade chip. Quick is a young goaltender who is, for a lack of a better term, an elite stopper. The Kings can afford to have a young and cheap backup goalie. They can afford to deal a guy like Jones to address other holes in their line-up.
The Kings have some roster issues that need addressing, and Jones is one of their more valuable pieces that can be traded without much consequence. Like Anderson yesterday, he hasn’t done anything wrong, it’s just the perfect storm for a trade to take place.
What Does He Do Well:
It’s tough to say what a goalie does well outside of “stops pucks”, making it difficult to go in-depth here. That said, he’s provided quality play at every level he’s been at. In the WHL, he back-stopped the Calgary Hitmen, posting .915 and .919 SV% marks in his two years as the full-time starter.
Jones skipped over the ECHL, only playing in one game, and went straight to the AHL, playing for the Manchester Monarchs. In Manchester, Jones made a name for himself, holding the fort for New Hampshire’s hockey team. He posted a .924 mark in 39 games his rookie year, and only kept it going.
In 2011-12, Jones posted a .919 mark in 41 games, and then took the step to full-time starter in 2012-13, when he played in 56 games and posted another .919 SV%.
2013-14 was Jones’ best pro season, as he played in 22 AHL games and dominated, posting a .928 mark and winning 16 games. He got his first NHL taste that season, playing in 19 games for the Kings and posting a stellar .934 SV%. That was good enough to earn him a job at the NHL level this season.
Jones only played in 15 games for the Kings this year, and only posted a .906 SV% behind a great defense, it wasn’t the year he wanted. That said, Jones is clearly a solid goalie who was very good at the WHL and AHL levels. He’s a good bet to be a real goalie in the NHL.
Where Will He Play / Where Should He Play:
If Edmonton were to trade for Martin Jones, he’d be the 1A or 1B goalie for the club. It would be a tandem with Ben Scrivens to start, with the hot hand getting the role about a month into the season. It’s not the ideal situation, and it would be a highly increased workload for the young netminder.
Jones should be the backup for a team, playing between 25-30 games this season to try and prove himself. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the case in Edmonton. Rather, it would be another situation where the Oilers slot a guy too high in the batting order so to speak.
What Will He Cost:
Some in the media are speculating that Edmonton would move the Penguins’ first for Jones. I don’t think they are lying, but I think that is far too much for a completely unproven option at the NHL level. The asking price should be somewhere around a second round pick in my eyes. A second or a decent prospect, think Bogdan Yakimov, should get this deal done.
Closing Argument:
Martin Jones is a young goalie that has had success at every level. He was a good WHL netminder, and an even better one at the AHL level. His NHL career started with a bang last season, but he showed us this year what he currently is, a serviceable backup that can step in when needed.
If Edmonton had a goalie that could handle 45-50 starts a season, I’d say trade for Jones, but they simply don’t have that guy. Trading for Martin Jones would just put Edmonton right back in the same spot as September 2014, sitting with two backup goalies.
Martin Jones is going to be a good NHL option, but his time as a starter is not now. If I’m the Oilers, I pass on this one.
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