Stars Waive Goaltender Alex Auld

The Dallas Stars have taken a step toward solving their logjam in goal by announcing today that they have waived goaltender Alex Auld. Teams have until noon ET on Thursday to claim the 29-year-old netminder. The Stars acquired goaltender Kari Lehtonen on February 9 with Marty Turco and Auld already backstopping the team. When the trade was made, there was a lot of speculation that the team would likely trade Turco by the March 3 trade deadline and keep Auld as the backup. Both Auld and Turco will be unrestricted free agents on July 1, while Lehtonen will be a restricted free agent. In 21 games this season with the Stars, Auld has a 9-6-3 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .894 save percentage. In 204 career NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks, Florida Panthers, Phoenix Coyotes, Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, and Dallas Stars, he has an 83-81-26 record, six shutouts, a 2.78 GAA, and a .904 save percentage. This comes as a bit of a surprise to me, as it has been widely speculated that the Stars might try to move Turco by the trade deadline. However, the team is currently sitting one point out of the playoffs in the Western Conference and may wish to go with Turco's experience to make the playoffs rather than rely on the oft-injured Lehtonen. With Turco and Lehtonen in net, the Stars have lots of goaltending depth and give them a good combination heading into the post-season. Auld could still pass through waivers and the team could either send him to the minors or keep him on the team. However, it wouldn't surprise me if a team looking for goaltending depth claims Auld before noon on Thursday. The Calgary Flames are one team that comes to mind, as the could use a more suitable backup than Curtis McElhinney. Auld could help take a lot of the pressure off of starter Miikka Kiprusoff going into the playoffs, but it remains to be seen if the Flames have any interest in the netminder.