from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,

Quite honestly, I thought they would pursue a Lehtonen buyout.

But, a new option appears to be forming, and it might be the one the Stars embrace. What if you return both Lehtonen and Niemi to start next season, and then keep your eyes open for a goaltending move? The three reasons this could be the way they go are: 1.) The NHL is expecting an expansion draft in the summer of 2017; 2.) the contracts for Lehtonen and Niemi get more tradeable as they get closer to expiration...and 3.) the goalie share program worked in the regular season to the tune of a 50-23-9 record.

If you come back and have a solid regular season, would a team take a chance on Lehtonen if he was playing well and had just one year remaining? Would they do it at the trade deadline if the Stars were to make it worth their while? Also, would a team be open to trading their No. 1 goalie if they looked like they were going to miss the playoffs and didn't want to lose him in the expansion draft.

Ottawa is a great example for this. Craig Anderson and Andrew Hammond each are solid goalies who have done a good job in a high-risk system. Anderson is 34 and has two years remaining at a cap hit of $4.2 million.

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