Tommy Salo: Super Swedish Stopper

While Manny Legace is the number one man in Washington, Tommy Salo is a more than capable backup. In fact, he's a super Swedish stopper par excellence. The 34-year-old netminder is ready for the new season ahead after a less than stellar Season 4.

After a decent Season 3, Salo was not up to standard last year. He finished the campaign at 6-21-1 with a 3.44 GAA and .879. In the process, Tommy lost his starting job to upstart Manny Legace. Barring a remarkable turn of events, Salo will only see spot time as a backup this year in Washington. In Season 3, he played 67 games and finished the year 30-27-7 with a 3.36 GAA and .876 save percentage.

Salo's poor performance was quite surprising last season. He has decent speed and puck control, but never could get it going. While Legace was winning games left and right, Salo couldn't get out of his own way. Perhaps his mediocre intensity kept him from performing at his best? We'll never know.

What we do know is that Salo is not all that interested in being Manny's backup. Fact is, they don't really get along and Tommy would like to start somewhere. Washington GM John Henry says "Salo is definitely on the block, we like him well enough, but we'd be happy to let him go for a decent young goalie. Manny is our man."

Will Tommy last in Washington? Possibly, but if you're looking for a goalie, Salo is your Super Swedish Stopper!