Jets invite David Aebischer to Camp

 

 

Along with former Penguin Janne Pesonen, it looks like failed Colorado goalie David Aebischer will be trying to make a come back with the Jets this year. James O’Brien of Pro Hockey Talk notes this morning that Winnipeg has invited the Swiss born puck stopper to camp on a try-out basis.

For those who don’t remember, Aebischer was the guy expected to take over from Patrick Roy when the hall of famer retired. He did well in his first season as the Avs starter: appearing in 62 games, winning 32 and garnering an impressive .924 SV%. That season would be the peak in Aebischer’s career, however. In 2005-06, he shared time with Peter Budaj and stopped just 90% of the pucks he faced. He would never recover from that disappointing season, moving on to Montreal where he was deployed as a nominal back-up for several seasons. He eventually ended up in the AHL playing for the Phoenix Coyotes affiliate the San Antonio spurs before fleeing back to his home country. Aebischer has been backstopping Lugano of the Swiss-A league ever since.

The Jets decision to invite Aebischer back for a try-out is somewhat bizarre. He hasn’t even been particularly dominant in his current league either: in fact, he played just 36 games for Lugano last season and finished with a ghastly .885 save rate. He is 32-yeas old so there’s no chance he’ll suddenly take a step forward. It’s also not like the team has a need at that position: Chris Mason and Ondrej Pavelec are capable, established NHL goaltenders. The chances of Aebischer usurping either one of them is nil.

The risk is non-existant, but so is the potential "reward". Maybe they Jets decision makers want a busy training camp.