Goaltending in the NHL is one of the hardest yet interesting positions there is. A goalie can make or break a game for a team on any given night with a stellar performance or on the other hand a lackluster one. We’ve seen goalies win a playoff series for their team and we’ve seen them let their club down. It’s a difficult mental game between the pipes, knowing that the game or even season can be depending on you. Goalies should be praised for their ability to block out noise and distractions on and off the ice and play their position to the fullest. There are only a handful per team after all and only about one percent of hockey players ever get to play the position, mostly due to cost. Damn you sportchek 600 dollar pads, I’m still not over it. Today we’re going to be looking at the top five goaltenders in the NHL this season.
This list is based upon how each goalie has performed this season and what support that they’ve had with the team in front of them. In the number five spot this season is Mackenzie Blackwood. Once a very highly touted New Jersey prospect he backstopped them through some of their toughest times in recent history when he was having more own goals scored on him than the opposition. He was eventually traded to San Jose where he was thrown into an even worse situation on the bottom feeding Sharks. Despite the poor play of the Sharks over the last several years Blackwood remained quite solid for the team providing them with an opportunity to win on any given night. Earlier this season he was traded to Colorado where for the first time in his career he has an opportunity to play behind a decent roster and show what he can do in a good environment. Show us he has, having one of the top save percentages in the NHL after having started the campaign on the Sharks and has only been picking up his play as the season has gone on. Colorado as of the making of this is running a hot streak and I wouldn’t be shocked in the slightest if Blackwood helps propel the Avs to a deep playoff run this April.
In the number four spot coming off a great 4 Nations Faceoff performance for Sweden and the current Minnesota Wild netminder: Filip Gustavsson. He has been an absolute wall for the Wild this season with a better than average .914 save percentage this season. The Wild came out the gates this season 0 to 60, while having slowed down since, he has remained consistent between the pipes and will no doubt help Minnesota be a difficult team to take down in the playoffs. He’s still young and somewhat lacking the recognition he deserves. Keep an eye out for Gustavsson over the next few years. He’s a big guy that takes up a lot of net, is athletic and is a name to watch for future Vezina races.
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In third place seemingly coming out of nowhere is Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord. The Seattle goalie has been a dominant force in the AHL over the last several years putting up far above average numbers and has finally broken out and found his game at the NHL level this season. What’s so impressive about Daccord is that he’s putting up a .911 save percentage on what’s been an unhinged Seattle team. All season he’s kept his team in games and made big saves when needed. If it weren’t for the abundance of American goaltenders and the prior pedigree they possess he would no doubt have been a lock for the United States at the 4 Nations tournament this past February. He stole the starting job early into this season from Phillip Grubauer and he’s aging into his prime and could be a big name to watch for trades to a contender next season.
At number two I’m sure to nobody’s surprise is “the big cat” Andrei Vasilevsky. The Russian netminder has dominated the position for almost a decade now, having some of the best numbers every season since breaking into the league. He has won a Vezina trophy for top goaltender in the league while being a finalist several other times. Vasy led the NHL in wins for five consecutive seasons, one of which was the year he won his second of back to back Stanley Cups and the 2021 Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP. If it weren’t for the Russian International hockey ban, he would be backstopping them now and for years to come. Vasilevsky is without a doubt a future hall of famer and is an extremely close second to the top goaltender in the NHL today.
The best goaltender in the NHL today is Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets. The American born goaltender has been a winner at every level and now at the NHL, only the Stanley Cup (a team award) evades him. Hellebuyck was a phenomenal college goaltender for UMass in the NCAA and made the jump quite seamlessly to the NHL level. Having won two vezina trophies along with the Jennings at just age 31, Hellebuyck has been the most dominant goaltender of the 2020’s. He has been a brick wall for the Jets franchise through the regular season whether they;ve been good or bad he has remained consistent. He is by far the front runner for this year’s Vezina and was the starting goalie for Team USA at this year’s 4 Nations tournament. There’s only one little catch with Hellebuyck and that’s his playoff record. Over the past two seasons he has put up a well below average save percentage in Wionnipeg’s first round exits. Both Vegas and Colorado defeated the Jets without much difficulty due to Hellebuyck failing to match pressure with pressure when it matters the most. With how dominant Winnipeg has been this regular season, it’s pointless to dwell too hard on what could or couldn’t happen in the Jet’s net come April and assume that he’ll hit the postseason in form.
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Once again this is based solely off of this season and how good these goaltenders have been this season. Just because these five have been excellent during the season, doesn’t mean they can carry this level of play into the playoffs. Maybe someone like Stolarz of Toronto will steal a round for the Leafs and write his name into this year’s top five NHL goaltenders. Is there anybody that you would put on this list? Granted the stats do not tell the whole story of a goaltender. It’s tough playing a position where you’re banished behind the rest of the roster. It’s difficult and takes a lot of trust to depend on your skaters to not hang you out to dry. Did anybody on this list surprise you? I know I surprised myself with some of the names on this list.