It feels like a BUNCH of teams need an upgrade in net

[nbwingsfan]

Oh you think they are gonna trade Ullmark and sign Swayman?

With 100% certainty after this post season. They can potentially have a top 5G for the next decade+

Oh you think they are gonna trade Ullmark and sign Swayman?

With 100% certainty after this post season. They can potentially have a top 5G for the next decade+e


Unless someone is desperate enough to give up a young #1 C

 

[Lindys Lazy Eye]

Mackenzie Blackwood is available

He's a big kid., covers so much net. Mobile, he used to have feet injuries in NJ but not this past year.

He's extremely calm and nothing phases him (he was on the friggin Sharks last season and not once did he show frustration or show his teammates up).

His numbers may not look great but in the context of the Sharks defensive zone play and by the eye test, wow, he was awesome last year.

Bidding starts at a 2nd rd pick.

You should sell cars for a living.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Scoring is up. Is it that goalies are worse or that skaters are (so much) better now?

equipment changes plus now 5'8 guys are ripping wrist shots like animals with stick technology. Also tougher to defend , doesn't help that most of HFboards doesn't have much respect for dmen and their craft whatsoever.

They just think all these same forwards having career years at different points in their career are better than they were 3-4 years ago lol

How many 100 point scorers this season?

 

[TGWL]

It seems consistency is what teams are looking for more so than filling the position with elite goaltending. Most of these teams just aren't getting enough consistent, good, goaltending.

 

[the_fan]

More than half the teams in the NHL probably need an upgrade in net

 

[DecadeofDarkness22]

Markstrom is available!

 

[ijuka]

I think that goaltenders just are plain worse. And the reason is that the main factor deciding whether you should pursue becoming a goalie or not is your height.

Almost all the goalies have a poor technique and make obvious and blatant mistakes and basic errors. It's like they don't have anything beyond being tall and going in butterfly when the puck is shot.

The league is full of vanilla goaltenders with very little to them beyond being tall and going into butterfly. There are only a few exceptions, and they aren't made available.

 

[NyQuil]

There are like 5 consistently good goalies and another 5 or so who are good in any given year, and the rest aren’t up to the expectations of the fans.

Shooters are better, pads are smaller. and defencemen don’t have the same kind of freedom to obstruct so it’s going to look ugly more often than not.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Until the playoffs. Same thing when he was with the Leafs, covered up for the Leafs terrible D all season long and then once playoff came he let in soft stinkers at the worst times over and over.

It’s still just a plain fact that Andersen is not a “weak” goalie, and the guys ahead of him are the Vezina contention crowd.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

GM's don't make big offers for goaltenders. Probably because goaltenders go from good to trash in a heartbeat. And Ullmark is an average to mediocre goaltender. If he was any good Bruins get by the first round last season. Saros is one of the few goaltenders worth a big haul.

While I agree that this has been the case previously - the number of teams who are trying to contend and getting absolutely let down by bad goaltending might make GM's more willing to pay for a perceived upgrade than they would have in the past. Teams like MINN, LA, OTT, NJ are all in that boat, besides the legit good teams who would love an upgrade (COL, EDM).

 

[sr edler]

If you have 32 teams in a league not everyone's gonna have a strong goalie as their #1, there's just not enough talent to cover for it.

Buffalo last season (22–23) went into the campaign with Eric Comrie as their #1, which quickly backfired. He was 27 at the time and had I think 29 NHL games or something under his belt. Then they kept him for yet another season just because he's lighthearted in the locker-room.

 

[CBJx614]

2023-24, 3 goalies played 60+ games.

2013-14, 8 goalies played 60+ games.

2003-04, 12 goalies played 60+ games.

Do weaker starters lead to a platoon situation or does a platoon situation lead to weaker starters? Both? Neither? Certainly seems to be some sort of correlation.

I think it's kind of like the RB position in American football, more and more teams are moving towards at a committee there. Sure certain teams have a dedicated starter that they lean on, but you still need someone for whenever they are hurt or going through a slump.

 

[Maple Leaf]

NJ Devils have entered the chat. This is on Santa's wish list.

Don't you have Cory Schneider?

 

[WarriorofTime]

The goaltending position is dead as we once knew it. It's a mix between the contrived push for 'higher scoring' and the 'scientification' of the position. The best goaltenders that have ever stepped on the ice were playing 'jazz' while almost everyone today is reading off of sheet music - if that makes any sense. There is very little to no 'flow' or 'soul' to the position any more. It's all practiced and repeated movements/actions burned into them through schools and academies. Robotic almost and that's why it almost always feels uninspired and soulless.

There will never be another Hasek/Roy/Brodeur/Belfour. The 'system' won't allow it.

Goaltending is not dead, it's just a big mess in North America. Too expensive, not a "cool" position and the coaching stinks as most kids "develop" by standing in a net and getting a thousand pucks fired at them in a trial by fire sort of way.

Goaltending coming out of Europe is still pretty good. North America can still raw numbers their way there but the systems in place are bad.

 

[These Are The Days]

Mackenzie Blackwood is available

He's a big kid., covers so much net. Mobile, he used to have feet injuries in NJ but not this past year.

He's extremely calm and nothing phases him (he was on the friggin Sharks last season and not once did he show frustration or show his teammates up).

His numbers may not look great but in the context of the Sharks defensive zone play and by the eye test, wow, he was awesome last year.

Bidding starts at a 2nd rd pick.

Oh no. I already heard enough from Devils fans about how he was soooooo damn great. Might as well have been beach front property in Montana

 

[TheBeard]

Post-2020 he’s 9th in save%, tied with Demko and Oettinger who were notably not mentioned in the “weak” category here.

This season he posted a .932, mostly in games played in a return after missing months to a blood clot, which is why he’s a Masterton finalist.

Maybe he slows down next year, but let’s let that actually happen before we label him as anything other than what he has actually consistently been for the past several years.

He's been inconsistent since Covid. Using a small sample size this year mostly proves he can be effective as long as his workload isn't too heavy (which would explain his mediocrity at best in these playoffs). Being a Masterson finalist has nothing to do with his numbers so much as what he'd overcome so using that as a barometer of any sort outside of his dedication to the sport is asinine.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Oh no. I already heard enough from Devils fans about how he was soooooo damn great. Might as well have been beach front property in Montana

He's amazing and I'm not surprised Devils have already said this. Those fans really know their stuff when it comes to goalies.

 

[TheBeard]

Oh no. I already heard enough from Devils fans about how he was soooooo damn great. Might as well have been beach front property in Montana

If Devils had Blackwood instead of the two original goalies they had that were so bad they ended up getting two OTHER goaltenders, they make the playoffs.

 

[StreetHawk]

B

Goaltending is not dead, it's just a big mess in North America. Too expensive, not a "cool" position and the coaching stinks as most kids "develop" by standing in a net and getting a thousand pucks fired at them in a trial by fire sort of way.

Goaltending coming out of Europe is still pretty good. North America can still raw numbers their way there but the systems in place are bad.

Beyond all that, it's the odds of making it. Only 64 goalies in the NHL. And the timeline. Most goalies, if developed properly don't sniff the NHL until 22 or 23. CHL, play out your 4 years there and play 2/3 in the A and if your numbers are good enough you warrant a shot as a backup. NCAA, play til your Junior Year and then go pro in the A for 2 years.
Plus, the options available to you are limited if teams have a goalie they've already paid.

And it's a mentally challenging position. Have to be able to park a mistake and shake it off. And be able to see the same team over and over in a series and still play well as they dissect your weaknesses and attack it.

 

[tarheelhockey]

He's been inconsistent since Covid. Using a small sample size this year mostly proves he can be effective as long as his workload isn't too heavy (which would explain his mediocrity at best in these playoffs). Being a Masterson finalist has nothing to do with his numbers so much as what he'd overcome so using that as a barometer of any sort outside of his dedication to the sport is asinine.

I repeat — since COVID, he is top-10 in save %.

Not over a quarter season, not over a half season, not over a full season… we’re talking four seasons. That body of work renders sample size arguments meaningless.

If the above still isn’t enough, consider that over the past ten seasons, the list of goalies who have played 400+ games reads like this:

1. Tuukka Rask .919
2. Carey Price .918
3. Semyon Varlamov .917
Connor Hellebuyck .917
Andrei Vasilevskiy .917
6. Fredrik Andersen .916

Freddie Andersen’s biggest problem isn’t Freddie Andersen. It’s that a whole lot of people saw him fail to win with the Maple Leafs, and that has set a narrative in stone regardless of his actual performance. If being 6th over the course of his decade-long career, and 9th during the current era, doesn’t solidify him as a top-10 goalie in those people’s minds, then that’s an issue with them and not with him.

 

[Bruce Granville]

NJ Devils have entered the chat. This is on Santa's wish list.

You had Brodeur. Your next good goalie will be next century…

 

[These Are The Days]

He's amazing and I'm not surprised Devils have already said this. Those fans really know their stuff when it comes to goalies.

All they die was complain when he was there while Blackwood himself posted 3+ GAA's

 

[MOGlLNY]

If you have 32 teams in a league not everyone's gonna have a strong goalie as their #1, there's just not enough talent to cover for it.

Buffalo last season (22–23) went into the campaign with Eric Comrie as their #1, which quickly backfired. He was 27 at the time and had I think 29 NHL games or something under his belt. Then they kept him for yet another season just because he's lighthearted in the locker-room.

Fell ass backwards into UPL being our legit #1 too

 

[Korpse]

I think that goaltenders just are plain worse. And the reason is that the main factor deciding whether you should pursue becoming a goalie or not is your height.

Almost all the goalies have a poor technique and make obvious and blatant mistakes and basic errors. It's like they don't have anything beyond being tall and going in butterfly when the puck is shot.

The league is full of vanilla goaltenders with very little to them beyond being tall and going into butterfly. There are only a few exceptions, and they aren't made available.

I’d agree that goaltenders are generally just blockers on shots from some distance. You need to be in this league, there is still a great deal of athleticism needed with the increase of lateral plays but players just shot the puck ridiculously well. Joe Sakic’s shot wouldn’t cut it among today’s NHL, and they players are only getting better at shooting the puck. More and more players are going to be shooting the puck like Connor Bedard , perhaps even better and there’s not much the goaltenders can do outside of using bigger equipment. The velocity, accuracy and deception players have on their shots today is incredible. When a player is following through blocker side but the puck goes glove side with velocity and accuracy, I don’t know what a goaltender can do besides hoping the puck hits them.