THN: The Great Goalie Debate: Ranking the NHL’s 31 starting netminders in 2018-19

[Rydgar]

1. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

3. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

4. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

5. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins

6. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

7. Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild

8. Antti Raanta, Arizona Coyotes

9. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

10. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

11. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

12. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

13. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

14. Mike Smith, Calgary Flames

15. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

16. Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers

17. Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars

18. Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks

19. Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche

20. Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues

21. Brian Elliott, Philadelphia Flyers.

22. Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks

23. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks

24. Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils

25. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

26. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders

27. Cam Talbot, Edmonton Oilers

28. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

29. Carter Hutton, Buffalo Sabres

30. Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators

31. Scott Darling, Carolina Hurricanes

The Great Goalie Debate: Ranking the NHL's 31 starting netminders in 2018-19

Not even Canucks fans would take Markstrom over Crawford, contracts aside.

 

[Rich Nixon]

If Elliott was actually not one of the 5 worst starters in the league, the Flyers might have played another playoff game or four.

 

[Melkor]

Hot take: since Hank's game dropped off a bit last couple of years, there's no clear best goalie in the league. Each year its something different. At the same time, have to mention one thing : Bob and Price being top goalies for some is a joke. One is a career playoff choker, the other is just a average goalie with one really great season in his resume. Price is very inconsistent throughout his career. Before Sochi Price was garbage, then great, then garbage again. Thats not what was called a top goalie back in the day.

 

[triggrman]

Murray is probably the best playoff goalie in the league. He steps it up to another level in the playoffs.

 

[Little Psycho]

He should be right around where Vasil/Helle are give or take depending on what you value in your voting. I mean they coulda just used the vezina voting and threw him in that 5-8 range
I think it has to do with him playing in Anaheim tbh.
Getzlaf not in the top 50 player list, 19th on the centers list
Lindholm not in the top 20 dmen list
Gibson 13th in goalie list.

Anaheim has really been crapped on these lists

 

[God King Fudge]

Honestly, Vasy is too high. He's got to show he can continue his play for an entire season. He was (IMO) a lock for Vezina in the first half and fell off late.

 

[vivalavili]

It's hard to rank players on forums when 20 fanbases of 31 think that they have a top 5 player in any given category. That being said this list is indeed weird, there are 3 players in the top 10 who have won a Vezina in the last 10 years and 3 in the remaining 21. Seems like these players should still be considered one of the best goalies in the league, especially Price and Rinne. Crazy that they aren't in the top 10.

 

[kingsholygrail]

It's hard to rank players on forums when 20 fanbases of 31 think that they have a top 5 player in any given category. That being said this list is indeed weird, there are 3 players in the top 10 who have won a Vezina in the last 10 years and 3 in the remaining 21. Seems like these players should still be considered one of the best goalies in the league, especially Price and Rinne. Crazy that they aren't in the top 10.

How many are finalists in the top 10?

 

[Rick C137]

So they’re obviously expecting Crawford not to return otherwise that’s ridiculous to drop him that far out of the top 10.

 

[GodEmperor]

Pekka Rinne at 12? Are you joking? He JUST won the Vezina, he's top 5 at the very least.

He's old and he keeps choking in the playoffs.

No there really isn't a need to rank him super highly when he has let people down at the most important parts of his career.

Unlike younger goalies who can still have many more excellent playoffs, Rinne is literally at the point where he could honestly get challenged by Sarros next year, not because Sarros is so much superior to Rinne, but because he has had his chance and has not come up big.

 

[Rydgar]

1. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

3. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets

4. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

5. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins

6. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

7. Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild

8. Antti Raanta, Arizona Coyotes

9. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings

10. Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs

11. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

12. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

13. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

14. Mike Smith, Calgary Flames

15. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

16. Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers

17. Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars

18. Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks

19. Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche

20. Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues

21. Brian Elliott, Philadelphia Flyers.

22. Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks

23. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks

24. Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils

25. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

26. Robin Lehner, New York Islanders

27. Cam Talbot, Edmonton Oilers

28. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

29. Carter Hutton, Buffalo Sabres

30. Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators

31. Scott Darling, Carolina Hurricanes

The Great Goalie Debate: Ranking the NHL's 31 starting netminders in 2018-19

I'd re-rank them:

1. Brobrovsky
2. Gibson
3. Fleury
4. Rinne
5. Quick
6. Crawford
7. Rask
8. Holtby
9. Vasilevsky
10. Hellebuyck
11. F. Anderson
12. Price
13. Smith
14. Dubnyk
15. Murray
16. Luongo
17. Lundqvist
18. Varlamov
19. Raanta
20. Jones
21. Talbot
22. Hutton
23. Lehner
24. Schneider
25. Bishop
26. Howard
27. Markstrom
28. Allen
29. C. Anderson
30. Elliot
31. Darling

 

[Dustin]

Last 2yrs Save Percentage, Regular Season and Playoffs, Minimum 4600 minutes (31 goalies qualify):

1.Gibson .923 (7474.1min)
2.Bobrovsky .923 (8322.9min)
3.Rinne .922 (8996.0min)
4.Quick .922 (4859.4min)
5.Fleury .921 (6778.7min)
6.Crawford .921 (5084.2min)
7.Dubnyk .920 (7773.5min)
8.Vasilevsky .919 (7635.5min)
9.Murray .918 (5294.1min)
10.Hellebuyck .918 (7989.5min)
11.Holtby .917 (8879.0min)
12.Andersen .917 (8457.9min)
13.Reimer .916 (4735.6min)
14.Smith .915 (6392.7min)
15.Lehner .915 (6257.5min)
16.Jones .915 (8096.3min)
17.Rask .915 (7921.9min)
18.Talbot .914 (8775.5min)
19.Howard .914 (4704.3min)
20.Lundqvist .914 (7517.5min)
21.Price .914 (6930.2min)
22.Bishop .914 (5109.5min)
23.Allen .913 (7410.2min)
24.Anderson .912 (6829.9min)
25.Markstrom .912 (4766.2min)
26.Halak .910 (4609.5min)
27.Schneider .909 (5961.5min)
28.Lehtonen .906 (5121.5min)
29.Elliott .906 (5688.8min)
30.Ward .905 (6072.2min)
31.Mrazek .901 (4965.2min)

Other goalies with 3000+ min

Raanta .927 (4196.4min)
Luongo .922 (4293.1min)
Grubauer .921 (3253.3min)
Miller .917 (4585.1min)
Varlamov .913 (4208.8min)
Kinkaid .912 (3865.5min)
Bernier .911 (4388.8min)
Budaj .910 (3738.7min)
Condon .908 (4011.7min)
Mason .908 (3929.8min)
Greiss .905 (4305.0min)
Darling .903 (4163.7min)
Johnson .902 (3834.7min)

what really stands out to me is that at the moment there aren't any goalies that really stand out to me.

There are certainly good goalies, but nobody at the moment that you an expect to consistently dominate.

There are some teams that are really shooting themselves in the foot with their goalies, though - Carolina and Philadelphia in particular, and maybe some others.

What I don't understand is we get some people saying the Leafs defence is garbage and the reason they had they had their GA #'s was because of Andersen and then lists like this come out and people put Andersen in the 10 - 15 range. Which is it? Seems to me to be a convenient excuse.

 

[flyersfan018]

If only Elliott played like the 21st best goaltender. Would be a hell of an upgrade from where he actually is.

 

[GoldOnGold]

Rinne at 12 is such a joke, especially considering Andersen and Raanta are ahead of him.

 

[Kamiccolo]

So Andersen is a middle of the pack goalie, yet carried the team with an "awful" defense to the 12th GAA in the league? Either Andersen is elite or the defense isn't that bad. Guys ahead of him are on teams known for a stacked D core.

 

[Bedards Dad]

What I don't understand is we get some people saying the Leafs defence is garbage and the reason they had they had their GA #'s was because of Andersen and then lists like this come out and people put Andersen in the 10 - 15 range. Which is it? Seems to me to be a convenient excuse.

We have a bad goalie and bad defence. So bad we had a better GA than the Stanley cup champions.

 

[Zegs2sendhelp]

We have a bad goalie and bad defence. So bad we had a better GA than the Stanley cup champions.

Oh damn its like you guys won the championship

 

[Romang67]

What I don't understand is we get some people saying the Leafs defence is garbage and the reason they had they had their GA #'s was because of Andersen and then lists like this come out and people put Andersen in the 10 - 15 range. Which is it? Seems to me to be a convenient excuse.

Have you looked at the Leafs' goaltending numbers from this past season?

That list you're attempting to use as a proof of something includes a season where the Leafs allowed the 9th most goals in the league. And a playoff run where he shat the bed.

Or are you talking about the original THN list? The one that has been slammed by pretty much everyone in this thread?

 

[Dustin]

Have you looked at the Leafs' goaltending numbers from this past season?

That list you're attempting to use as a proof of something includes a season where the Leafs allowed the 9th most goals in the league. And a playoff run where he shat the bed.

Or are you talking about the original THN list? The one that has been slammed by pretty much everyone in this thread?

All I am saying is there is a clear disconnected when evaluating Leafs players and Leafs teams. The narrative around here is that the Leafs defence is bad, not middling but bad and that Andersen was the only reason that they finished as high as they did (middling) due to his elite play. Then once we open up a "best goalie" thread Andersen is suddenly a middle of the pack goalie himself. So which is it?

I'm not here to beat the drum that Andersen is elite or that the Leafs defence is elite. Far from it, however there is an obvious gap of logic from some posters when trying to evaluate the Leafs. If your argument is that the Leafs have a terrible defensive squad and that it was essentially erased by the stellar play of Andersen then by all accounts you should be in this thread putting Andersen in the top 5 for goalies. Yet for everyone claiming x goalie should be higher I don't see too many people arguing for Andersen to be higher and in some posters lists he's actually further down.

 

[Romang67]

All I am saying is there is a clear disconnected when evaluating Leafs players and Leafs teams. The narrative around here is that the Leafs defence is bad, not middling but bad and that Andersen was the only reason that they finished as high as they did (middling) due to his elite play. Then once we open up a "best goalie" thread Andersen is suddenly a middle of the pack goalie himself. So which is it?

I'm not here to beat the drum that Andersen is elite or that the Leafs defence is elite. Far from it, however there is an obvious gap of logic from some posters when trying to evaluate the Leafs. If your argument is that the Leafs have a terrible defensive squad and that it was essentially erased by the stellar play of Andersen then by all accounts you should be in this thread putting Andersen in the top 5 for goalies. Yet for everyone claiming x goalie should be higher I don't see too many people arguing for Andersen to be higher and in some posters lists he's actually further down.

Much more of the former. Andersen deserved a high position in the Vezina voting last season based on workload and relative success. But the Leafs goaltending was also helped by an insane season by McBackup.

People who say that Andersen is a bad goalie are wrong. Anyone who says that he's not above average is also wrong. Last season he was one of the goalies who didn't quite reach the level of the top 3 (Bob, Rinne, and Gibson), and based on his consistency he will likely be top 10 again next year.

 

[Bedards Dad]

Oh damn its like you guys won the championship

No, its like people make up shit to fit their narrative and flip flop when they contradict themselves.

 

[pbgoalie]

I felt Gibson was one of the best in the league last season...
We were terrible and he was the #1 we stayed competitive.

Saying that, I feel like he needs to prove it again and in a some playoff action to move to elite......it’s early

Rinne was incredible last year, but what I saw in the playoffs is surely enough to keep him lower than he could be?

 

[Dustin]

I feel Andersen is in the 8 - 12. I also think the Leafs defence is probably in the 10 - 15.

Either way where are those that were claiming it was all Freddy? I don't see a ton of them here singing his praises.

 

[Hennessy]

Crawford misses most of a season and is thrown to the wolves. Tough crowd.

 

[DictatorTots427]

He's old and he keeps choking in the playoffs.

No there really isn't a need to rank him super highly when he has let people down at the most important parts of his career.

Unlike younger goalies who can still have many more excellent playoffs, Rinne is literally at the point where he could honestly get challenged by Sarros next year, not because Sarros is so much superior to Rinne, but because he has had his chance and has not come up big.

Having a few bad games in the playoffs should not discredit all the amazing regular season performances he's had. I know that playoffs are more high stakes and important, but it's actually only a few games that he's really choked. Also, the possibility that Saros might be better than him soon doesnt make him worse, it makes Saros better.

Also, I don't think you can justify having the Vezina winner outside of the top 10. I know that the Vezina is about the best goalie that particular season, but they don't just hand it out. He's been a goalie that has always out up tremendous performances, this is the year that he was finally recognized.