The new NHL season is almost upon us, and man has it been a longer summer! With training camps and preseason games concluded, each team has submitted its final roster as they prepare for the grueling 82 games they have ahead. Only 16 of these teams will make the playoffs and of course only one will have the right to call themselves champions at the end of June.
Before the season starts we take this chance to predict where these teams are ranked. Here are the 32 NHL teams ranked worst to best.
32. Columbus Blue Jackets: Elvis Merzlikins
Merzlikins has had a rough couple years with the loss of his friend in an accident. Once considered Columbus’ future in net, he went 7-18-2 with a rather terrible 4.23 goals against average and an .876 save percentage. Here’s hoping he can find some good form this next season.
31. Chicago Blackhawks: Petr Mrazek
Mrazek’s glory days appear to be behind him to say the least. He performed terribly in Toronto and was brought on by Chicago to help aid in their blatantly obvious tank. He went 10-22-3 with a 3.66 GAA and a .894 save percentage.
30. St. Louis Blues: Jordan Binnington
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Binnington was never a show stealing goalie, but he used to be quite solid. The last three seasons he has been anything but that. Sure, you could blame the Blues’ awful defense, but to some extent Jordan takes the blame as well. He went 27-27-6 last season with a 3.31 GAA and a .894 save percentage.
29. Detroit Red Wings: Ville Husso
Husso bailed the Blues out last season while Binnington struggled. He earned a starting position on the rebuilding Red Wings for his efforts. If they were expecting immediate results they were sorely disappointed. Husso went 26-22-7, with a 3.11 GAA and a .896 save percentage.
28. San Jose Sharks: Kaapo Kahkonen
Kahkonen did not choose the best place to come into his own. The Sharks are in a dreadful place right now, and sadly it did not appear Kahkonen was ready to bear that load. He went 9-20-7 with a 3.85 GAA and a .883 save percentage.
27. Montreal Canadiens: Jake Allen
Allen isn’t a bad goalie by any means, he just might not be the guy to lead you through a rebuild, especially when the guy he’s replacing is a legend in Carey Price. Allen went 15-24-3 last season with a 3.55 GAA and a .891 save percentage. He earned a two year extension so obviously Montreal has some faith in him.
26. Anaheim Ducks: John Gibson
Gibson was one of the most underrated goalies in the league for a while, and even appeared to be Anaheim’s saving grace. Well, even he wasn’t enough and he’s struggled to help Anaheim through their rebuild. He went 14-31-8 last season with a 3.99 GAA and a .899 save percentage.
25. Edmonton Oilers: Jack Campbell
The Oilers have struggled to find a consistent man in net for years. When they acquired Campbell from Toronto he brought hope with him. The hope didn’t stay long as Edmonton hasn’t appeared to serve him well. He went 21-9-4 last season, but bolstered a 3.41 GAA and a .888 save percentage.
24. Arizona Coyotes: Karel Vejmelka
Vejmelka was given an impossible task. Be the rock as Arizona goes through its rebuild. To his credit, Vejmelka showed signs of brilliance throughout the season. It wasn’t enough though and he went 18-24-6 with a 3.43 GAA and .900 save percentage.
23. Seattle Kraken: Philipp Grubauer
What a weird story Grubauer was. In Washington he was too good to be just a backup, but since leaving he’s been wildly inconsistent. His story in Seattle has been no different. He largely traded games with Martin Jones, before having an incredibly playoffs. Seattle will need him to find a more consistent game. He went 17-14-4 last season, with a 2.85 GAA and .895 save percentage.
22. Los Angeles Kings: Phoenix Copley
It’s still to be determined who will get the definitive starting role between Copley and Cam Talbot, but given what Copley did for LA last season he gets to be featured on this list. A big reason why LA managed to come together and make the playoffs, Copley went 24-6-3 with a 2.64 GAA and a .903 save percentage.
21. Buffalo Sabres: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Luukkonen might be what Buffalo was waiting for. They spent years developing him after drafting him in 2017, and he finally made his long awaited debut last season and it was promising to say the least. He didn’t put up amazing stats, but he put up consistent ones. He went 17-11-4 with a 3.61 GAA and a .891 save percentage.
20. Vancouver Canucks: Thatcher Demko
Demko has the potential to be one of the best goalies in the league, if he could stay healthy and if Vancouver could figure it out. Demko slipped a bit last season, but considering the defense in front of him and his injury still put up a respectable 14-14-4 record with a 3.16 GAA and a .901 save percentage.
19. Carolina Hurricanes: Frederik Andersen
The only thing keeping Andersen from moving higher on this list is his ability to be healthy. When he’s healthy and good to go, Andersen can be a stellar net minder, especially with this killer defense in front of him. After battling through injury last season, Andersen went 21-11-1 with a 2.48 GAA and .903 save percentage.
18. Florida Panthers: Sergei Bobrovsky
When he’s on, he’s on. When he’s not, he’s not. The issue is you never know which Sergei you’re going to get. The Panthers are really hoping it’s the same one they got in the playoffs last season. He went 24-20-3 last season with a 3.07 GAA and .901 save percentage.
17. Pittsburgh Penguins: Tristan Jarry
Thought to be the answer Jarry has become a bit of a puzzle for Pittsburgh. He appeared to be the answers to the problems, but his performance in the latter half of the season was concerning. He went 24-13-7 with a 2.90 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
16. Philadelphia Flyers: Carter Hart
If there is one bright spot on this Flyers team, it’s Carter Hart. The man is a work horse that gives his best day in and day out. Flyers have to find him some help soon though. He went 22-23-10 with a 2.94 GAA and .907 save percentage. Not bad considering the awful defense in front of him.
15. Ottawa Senators: Joonas Korpisalo
It was a big question as to where Korpisalo would end up this season. Ottawa won the bid and signed him and now we’ll see if he is the answer to their prayers. He split his time between the Kings and the Blue Jackets last season, putting up respectable numbers with both.
14. Toronto Maple Leafs: Ilya Samsonov
One of Toronto’s gambles finally paid off. Samsonov spent a decent time battling for starter with Matt Murray and he clearly won. He went 27-10-5 with a 2.33 GAA and a .919 save percentage and earned himself a nice contract extension.
13. New Jersey Devils: Vitek Vanecek
New Jersey’s rebuild only needed one thing. A goalie. It was a massive head scratcher when they signed Vanecek to a three year contract but it certainly paid off at least for last season. He went 33-11-4 with a 2.45 GAA and .911 save percentage. New Jersey is hoping he keeps up his stellar play.
12. Vegas Golden Knights: Adin Hill
Hill earned this spot simply because of his Cup winning performance. Playing backup most of the season and doing a decent job of it, Hill was forced into starter in the playoffs due to injuries to Logan Thompson. He ended up posting .932 save percentage, with a 2.17 GAA, earning him a contract extension.
11. Calgary Flames: Jacob Markstrom
Despite his not so stellar season last year, I still firmly believe that Markstrom is one of the best goalies in the world. I do believe he will rebound this season, especially if Calgary finds a way to lighten his insane workload.
10. Minnesota Wild: Filip Gustavsson
Minnesota can rest easy knowing they have Gustavsson in net. He played a whooping 60 games last season and went 22-9-7 with an impressive 2.10 GAA and a .931 save percentage. Minnesota would be smart to stick with him going forward.
9. Washington Capitals: Darcy Kuemper
Despite being inconsistent for much of his career, Kuemper appears to have found his groove the last couple of seasons. Winning a Cup in Colorado the season before, Kuemper went 22-26-7 with a 2.87 GAA and .909 save percentage despite a not so good defense in front of him.
8. Colorado Avalanche: Alexander Georgiev
There was a lot of questions around who would replace Kuemper in net. Georgiev got the call and was nothing short of outstanding. He had a league leading 40 wins along with a 2.53 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
7. Dallas Stars: Jake Oettinger
Jake could easily be top 5, but the ones ahead of him just have a slight edge in my opinion. That being said, he’s very young and hasn’t hit his ceiling yet. He put up a 2.37 GAA and a .919 save percentage last season, and was stellar in the playoffs as well as Dallas made it to the third round. No where to go for this young man but up.
6. Nashville Predators: Juuse Saros
Saros edges out Oettinger simply because of how much he has to carry his team. Despite a weakened defense, Saros still put up a 2.69 GAA and a .919 save percentage to keep Nashville competing for a playoff spot, even if they didn’t deserve to.
5. Tampa Bay Lighting: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Even when his workload has finally caught up to him, Vasilevskiy is still putting up world class numbers. His .915 save percentage and 2.65 GAA are absolutely nothing to scoff at. Tampa might want to find someone to lighten the workload though, as they risk burning this star out.
4. New York Islanders: Ilya Sorokin
This entire top 5 could be interchangeable but for now Sorokin finds himself in the top 4. A Vezina finalist last season, Sorokin put up a stellar 2.34 GAA and a .924 save percentage. He had New York in the playoff race even at their lowest moment.
3. Winnipeg Jets: Connor Hellebyuck
The one thing that sets Connor apart from these other goalies is the fact that he has never played on as stacked of teams, and has still put up the same elite numbers as the rest of them. Last season Hellebyuck put up a .920 save percentage and a 2.49 GAA. He’s almost always in the Vezina argument as well.
2. Boston Bruins: Linus Ullmark
Ullmark’s sudden explosion into a consistent Vezina candidate was unexpected to say the least. He’s always been a good goalie, but it was only recently when he joined the elite. Last season he went 40-6-1 with a whooping 1.89 GAA and a .938 save percentage. Those are absolutely insane numbers.
1. New York Rangers: Igor Shesterkin
Shesterkin is the best goalie in the world. He may not have been a Vezina finalist last season, but expect this young netminder to make it back there very soon. His 2.48 GAA and .916 save percentage was a step back from the season before, but given his elite numbers at such a young age, I expect Shesterkin to retake his spot at the top of the world.
