Adam Proteau lists five NHL teams whose netminders shut the door better than most ahead of the 2023-24 season.
The NHL’s new regular season is two days away, and THN.com is continuing to rank the depth of the league’s team rosters.
On Wednesday, we analyzed the NHL’s top five teams in terms of their top-six forward groups. Thursday, we labelled the five teams with the weakest top-six forward groups. Friday, we rated the five best defense corps in the NHL, and Saturday, we identified the five worst defense corps in the league.
Today, we’re looking at the five teams with the best goaltending tandems. In reverse order, here are this writer’s choices:
5. Minnesota Wild
Top two goalies: Marc-Andre Fleury, Filip Gustavsson
As probably the purest tandem (meaning full and even splitting of 82 games) on this list, the Wild’s goaltending future clearly revolves around the 25-year-old Gustavsson, who posted an impressive .931 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against average in 39 appearances last season.
The 38-year-old Fleury is in the final season of his current contract and may retire next summer, but he still managed to put up a .908 SP and 2.85 GAA in 46 appearances. If Gustavsson takes on a little more workload this season, Fleury’s totals could be improved with the ensuing decrease in appearances.
Minnesota once again projects not to be the most potent team on offense in 2023-24, and that means the WIld’s goalies will need to steal them some games if they’re to have any hope at a deep playoff run. The potential last stand of Fleury could provide an emotional boost to the team, but don’t be surprised to see him used more sparingly in the hope of making him more effective. Either way, the Wild will likely get more solid netminding this season.
4. Winnipeg Jets
Top two goalies: Connor Hellebuyck, Laurent Brossoit
Given the tenuous situation between looming UFA Hellebuyck and Jets management, the Jets could fall completely off this list if Hellebuyck is shipped out of town by the trade deadline. For the moment, though, the return to Winnipeg of Brossoit for a second tour of duty solidifies the net picture in Manitoba this year.
Brossoit posted a sparkling .927 SP and 2.17 GAA last season in Vegas, but he made only 11 appearances – his lowest total in that regard since the 2016-17 campaign. He’s never played more than 24 games in a single NHL season, but if Hellebuyck is traded, it’s likely Jets management will give much of the workload to Brossoit. But for as long as Hellebuyck and Brossoit are working together, the Jets won’t have to worry about their goaltending this year.
3. Dallas Stars
Top two goalies: Jake Oettinger, Scott Wedgewood
The 24-year-old Oettinger has emerged as one of the league’s elite young goaltenders, putting up impressive individual numbers, including a .919 SP and 2.37 GAA last year. He’s also a bona fide workhorse, appearing in 62 games in 2022-23. The Stars will depend on him about as much as they did last season, but it’s not just a one-man show between the pipes for Dallas.
Backing up Oettinger is 31-year-old veteran Wedgewood, who turned in a 2.72 GAA and .915 SP in 21 appearances. He’s settled in nicely as Oettinger’s understudy, and he can take on some more responsibility, as he made 37 appearances in 2021-22. Both Oettinger and Wedgewood are supported by one of the NHL’s stronger defense corps (and overall team defenses), but together, they’re capable of leading this well-balanced Dallas team to great heights in 2023-24.
2. Boston Bruins
Top two goalies: Linus Ullmark, Jeremy Swayman
The crunch of the salary cap has hurt many NHL teams this year, but none more than Boston, who had a worrisome exodus of veteran talent, particularly at forward.
That said, the Bruins managed to hold onto the duo of Ullmark and Swayman, who combined to win the 2022-23 William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the team of goalies who allowed the fewest goals in a single season.
Ullmark indeed struggled to follow up his Vezina Trophy-winning regular-season performance with a strong playoff showing this past spring. But he’s still only 30 years old and coming off a season in which he had a .938 SP and 1.89 GAA in 49 appearances, and he’ll be playing behind a strong Bruins defense corps once again.
The 24-year-old Swayman also had terrific individual numbers (2.27 GAA, .920 SP in 37 appearances), and he’s got the skill and consistency to be an even more important contributor for Boston this year. Goaltending depth is a luxury few teams have, but the Bruins are one of the fortunate teams that do.
1. New York Islanders
Top two goalies: Ilya Sorokin, Semyon Varlamov
When you’ve got arguably the top netminder in the league, you’re already the envy of the NHL. That much is true of the Islanders and star goaltender Sorokin.
The 28-year-old shone like a diamond in 2023-24, making a career-high 62 appearances while putting up a .924 SP and 2.34 GAA. Without him, the Isles wouldn’t have been a playoff team last year. If he struggles this year – which we don’t think is likely – the Isles won’t be a playoff team this season.
Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello has doubled down on his roster by bringing back most of the talent the team had last season. In particular, he’s reinvested in the tandem of Sorokin and 35-year-old Varlamov, the latter of who could’ve left as a UFA this summer but re-signed on a four-year, $11-million contract extension.
Varlamov made 23 appearances last season, his fewest since a six-game NHL stint in 2008-09. But his .913 SP and 2.70 GAA were slightly better than average – and as the Isles’ No. 2 netminder, that’s exactly the kind of performance team brass is expecting from him.
The Isles also will be challenged to generate offense this year, but their defense is their bread and butter. Sorokin and Varlamov have the capability to deliver big things to them in that regard this year.