B/R NHL Goalie Rankings: February 2023
You can call the All-Star break the midpoint of the NHL season if you want, but let's be real here, this is when we start getting serious about who the award contenders are. With roughly 30 games to go in the regular season, the wheat and the chaff are separating, and that's more than true when it comes to possible Vezina Trophy candidates.
That's why, starting this month, the top five of our monthly goalie rankings will feature who I believe to have the strongest cases to take home the hardware. For full transparency's sake, I do vote on the NHL awards, however, the Vezina is one of the awards those of us in the PHWA do not vote on. That honor belongs to the general managers of each NHL team.
But we like to be thorough here at Bleacher Report, which is why all 32 goalies/goalie tandems/goalie collectives get ranked out. As always, injuries will affect rankings, and recent streaks will cause perceived fluctuations and depressions.
Save percentage, goals saved above expected and situational performance all play into how everyone is slotted, but I hope you knew that by now.
Will there be surprises? Maybe! Guess you'll just have to read on and find out. If/when you disagree with it, let it be heard in the comments, and just know that, it's true, I did make that choice to bother you explicitly.
You can see previous rankings from preseason, November, December, and January here and have a laugh/get mad at the fluctuations.
Statistics and information from: MoneyPuck, Hockey Reference, NHL.com, Natural Stat Trick
32-26: Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Canucks, Canadiens, Kings, Binnington, Markstrom
1 of 10
32. Vancouver Canucks
It's been a bad season for Vancouver (understatement), and it's been rough in goal no matter who has taken the net this season. Thatcher Demko is returning from injury soon, which means Spencer Martin and Collin Delia can catch a break. Unfortunately for the Canucks, that may not provide relief on the scoreboard as all three goalies have sub-.900 save percentages. Martin has the most starts and the lowest save percentage of the bunch. Good luck, Rick Tocchet.
31. Chicago Blackhawks
You have to cut Chicago a bit of a break in goal. Injuries have meant five different netminders have played in games. Petr Mrazek has played the most and has the worst results with a sub-.890 save percentage. That's hard enough, but the Blackhawks offense also scores the fewest goals in the league. That combination is not one made for winning a lot of games, and that's pretty much how the front office would like to see it because Connor Bedard might be able to outscore the rest of the team by himself right now.
30. Columbus Blue Jackets
Congratulations to the Blue Jackets for getting out of last place on the rankings! It's a momentous occasion for them and almost entirely thanks to the play of Joonas Korpisalo. His .906 save percentage in 23 games is the best on the team, and he's provided a reprieve for Elvis Merzlikins, who has had an incredibly tough go of things. The Jackets face the second-most shots against per game in the league (35.0) so it's a task-and-a-half for whoever gets the start, but having Korpisalo provide league-average goaltending should earn him a medal...or free dinner from his teammates the rest of the season.
29. Montréal Canadiens
Speaking of goalies who have more than earned their money this season, let's recognize Jake Allen and Sam Montembeault. Allen has the majority of starts, but Montembeault has provided stronger play with a .909 save percentage in 22 games compared to Allen's .891 in 29. The Habs will be strong contenders for Bedard, and the task won't get any easier for the goaltenders with the cornucopia of injuries they've had in the rest of the lineup. Bonne chance, mes amis.
28. Los Angeles Kings
It is incredible that the Kings are near the top of the Pacific Division with an outstanding chance to outright win it with how Jonathan Quick and Pheonix Copley have played this season. Quick carried the bulk of the load early on and has an .881 save percentage, but Copley has taken control of the net since mid-December and steadied things out with a .897 save percentage, and his 15-3-1 record is eye-popping considering that. The Kings also score more often when he starts (3.35 goals for average) as opposed to Quick (2.82). More goals for and fewer against will get the job done, and that's about all you can ask for in the wild Western Conference.
27. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Since the start of the new year, Binnington has gone 5-6-0 with an .883 save percentage, which lines up perfectly with how mercurial the Blues are. Some nights you see flashes of past brilliance, and others you wonder if they should've started selling sooner. In that kind of situation, your goalie has to be top-notch to pull a team through it and Binnington has not been. With Vladimir Tarasenko off to the New York Rangers, it'll be up to Binnington to try to ruin other teams' playoff dreams.
26. Jacob Markström, Calgary Flames
Markström is still the main man in net for the Flames, but Daniel Vladar has used the force of his play to essentially become goalie 1B to Markström's 1A, and that's to Calgary's benefit. With Markström posting a sub-.900 save percentage this season and Vladar coming in close to the .906 league average, it's given them a lift in a very competitive Western Conference playoff race. Vladar is also receiving more than a goal extra in support than Markström (3.66 to 2.71). Coincidence? Maybe! But if a goalie is making more stops, the guys in front of him often play with more confidence.
25-21: Reimer, Jones, Husso, Panthers, Senators
2 of 10
25. James Reimer, San Jose Sharks
It's easy to sympathize with Reimer. He's seen the bulk of the starts for the Sharks this season when, perhaps, he wasn't expected to do so. He's also been under constant fire. Reimer faces 31.4 shots per 60 minutes behind a leaky defense, and yet he's had a save percentage of .900 or better in more than half of his starts. He's a perfect trade deadline candidate for a team that needs insurance in goal for the postseason, and the Sharks are primed to sell.
24. Martin Jones, Seattle Kraken
Much like with their Pacific Division rivals in Los Angeles, the Kraken being at the top of the division is incredible given how Jones has played for most of the season. His .894 save percentage is below the .906 league average, but a lot of that is due to the Kraken's 31st-ranked penalty kill. Jones gets the fourth-best goal support among goalies with 19 or more games played, which is good considering he's had a .900 or greater save percentage in just over half of his starts. That feels unsustainable, but the Kraken have defied a lot of logic already this season. What's one more thing?
23. Ville Husso, Detroit Red Wings
As Husso goes, so do the Red Wings. He went 9-3-3 with a .912 save percentage in his first 15 games. In Husso's next 20 games, however, he went 8-9-2 with an .891 save percentage. The Wings' play has been mercurial all season, and it's fair to ask if that's because of Husso, but he gets fewer than three goals of support per game, and his .902 save percentage is slightly below average. He'll have to return to his early-season consistency ASAP for Detroit to even think about creeping up on teams in the hunt for the postseason.
22. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers
The Panthers' $10 million-per-year man has had a Harvey Two-Face type of season. The first two months of the season could've been worse as he went 4-6-1 in 12 games with an .878 save percentage. Because of that, as well as the inconsistent play of many other Panthers, Florida got behind in the race fast. But since December, Bobrovsky has gone 9-7-1 in 19 games with a .914 save percentage over that span. That's got his season mark back at .900 for the time being, and it's got the Panthers back in the hunt for the playoffs.
21. Ottawa Senators
When Cam Talbot returned to the Senators lineup, the idea was he would take the majority of starts to help them get back in the race. Anton Forsberg had played well, but the team hadn't had much success. Fast forward to now, and Talbot and Forsberg have matching .905 save percentages. Spookier still, their records are virtually the same as well. What separates them is that Forsberg gets a full goal more in support than Talbot (3.26 to 2.62). How rude. That the Senators' inconsistency shines through those numbers, it makes you wonder how much better off, if at all, they'd be had Talbot gotten close to the same kind of help as Forsberg. One of many questions to ponder for the offseason in Canada's capital city.
20-16: Vejmelka, Gibson, Luukkonen, Fleury, Hart
3 of 10
20. Karel Vejmelka, Arizona Coyotes
I refuse to let Vejmelka's noble efforts this season go unnoticed. The second-year Czech has put in a classic yeoman's effort in goal for the Coyotes. He faces more than 34 shots per 60 minutes and he's posted a .900 save percentage or better in more than 50 percent of his starts, all while the Coyotes are one of the five worst teams in the league. On top of all that, he's sixth among goalies with 19 or more games in goals saved above expected with 16.8, according to MoneyPuck.com. There's a reason his name gets tossed into fantasy trade ideas surrounding the Coyotes. That he's got a .908 save percentage with how the team has done is outstanding.
19. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
Much like Vejmelka (and Carter Hart for that matter), Gibson is doing just about everything he can to survive with a bad team. His .900 save percentage may not look great, but when you see he faces more than 38 shots per 60 minutes, it's hard not to be sympathetic. He's allowed the most goals this season and gets the second-fewest goals in support among starters—only Chicago's Petr Mrazek gets less help. He's also had a .900 or better save percentage in more than half of his starts. If there was a Purple Heart type of award for goalies, he'd assuredly be the front-runner.
18. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are officially in a playoff hunt because they score a ton of goals, but they've been steadied with the play of Finnish rookie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net since December. He's 13-6-2 this season with a .899 save percentage. While that may not make you feel great, he also gets just over four goals a game in support. Somewhere, Grant Fuhr smiles about this. He's racked up road wins against Boston, Vegas, Colorado and Washington. If Luukkonen keeps them in games, he might be able to get the Sabres to the postseason for the first time since 2011.
17. Marc-Andre Fleury, Minnesota Wild
No team of late feels more mercurial than the Wild, but if there's one constant, it's their goaltending, particularly from Fleury. Since the start of December, Fleury has a .904 save percentage and has gone 9-7-2. The record isn't ideal, and the Wild have slipped back to the pack in the Central Division with the Avalanche rushing up behind them. Fleury could stand to get a little more help from teammates as they've scored 2.75 goals per game on average for him this season while he's had a .900 or better save percentage in nearly 55 percent of his starts.
16, Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers
It's hard to be more complimentary of how Hart has played in Philadelphia this season. He's consistently been in the top 10 in goals saved above expected, and his .913 save percentage through 39 games on a Flyers team that's maybe mildly exceeded some expectations is impressive, especially considering he's gotten just 2.54 goals in support per game, seventh-worst in the league. Some of that is due to their stronger play as a team defensively under John Tortorella, but it's also in how well Hart has made it stand up. If the Flyers turn it around under Torts, it'll be Hart leading the way.
.png?w=256 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=256 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=256)
15-11: Hurricanes, Thompson, Kuemper, Maple Leafs, Oilers
4 of 10
15. Carolina Hurricanes
It doesn't seem to matter who the Hurricanes throw out in net in any given game. Each of Antti Raanta, Frederik Andersen and Pyotr Kochetkov have save percentages above .900, and Carolina is second only to Boston in the NHL record-wise. This is where it gets confusing on how to rank them. Raanta went through fits of poor play early on but has rebounded well. Andersen missed a fair amount of time with injury but has returned strong himself, and Kochetkov is arguably the best of the bunch, and he's the odd man out. Andersen and Raanta each get an average of more than three goals per game in support while Kochetkov has gotten 2.71. Their playoff choices will be fascinating in goal.
14. Logan Thompson, Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas rookie continues to have a strong season as the Golden Knights' No. 1 goalie with a .913 save percentage. Injuries have once again reared their ugly head to interrupt what, for the first few months, looked like an inevitable opportunity for a deep run into the playoffs, so Thompson now has to hold down the fortress more often than not. The goal support hasn't been strong (2.92 per game), and it won't get easier with the indefinite absence of Mark Stone. Vegas is in a fight with Seattle, L.A. and a resurgent Edmonton for the top of the Pacific Division, but the Knights arguably have the best goalie out of those teams. Buckle up.
13. Darcy Kuemper, Washington Capitals
Kuemper has helped settling things down in D.C. while they sorted through injuries. Now that many of those players have returned to action, it's given them a breath of fresh air. Meanwhile, Kuemper just keeps on keeping on. With a .915 save percentage that falls perfectly in line with how he's performed throughout his career, the one thing the Capitals know game-to-game is that as long as Kuemper is in, they've got the best chance to win. Fun fact: Kuemper is tied with Ilya Sorokin for most shutouts this season with five.
12. Toronto Maple Leafs
Remember when every trade deadline we would wonder how the Maple Leafs would try to improve their play in goal? Ah, those were the days. Wait, weren't those the days last season? Anyway, Ilya Samsonov and Matt Murray have helped make that an obsolete question with how well they've each rebounded their careers in The Six. Samsonov rocking a .913 save percentage and Murray a .911 provides a stiff test for anyone. Both goalies also get an average of 3.44 goals per game to back them up, which is impressive on its own. Of course, none of this matters if they can't get out of the first round of the playoffs.
11. Edmonton Oilers
For most of the season, it appeared rookie Stuart Skinner was going to have to be the guy responsible for trying to get Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to the Stanley Cup Final, but a funny thing happened recently: Jack Campbell found his groove. Since the start of January, Campbell has won eight of nine starts with a .916 save percentage including his current seven-game winning streak. Prior to that he struggled terribly going 8-7-1 with an .876 save percentage. With Campbell on the come-up and Skinner cooling off after an incredible start, it will be interesting to see whose net it is if/when the Oilers get to the playoffs.
10-6: Jarry, Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin, Vanecek, Georgiev
5 of 10
10. Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins have been able to hold down the fort while Jarry has missed time with injury this season thanks to Casey DeSmith, but there's little doubt that they're a better team with Jarry in charge. Jarry's .921 save percentage is sixth-best in the league, and he's gone 16-5-5 through 27 games. He's put up a .900 or better in two-thirds of his starts this season as well. The Penguins are in a fight with a pile of teams for the postseason, and they'll duke it out with the Capitals and the Islanders to stay out of the wild-card pool against the Sabres and Panthers. Jarry must stay healthy to give the Pens the best chance to rise up in the Metropolitan.
9. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
I don't think I've been more all over the map with how I've ranked a goalie than I have with Andrei Vasilevskiy. Alot of that isn't necessarily because of his own play but how others have grabbed the spotlight or taken the fall around him. Since the Christmas break, Vasilevskiy has been superb and has Tampa back in the battle with Toronto to see who gets home ice in their inevitable first-round matchup in the playoffs. That he's just warming up in the second half should feel foreboding for everyone in the Eastern Conference.
8. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
While Shesterkin struggled a bit out of the gate, since the start of December he's looked a lot more like he did when he won the Vezina and was an MVP finalist last season. He's gone 12-4-4 with a .920 save percentage in that time and has the Rangers right there in line for a battle with New Jersey for home ice in the first round of the playoffs. It would've been foolish to bet against Shesterkin after he didn't look himself the first two months, but now that he's back in a New York groove and the Rangers added Vladimir Tarasenko for the playoff battles to come, betting against him to take the Rangers far in the postseason might be just as foolish.
7. Vitek Vanecek, New Jersey Devils
The Devils keep on rolling and a lot of that is thanks to how Vanecek has held strong in goal throughout the season. With a 22-5-2 record and a .916 save percentage with two shutouts, Vanecek has taken the reins as the leader in net and run away with the job. Yes, he gets a lot of offensive support (3.53 goals per game), but he's also slamming the door on opponents to the tune of a little under 2.5 goals per game. I know, goals-against average is a team stat, but that Vanecek's nights are made a little easier by facing 27.7 shots per 60 shows he's getting plenty of help from his teammates as well. That's what makes the Devils so dangerous.
6. Alexandar Georgiev, Colorado Avalanche
Picking out individual team MVPs might seem like a difficult task, but how can Alexandar Georgiev not be Colorado's MVP to this point? The Avalanche's injury nightmare has had them scratching and clawing their way back up the standings, but Georgiev has been consistently incredible with a .917 save percentage and two shutouts while facing 32 shots per 60. He's all but erased any questions people like yours truly may have had about how he would handle being a No. 1, and now he's got Colorado right back into a playoff spot after being down bad for a while. Now that they're getting healthier, the Avalanche could be a terrifying team to deal with down the stretch and into the playoffs.
5. Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
6 of 10
The reason the Nashville Predators are as close to a spot in the playoffs as they are, is much due to how well Juuse Saros has hulked up as the season's gone along.
Last season's Vezina finalist has pulled his save percentage up to nearly .920 all the while facing 34 shots per 60 minutes. His 19-14-5 record doesn't look impressive, but when you consider he's getting 2.64 goals per game in support, it makes a lot more sense.
It took Saros a little bit to get warmed up to start the season, but he's rolling now. In his past 16 games, he's 10-5-1 with a .926 save percentage and he's helped get the Predators to within four points of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference. He's not quite Superman, but it would be easy to mistake the effort for that of a Kryptonian.
What's more impressive is that he's saving his teammates when things get really wild in close. He's third in goals saved above expected in all situations with 23.0 and first at 5-on-5 with 20.9, according to Moneypuck.com. Saros may not be at the same level as a few of the goalies ahead of him on this list, but his performance puts should put some respect on his name. If he's able to drag Nashville into the playoffs, his case to be a Vezina finalist will be hard to beat.
4. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars
7 of 10
The Stars have a lot of reasons why they sit atop the Central Division. Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz lighting the lamp while Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn better resemble their old selves do it on the offensive side, but Jake Oettinger being lights out in goal might be the biggest.
His .926 save percentage is second-best in the NHL, and his four shutouts trail only Darcy Kuemper and Ilya Sorokin at the top of the leaderboard, with each having five. He's top-five in goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 and in all situations, and he's a workhorse with 39 starts (second most in the league) and 40 total games played.
What should really excite Dallas fans, and perhaps make fans of other teams in the West fretful, is how this kind of play was sort of predicted by how Oettinger played in their first-round playoff loss to Calgary last season. As the games get tighter as the season goes on, and for how much tighter they get in the postseason, Oettinger is well prepared for it.
While the Stars defense helps ease the burden a little bit (he faces 29.8 shots per 60), what they do allow isn't getting past him regularly. His 2.22 goals-against average is second only to Linus Ullmark's incredible sub-2.00 mark. If the only goalie beating you out is the one with the best numbers in the league, you're living good.
3. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
8 of 10
The shuffle among the top three goalies is really between who is second or third each month now. Connor Hellebuyck gets the bronze medal this time around, and it's not so much how we can microscopically break down his numbers compared to Ilya Sorokin and Linus Ullmark, but more of a case of whose team is hotter in the moment.
Hellebuyck's credentials this season are incredible. He's top-five in save percentage, shots against and goals saved above expected in all situations, and he's top-10 in goals-against average. He also faces 31.8 shots per 60, putting him in the top 20 of that category. He's a very busy guy when in net, and his resurgence this season is a major reason why the Winnipeg Jets are in the race for the lead in the Central Division.
Hellebuyck's improvement from last season is impressive even though he was still pretty good then. His save percentage is up .013 from his .910 last year. He's posted three shutouts so far this season, whereas he had four in 66 starts last season. Having a great goalie return to past form always works out well when their old form was what won a Vezina.
What can he do to unseat Sorokin or Ullmark for a shot at the Vezina apart from hoping the other two slip up? Avoiding lulls like the one he dealt with before the All-Star break in which he won four of nine games with a .920 save percentage and 22 goals allowed. That's not all too bad, though, so maybe the 3.08 goals per game he gets in support might need a boost to at least appease the win gods.
2. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
9 of 10
OK, relax Isles fans, just chill out for a minute, I know you want your guy at No. 1. I know.
Ilya Sorokin has been absolutely incredible all season long. He's regularly been in the top five in save percentage and goals-against average and right at the top of the leaderboard in goals saved above expected as well. He's tied for first in shutouts, and he's carried the Islanders on his back throughout the first half of the season. He's very easily the team's most valuable player.
The reason he's not No. 1 is because Linus Ullmark has just been better.
Sorokin's workload is incredible, and he's faced more than 31 shots per 60 minutes.
What's more is the Islanders are in a fight to get into the postseason, so that workload is not going to lessen, even with a strong backup like Semyon Varlamov able to spell him occasionally. Sorokin started 52 of 82 games last season, and he's well on the way to surpassing that this year. There's not a lot of reason to think it'll be an issue, but there's also not a lot of evidence it won't be either.
But that's beside the point for now. Right now, Sorokin is this close to being the best in the league, and very well might be according to others. But the Bruins are the best team in the league by far and just happen to have the goalie who's been the best too. It's not you, it's me, Ilya. And Linus.
1. Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins
10 of 10
Ullmark has been the No. 1 goalie all season long, and there's no reason to demote him now.
He's doing the kinds of things the all-time greats have done in the past. His .937 save percentage is the kind of thing you'd expect to see out of Dominik Hašek or Patrick Roy back in the day. His 1.90 goals-against average makes us think of Martin Brodeur and the 26-4-1 record is...well, that's just silly.
What's more impressive about Ullmark's remarkable season is that while the Bruins defense certainly helps him out, he's also at the top of the goals saved above expected in all situations rankings as well. The Bruins give him 3.37 goals per game in support on top of all of that and he faces 30 shots per 60. It's not as if the workload is light at all, he's just been flat out incredible.
If there's one crack in the facade of Ullmark's Vezina case, it's that he hasn't played as many games as Ilya Sorokin, Connor Hellebuyck or Jake Oettinger. Is that reason enough to punish him in the votes? Maybe to some of the GMs, but the raw numbers he's put up are so good they're impossible to ignore. That on top of the Bruins being the best team in the NHL, it's a virtual shoe-in as of now that he'll win it.
It's head-shaking that Ullmark is performing like this because there haven't been any real hints in the past that a monstrous breakout was coming. He held down the fort as well as he could with struggling Buffalo teams, and he and Jeremy Swayman had strong, virtually identical numbers last season in his Boston debut. Surprises are always the best, unless you're a team with designs on the Stanley Cup, then maybe this one is one you'd rather not see.
.png?w=480 "NHL Mock Draft")
.jpg?w=480 "Kucherov Landing Spots")
.png?w=480)
.png?w=600 "B/R NHL Staff Second-Round Predictions 🏒")
