Top 35 Goalies - October 2nd, 2018



With the NHL regular season upon us, here's one last pre-season goalie ranking.



It was hard leaving Thomas Greiss and James Reimer out of the top 35, as both could very well end up starting for their teams by season's end. That said, I still think Robin Lehner has the edge in Long Island, and I'll give Roberto Luongo the benefit of the doubt despite being almost 40. Keith Kinkaid and Jonathan Bernier are interesting ones who just missed as well - the former who stole the job from Schneider (currently injured) and will likely stand in for him to start the year, and the latter could very well unseat Jimmy Howard. Also worth noting that Howard is a pending UFA, and with the Red Wings likely trade deadline sellers he could be on the move.

Our top 35 list ranks the value of goalies over the next 2 to 3 years. Factors include track record, upside, age, team and injury history.

RANKPLAYERNOTESAgeDOBPvs.Chg.
TIER 1
1Connor Hellebuyck, WPGStarts at the top, but Vasilevskiy is right behind.25.45/19/1993--
2Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBSlowed down in 2nd half. Still a top 3 goalie.24.27/25/1994--
3Frederik Andersen, TOR29.010/2/1989--
4Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ30.09/20/1988--
5Braden Holtby, WASMediocre regular season; stellar playoffs.29.09/16/1989--
TIER 2
6Tuukka Rask, BOS31.63/10/1987--
7Jonathan Quick, LA32.71/21/1986--
8Martin Jones, SJPlay will be in the other end a lot with EK in town.28.71/10/1990--
9John Gibson, ANH25.27/14/1993--
10Devan Dubnyk, MINBoring choice, but slow and steady wins the race.32.45/4/1986--
11Pekka Rinne, NASShould hold off Saros. For now.35.911/3/1982--
12Matt Murray, PITCould become top 5 if he finds consistency.24.35/25/1994--
13Ben Bishop, DAL31.911/21/1986--
14Marc-Andre Fleury, VGKCan Vegas replicate last season's success?33.811/28/1984--





TIER 3
15Cam Talbot, EDMHas to be better for the Oilers to have a chance.31.27/5/1987--
16Carey Price, MTLWill have to be Montreal's MVP most nights.31.18/16/1987--
17Antti Raanta, AZWas the best goalie in the league post All-Star.29.45/12/1989--
18Mike Smith, CGY36.53/22/1982--
19Jake Allen, STLIt's time for him to grab the starting job for good.28.18/7/1990--
20Cory Schneider, NJBattling to keep his #1 spot. Can he hang onto it?32.53/18/1986--
21Henrik Lundqvist, NYRAging goalie on a mediocre team.36.63/2/1982--
22Corey Crawford, CHILingering concussion issues are a worry.33.712/31/1984--
TIER 4
23Carter Hutton, BUF32.812/19/1985--
24Jakob Markstrom, VAN28.71/31/1990--
25Roberto Luongo, FLAAge and fragility make him a major gamble.39.54/4/1979--
26Semyon Varlamov, COLThe Grubauer threat is real.30.44/27/1988--
27Brian Elliott, PHIInjuries and inconsistency keep him down.33.54/9/1985--
28Craig Anderson, OTT37.45/21/1981--
29Jimmy Howard, DETNow has Bernier to fend off for starts.34.53/26/1984--
30Robin Lehner, NYI27.27/24/1991--
TIER 5
31Philipp Grubauer, COLHe got the contract. Now he wants the crease.26.811/25/1991--
32Petr Mrazek, CARSomeone has to start in Carolina. Is it him?26.62/14/1992--
33Scott Darling, CARWants to put last season's debacle behind him.29.812/22/1988--
34Juuse Saros, NASPaid like a backup, but could challenge Rinne.23.44/19/1995--
35Cam Ward, CHI34.62/29/1984--




ON THE BUBBLE (in no particular order):

Thomas Greiss, NYI
James Reimer, FLA
Keith Kinkaid, NJ
Jonathan Bernier, DET
Jaroslav Halak, BOS
Aaron Dell, SJ
Linus Ullmark, BUF
Ryan Miller, ANH
Darcy Kuemper, AZ
Michal Neuvirth, PHI
Anders Nilsson, VAN



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