There’s no argument: we’re in a golden age of goaltending in the National Hockey League right now, but it’s a world of haves and have-nots. The gap between the greats in the game and everybody else feels bigger than it ever has before, and teams that don’t have one of the reliable studs are often scrounging for help (or suffering under an unwise contract handed out too soon).
It’s also a world where the hot hand dominates. Rookies can suddenly look unbeatable, and the goaltending greats can suddenly look like a sieve. We often now see teams make it deep into the playoffs relying heavily on a goalie who wasn’t their starter to start the postseason. Occasionally, that goalie wasn’t even on the roster entering the season.
At The Hockey Writers, we evaluate goaltenders several times a season, accounting for the instability of the position. Goalies change teams and lose their jobs more frequently than many others. Because of changes like that, we regrade goalies regularly. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the methodology for our evaluation.
Methodology
Because of the fleeting nature of goaltender success, our rankings prioritize numbers from the most recent season, in this case, the 2024-25 season. With that said, it would be silly to ignore history or overemphasize a three-month run. Where two goalies are more or less equal, their track record will become a factor in determining a final position. Goalies who have performed at a high level for longer will receive the benefit of the doubt, whereas goalies with great numbers who are relative newcomers may sink a spot or two accordingly. With that said, in this article, you will see many top goalies from recent years further down than you might expect.
A number of statistics are considered. Two metrics were given primary emphasis:
- Save Percentage (SV%): The percentage of shots on net that a goalie stops from becoming a goal
- Goals-Against Average (GAA): The average number of goals the goaltender allows per 60 minute game
- Goalie Point Shares (GPS): An attempt to calculate a goalie’s impact on his team’s place in the standings, where the final number reflects the number of standings points the goalie helped his team gain (not dissimilar from baseball’s “wins above replacement,” aka WAR)
- Quality Start Percentage (QS%): Quality starts are those starts where the goalie’s save percentage surpasses the average save percentage from the league this season. The QS% takes the percentage of games started that are “quality.” Generally, 53% or .530 is considered “average” in this stat. Anything below 50% is poor, and anything above 60% is outstanding.
- Really Bad Starts (RBS): More or less the inverse of a quality start, these are games where the goalie’s SV% doesn’t surpass 85%
- Goals Saved Above Average (GSAA): An advanced statistic measuring a goalie’s performance against league average on the same number of shots. The higher your GSAA, the better your season has been.
Of these statistics, QS% and GSAA have been given particular emphasis, but all will be considered in evaluating goaltenders.
Related: Adjusting How We Evaluate and Analyze Goaltenders
Keep in mind that these rankings are, by nature, fleeting. A few goaltenders, especially those near the top, have cemented their place in goaltending history. But many of these goalies are still fighting to build a reputation. So, without further ado, let’s see who shakes out as the best goaltenders of the 2024-25 season so far.
32) Jordan Binnington: St. Louis Blues
Previous Rank: 20
Yes, he’s going to the Olympics for Team Canada. But there’s no denying that Jordan Binnington has been awful this season for the St. Louis Blues. The ever-controversial netminder is increasingly losing starts to young backup Joel Hofer, and it’s easy to see why: a minus-22.0 GSAA that trails the league, and fully half of his starts have qualified as RBS, with a SV% below .850. There’s simply nothing nice to say about Binnington’s performance this season. Of course, a miraculous turnaround and a gold medal at the Olympics will make everyone forget his NHL results in an instant. But if he costs Canada the gold, there will be a cacophany of questions about why he was ever selected in the first place.
31) Frederik Andersen: Carolina Hurricanes
Previous Rank: Unranked
It’s tough to pick a starter in Carolina right now, but Frederik Andersen has the track record, albeit one plagued by injuries, so we’ll give him the nod for consideration over Brandon Bussi at the moment. Hurricanes fans would probably prefer we did not, just like they’d prefer Bussi get the nod more consistently in game action, given that the South Beach, NY native has consistently outperformed Denmark’s Andersen so far.
Andersen has made 21 starts and has only managed seven wins, despite playing behind a team so good they have the Metropolitan Division in a stranglehold before the Olympic break. Andersen’s .869 SV% and -14.4 GSAA are among the worst in the league. At 36, and with a history of injuries, his days as an NHL starter may be numbered. And when it comes to starting between the pipes for Carolina, they may be down into the single digits.
30) Jacob Markström: New Jersey Devils
Previous Rank: 14
When the New Jersey Devils acquired Jacob Markström from the Calgary Flames, they thought they were solving their goaltending woes by acquiring one of the most consistent goaltenders in the league. Unfortunately, Markström has been anything but consistent since he started playing in the Garden State. After a middling first season with the Devils, his play has fallen off a cliff. He has minus-11.4 GSAA and a .881 SV% this season, and an abysmal QS% of .357. There are really no positives to point to. There are a lot of questions surrounding the Devils right now, but goaltending might be the biggest one. And as it stands, they are probably regretting the two-year extension they gave Markström in November.
29) Sergei Bobrovsky: Florida Panthers
Previous Rank: 13
Let’s be honest: nobody really cares how Sergei Bobrovsky performs until the playoffs roll around. The Florida Panthers will be good enough to qualify regardless of how the future Hall of Famer performs during the regular season, and despite the flood of injuries they’ve suffered. If the Panthers do have a narrow path to a threepeat that would put them in legendary status, they’ll need the Novokuznetsk, Russia native to wake up before the spring.
The one thing you can’t call Bobrovsky is lazy. Despite turning 37 this season, he’s started 36 games before the Olympic break, making him one of the foremost workhorses in the league. Whether it’s overwork, age, or just poor defensive play in front of him, though, that’s about where the upbeat reviews stop. He has a .874 SV% minus-19.3 GSAA – although his QS% is right at .500, which isn’t great, but could be worse. To reiterate: if the two-time Vezina Trophy winner leads the playoffs in wins for a fourth time in a row when the time comes, absolutely nobody will care that he was a little shaky before February. But the question remains whether it’s just a rough patch or whether age is catching up to the goaltending legend.
28) Yaroslav Askarov: San Jose Sharks
Previous Rank: Unranked
Yaroslav Askarov is a young Russian netminder who likely hopes to build a career like Bobrovsky before all is said and done. Right now, he’s helping a very plucky young San Jose Sharks team surprise a lot of pundits and contend for a playoff spot in the anemic Pacific Division. The 23-year-old has been hockey’s goaltender of the future for quite a while, and his first season as a consistent NHL starter has predictably had its ups and downs. But he’s keeping the Sharks in a hunt that no one expected them to be in yet. There’s certainly blood in the water in a target-rich Pacific Division, and if Askarov can step up before the end of the season, the Sharks might be feasting on a playoff spot for the first time since 2019.
27) Sam Montembeault: Montreal Canadiens
Previous Rank: 27
Sam Montembeault was asked to take on an incredible workload for the Montreal Canadiens last season, and did pretty well with the task. He started in 60 games, posting a .901 SV% and a 2.82 GAA, along with a .533 QS%, which is just above average. He even earned a spot on Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, though this decision earned criticism at the time.
Related: The Importance of Canadiens’ Sam Montembeault Finding His Game Again
The Quebec native has struggled to repeat the same success during a 2025-26 season where expectations are heightened for the Canadiens. Just 35% of his starts have been quality, and he’s carrying minus-15.1 GSAA and a .869 SV%. He also lost his spot on Team Canada, with the leadership choosing three more veteran options ahead of the Olympics. Now, the Canadiens have big questions to answer: can Montembeault, who turned 29 this season, lock in and become the goaltender they need to take the next step? Is Jakub Dobes, who is increasingly threatening Montembeault’s role as the starter, the future they can rely on? Or do they need to look outside the organization for a more permanent solution?
26) Linus Ullmark: Ottawa Senators
Previous Rank: 11
The less said about the extracurricular nonsense surrounding Linus Ullmark this season, the better. Suffice to say that the Lugnvik, Sweden native has had a tough year, and it’s reflecting in his results on the ice this season. His .881 SV% and minus-10.9 GSAA, along with six RBS, have the Senators near the bottom of the Atlantic Division as of this writing. If the former Vezina Trophy winner can turn things around, there’s still time to change that. But the clock is ticking in Canada’s capital city to avoid a major disappointment and step back from last year’s return to the playoffs.
25) Stuart Skinner: Pittsburgh Penguins
Previous Rank: 29
Stuart Skinner looks like a brand new man in the Steel City. After the Edmonton Oilers finally made a goaltending move that had been discussed for years, swapping Skinner for Tristan Jarry, whom we’ll discuss in just a moment, Skinner got a fresh start in a new city where he wasn’t viewed as the one problem keeping his team from winning a Stanley Cup.
So far, the change in expectations seems to be helping him. Since joining Pittsburgh, he has a .906 SV%, 2.31 GAA, 2.6 GSAA, and a .636 QS% — all numbers at or above league average (although during an 11 game sample size). No, none of those numbers are world-beating. But they’re a significant improvement on how he performed in Edmonton over the past few seasons. And it might be one of those rare cases where a change of scenery, even away from one of the league’s top contenders, was truly best for both parties.
24) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: Buffalo Sabres
Previous Rank: 29
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was outstanding with the Buffalo Sabres for much of the 2023-24 season, but his 2024-25 season was abysmal. So far, this season has been a big step in the right direction for both player and team, with Luukonen posting roughly average league numbers and the Sabres finally seriously contending for a playoff berth again. If Luukkonen could take another step forward and look even more like his 2023-24 self, he might virtually guarantee a return to the postseason for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
23) Tristan Jarry: Edmonton Oilers
Previous Rank: 28
Now an Oiler, Jarry will face the same scrutiny and intense pressure that made Skinner one of the most-maligned goalies in the entire league when he was there. And the move from east to west has had the opposite effect of Skinner’s move from west to east: Jarry has been a much worse goaltender in his first nine games with the Oilers than he was in Pittsburgh.
Since joining Edmonton, Jarry has an .883 SV% and a 3.23 GAA, with minus-2.9 GSAA and a .375 QS%. This despite the fact that he was having a strong season in Pittsburgh before the trade. Maybe there’s something off about the crease in Edmonton that makes goaltending difficult. Maybe the defense is the problem. Or maybe the weight of expectations on either goaltender to be the “missing piece” in Connor McDavid’s first Stanley Cup is the issue. Whatever it is, the Oilers have seemingly made an at-best lateral move in net, and the clock is ticking on when it will become an emergency again.
22) Lukáš Dostál: Anaheim Ducks
Previous Rank: 21
The Anaheim Ducks look like they could be another one of the surprise teams of the season, and while Lukáš Dostál hasn’t set the world on fire, he hasn’t hurt the team much either. His .896 SV% and GAA of 2.95 are in the middle of the pack, and he has saved exactly the average amount of goals (GSAA). He’s also been a workhorse, starting 35 of the team’s 54 games so far this season. The 25-year-old earned a spot on Czechia’s Olympic roster and seems to have a bright future in the NHL.
21) Akira Schmid: Vegas Golden Knights
Previous Rank: Unranked
Keep your head on a swivel when you’re in Vegas, because you never know who will be the Golden Knights’ starting goaltender when the dice stop rolling. At present, it seems to be Akira Schmid, who has started 23 games this season and narrowly outperformed his competition, though that isn’t much of a challenge. The Golden Knights have given starts to Adin Hill, Carter Hart, and prospect Carl Lindbom this season, but only Schmid has reached the dubious distinction of being slightly below league average (the rest, unfortunately for Vegas, are significantly below). Despite all this, Vegas remains atop the Pacific Division as of this writing. It seems the house does indeed always win.
20) Thatcher Demko: Vancouver Canucks
Previous Rank: 19
At this point, we’ll probably never know what Thatcher Demko’s career might have looked like had he not been plagued by injury. At the time of this writing, the Vancouver Canucks have just announced that the San Diego native, who has played in just 43 games across the last two seasons, will once again have season-ending surgery, this time on his hip.
At his best and healthiest, Demko has at times looked like a world-beater. No one will forget when he stood on his head and basically single-handedly knocked off the Golden Knights during the 2019-20 postseason, when he posted a jaw-dropping .985 SV%, 0.64 GAA (yes, that’s not a typo) and 9.8 GSAA in just four games. Unfortunately, he’s never stayed healthy enough to show what he can do at the top level for very long. And now, the Canucks will once again turn to backup Kevin Lankinen, who is well-compensated for exactly this kind of scenario. Only time will tell what’s to become of Demko’s career and the three-year, $25.5 million extension he signed that kicks in next season. Here’s hoping he recovers quickly and that his best is yet to come.
19) Daniel Vladař: Philadelphia Flyers
Previous Rank: Unranked
Daniel Vladař has been an unexpected gift for the Philadelphia Flyers this season. The 28-year-old veteran spent the last four seasons as the backup in Calgary, but the Flyers saw enough in him to sign him as a free agent last summer. And the two-year, $6.7 million gamble has paid off big time. Vladař has been stalwart, with a .904 SV% and 2.49 GAA and 5.8 GSAA. The Flyers needed anyone who could make a save, but Vladař has exceeded that bar by miles, even earning a spot on Team Czechia at the Olympics. If things continue like this, he might be signing another contract extension as soon as this summer.
18) Joey Daccord: Seattle Kraken
Previous Rank: 15
This season is the first of a five-year, $25 million contract with Seattle for Joey Daccord, and it seems that the Kraken might finally have found the solution to the goaltending issues that have plagued them throughout the history of their franchise. He hasn’t been phenomenal this season, but he has been solid enough. His .901 SV% and 2.86 GAA are decent, and he’s managed a .548 QS% and 3.9 GSAA. Daccord is just 29, meaning the contract should carry him through much of his prime. There are plenty of other questions to answer in the Emerald City, but finally, it looks like goaltending might not be one of them.
17) Juuse Saros: Nashville Predators
Previous Rank: 24
It’s sometimes hard to separate a goaltender’s decline from that of his team. And we’ll see plenty of examples later on this list of goalies who have had resurgences when they got moved to a new home. With that in mind, it might be time for the Nashville Predators to consider trading Juuse Saros, because his continuing decline isn’t helping either him or the franchise.
Once viewed as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, Saros has slipped substantially over the last two seasons, and now, he’s suffering from overwork. At present, he’s played in more games, faced more shots, made more saves, and allowed more goals than any other goaltender. And through it all, he’s managed just an .895 SV% and 3.04 GAA with minus-1.2 GSAA.
16) Darcy Kuemper: Los Angeles Kings
Previous Rank: 8
Once viewed as a lost cause with the Washington Capitals, Darcy Kuemper has had a real resurgence since they traded him to the Los Angeles Kings. Though he hasn’t been quite as elite so far this season, he still has a .902 SV% and 2.57 GAA with 4.8 GSAA. He’s also earned a spot on Team Canada. At almost 36, the man affectionately known as “The Milkman” is in the middle of one of the best eras of his very underrated career. Now, Los Angeles just needs him to help them secure a playoff spot, which is far from a guarantee as of right now.
15) Mackenzie Blackwood: Colorado Avalanche
Previous Rank: 9
And now, we turn to yet another goaltender excelling in a new home. Although perhaps it’s not a challenge to look like a fantastic goaltender behind a team as good as the Colorado Avalanche. Nevertheless, Mackenzie Blackwood has been fantastic since the San Jose Sharks traded him to the Avalanche.
Blackwood carries a .909 SV% and a 2.44 GAA with 6.3 GSAA. He’s got a .611 QS%, which is considered very good, and he has helped the Avalanche achieve a near record pace through the first half of the season. The Avalanche are looking unstoppable, and Blackwood is a big part of the reason why. At the break, they look like clear frontrunners for the Stanley Cup.
14) Dustin Wolf: Calgary Flames
Previous Rank: 7
Sophomore slumps are a real thing, and Dustin Wolf appears to be in one. It isn’t that he’s been terrible; it’s simply that he hasn’t managed to repeat the jaw-dropping, Calder Trophy runner-up form he achieved as a rookie last season. Right now, Wolf sits at minus-1 GSAA and a .474 QS%, and the Flames sit very near the bottom of the league. Most people viewed the Flames as a potential rebuilding team already before Wolf made them relevant almost single-handedly. Now, they might need to reconsider that outcome, and the Rasmus Andersson trade suggests they already are. But if they do enter a rebuild, the 25-year-old Wolf will still be in his prime when Calgary is ready to compete again.
13) Joseph Woll: Toronto Maple Leafs
Previous Rank: Unranked
The Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling this season, but it isn’t because of Joseph Woll. Some blame certainly falls on Anthony Stolarz, who entered the season as Toronto’s assumed starter, but has been horrendous through 15 starts. Woll, by contrast, has been a steady hand.
The 27-year-old native of Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, has struggled with some injuries over his career, but he’s been healthy this season, and he’s been strong, with a .906 SV% and .696 QS%. He also has 6.9 GSAA. Can Woll become Toronto’s long-term answer between the pipes in Toronto? It’s hard to know right now. But at the moment, he is the only goaltender they have who gives them a chance to compete. And missing the playoffs is not an option for the Maple Leafs, though at present, it certainly seems like a strong possibility.
12) Jet Greaves: Columbus Blue Jackets
Previous Rank: Unranked
The Columbus Blue Jackets haven’t had a good option in net for years, but Jet Greaves seems to be the answer they’ve been looking for. He’s about to turn 25 and is in his first serious season in the NHL, but he looks like a seasoned veteran for a team that seriously needed a shot in the arm. He’s got a .908 SV% and 2.68 GAA, along with a fantastic 11.9 GSAA and .636 QS%. The Blue Jackets are probably going to end up on the outside looking in when the playoffs roll around, but Greaves has been a revelation for them this season and will be a bright spot for their future.
11) Karel Vejmelka: Utah Mammoth
Previous Rank: 16
New city. New name. And the Utah Mammoth seemed to have a whole new goaltender last year in Karel Vejmelka, who had the best season of his career statistically. The Trebic, Czechia native had a .904 SV%, 2.58 GAA, .527 QS%, and 5.9 GSAA. He’s continued to be strong this season, and is currently tied for the lead in games played and leading the league in wins. He carries a .899 SV% and a 2.62 GAA with 3.1 GSAA. He’s already justifying the long extension Utah gave him last season. And now, Utah and Vejmelka might be looking at their first playoff berth in their new home.
10) John Gibson: Detroit Red Wings
Previous Rank: 22
Speaking of success in a new home, John Gibson has looked fantastic with the Detroit Red Wings. After years of trade rumors, the Anaheim Ducks finally dealt him over the summer, and the move already looks to be paying off in spades in Hockeytown.
To be fair to Gibson, he had a very strong season last year, when relieved of the obligation of shouldering Anaheim’s massive workload and minimal support. But now he looks like a renewed man in Detroit. He has 7.8 GSAA, a .905 SV%, and 2.61 GAA. Gibson and a resurgent Red Wings roster have Detroit sitting pretty, two points out of the lead in the Atlantic Division and looking locked and loaded for their first playoff appearance in a decade.
9) Spencer Knight: Chicago Blackhawks
Previous Rank: 25
Spencer Knight has fully transitioned from “top goaltending prospect” to legitimate top NHL goaltender. His move to the Chicago Blackhawks has paid off in spades, and he’s now maturing alongside Connor Bedard and other youngsters into the core that will define the next era of Blackhawks success. This season, he has 13.7 GSAA, with a .909 SV% and 2.60 GAA. He’s also notched three shutouts. Knight has yet to turn 25, but he’s earned his spot in the top 10 of the NHL’s goaltenders, as well as his first serious contract extension, which he signed earlier this year. And in a few years, he could be at the very top.
8) Filip Gustavsson: Minnesota Wild
Previous Rank: 3
Despite a brief blip during the 2023-24 season, Filip Gustavsson has been one of the elite goaltenders in the league for the last four seasons. This season, his Minnesota Wild have made a lot of headlines with the blockbuster Quinn Hughes trade, bringing in one of the world’s elite defenders to help make Gustavsson’s life easier. And he’s done his part, with 12.3 GSAA, .697 QS%, and 7.3 GPS.
For a while, top goaltending prospect Jesper Wallstedt has been waiting in the wings to potentially replace Gustavsson. But it seems that Gustavsson’s play has put all doubt out of the mind of general manager Bill Guerin, and now, rumors are swirling that Wallstedt might be a trade piece in the right move. It’s never bad to have two elite, young goaltenders, but it’s hard to keep both happy with a limited number of starts. If the Wild do choose to back Gustavsson and make him standalone, no one will be able to question the decision given how good he’s been in recent seasons.
7) Jeremy Swayman: Boston Bruins
Previous Rank: 18
For Jeremy Swayman, last season was a hallmark example of just how volatile goaltending can be. After holding out during training camp, the Anchorage, Alaska native finally forced his team’s hand, and the Boston Bruins gave him a massive contract extension. Then, everything went wrong. Swayman looked awful on the ice, and the Bruins had their first disappointing season in ages, finishing last in the Atlantic Division.
Related: Jeremy Swayman’s Bounce Back Season Has Bruins in Position for Success
Fortunately, any questions about whether the new extension would become an albatross have been answered, because Swayman appears to be back to his old self, even if the Bruins are still currently right on the playoff bubble. Swayman has 7.1 GSAA, .694 QS%, and a .903 SV% this season. He looks a lot like the goalie who initially earned the $66 million extension the Bruins handed him last season. And while there are still many questions to answer in Boston, goaltending no longer appears to be one of them. And as far as Swayman is concerned, the only question is whether he can help the Americans win gold at the forthcoming Olympics.
6) Jake Oettinger: Dallas Stars
Previous Rank: 4
Jake Oettinger has quietly become one of the best goaltenders in the league, posting several fantastic seasons already in his young career. Just 27, the Lakeville, Minnesota native has a .900 SV% with a 2.69 GAA, to go along with 3.0 GSAA. Not his best season by far, but the Dallas Stars are doing just fine regardless.
Oettinger has also become the Stars’ postseason hero at times, though he still wasn’t enough to get them into the Stanley Cup Final. Now in the first season of the eight-year, $66 million extension he signed back in October of 2024, he will have a chance not only to get the Stars to the finish line, but also to represent the United States at the Olympics. He might have a tough time seeing the ice in Italy given that his teammate is yet to come on this list, but Oettinger has al the tools to get recognized as the best goalie in the world before his career is done.
5) Igor Shesterkin: New York Rangers
Previous Rank: 5
Like many other goalies on this list, Igor Shesterkin finally inked a long contract extension with the New York Rangers in 2024, after months of dyspepsia about getting a deal done. Unlike any other goaltender on this list, though, the average annual value (AAV) of the deal, north of $11.5 million, makes him the highest-paid goalie in the NHL. But it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve it.
After an arguable “downturn” last season (which one could only view as such based on Shesterkin’s lofty standards), the Russian is firmly back in the elite category, with 16.1 GSAA barely halfway through the season. He also has a .913 SV%, and seeing a SV% above .910 is increasingly elite. All that is capped off by a fantastic .706 QS%. Shesterkin is one of the very best in the game and his cap hit is well-earned. The only question is whether the Rangers can get back to being competitive again while he’s still in his prime.
4) Logan Thompson: Washington Capitals
Previous Rank: 10
A lot of ink has been spilled about Team Canada’s relative paucity of goaltending talent, especially when compared to their chief rival, the United States. But given the incredible surge of Logan Thompson in recent seasons, they might be in good hands during the Olympics in a few weeks. After finishing fourth in Vezina Trophy voting last season, he’s building on that campaign with 15.9 GSAA this season and a .711 QS%. Unfortunately, the Washington Capitals haven’t done quite as well this season as last, but they’re still on the playoff bubble and fighting for a spot. And Thompson gives them a better chance than almost anybody.
3) Ilya Sorokin: New York Islanders
Previous Rank: 6
Ilya Sorokin had a really rough start during the first year of his eight-season contract with the New York Islanders. But he’s established himself as one of the best goaltenders in the league and that’s a reputation that he’s reinforced this season. He has a mind-blowing .917 SV% and a league-leading six shutouts, with 18.4 GSAA. The Islanders are the comeback team of the season by far, and Sorokin is a huge part of the reason why. And at the midpoint, any conversation about the Vezina Trophy must have Sorokin’s name high on the list.
2) Connor Hellebuyck: Winnipeg Jets
Previous Rank: 1
If this were a tier-list rather than a numeric ranking, these last two goaltenders would be alone at the top. At a position that is notoriously volatile and unpredictable, they have established themselves over nearly a decade as the two best goaltenders in the world.
When you pull up Connor Hellebuyck’s stats page on Hockey-Reference, your eyes are instantly drawn to a sea of bold numbers, marking the times he’s led the league in a category. Whether it’s the four straight seasons he led the league in shots against and saves, the five total seasons he’s led the league in games played, his two times (counting last season) as the wins leader, or his four seasons (including 2024-25) at the top of the list in goalie point shares (GPS), Hellebuyck has been one of the best goaltenders in the league for his entire career.
Following up on a season where Hellebuyck won the Vezina and Hart Trophies, the 32-year-old Hellebuyck has taken a “step back” from the top of Mt. Everest to just being a really phenomenal goaltender. He has a .902 SV% and 2.71 GAA, with 5.8 GSAA and 6.6 GPS. If that’s what a “rough patch” looks like, it’s only more proof that Hellebuyck is one of the game’s very best. And he’s been at the top of this list for a long time. The only person who’s surpassed him in recent seasons has once again earned his spot at the top of the list.
1) Andrei Vasilevskiy: Tampa Bay Lightning
Previous Rank: 1
The king is back. Andrei Vasilevskiy led the NHL in wins five seasons in a row, won back-to-back Stanley Cups, and took his team to three Stanley Cup Finals in a row. For many seasons, he was the unquestioned best goaltender in the world. Then he hit a roadblock in the 2023-24 season, recovering from a major injury, and he had his first poor season since his sophomore campaign, finishing with minus-5.2 GSAA and just a .900 SV%.
If there was any concern that the towering Russian might be entering a long-term decline, he put those to rest last season, returning to top form. He finished with a .921 SV%, a 2.18 GAA, and an incredible 35.8 GSAA. And he’s back on the same trajectory this season, currently leading the league with 20.7 GSAA and a 2.04 GAA, and adding to it a .920 SV% and 7.7 GPS.
Few goalies have ever built the resume that Vasilevskiy has, and he’s still just 31 years old. If he continues to play this well, there’s no telling the legacy he’ll have when he retires, but it will begin with a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame and a statue outside the newly named Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.
What Do You Think?
Who did we get right? Who did we get wrong? Who is going to surprise us this season? Like we said at the start, goaltending is fickle by its very nature, and these numbers are a momentary snapshot of years-long fight to be the top goaltender in the league. We’ll see who rises and falls this season, which names climb like Wolf, and which ones fall like Swayman. And we’ll see which of these goaltenders lifts the 2025-26 Vezina Trophy and the Stanley Cup when all is said and done.
