Breaking Down The Net, Part 3

Hockey season is finally upon us. The puck drops for the first game in just a few hours and I couldn’t be happier. Everything that is supposed to be, now is, and everything that I’ve waited all summer long for is finally here. Now I can wake up in the morning and enthusiastically get ready for my day and go about my business with a smile on my face, because I know every night when I get home and sit on the couch, someone, somewhere, will be playing a good ol’ fashion game of NHL hockey, and that’s all that I desire to be happy in life.

So here we are once again, only this one probably won’t be as fun for me, or for you, especially if you’re still awaiting the break down of your team’s goaltending situation. Teams should be built from the net out. The goalie is your rock, and your team’s foundation. Everything depends on how hot, or not, your goalie is on a nightly basis.

In case you happened to miss the first two posts in this short series, here are links to part one, and part two. Enjoy.

Part 1

Part 2

21. Brian Elliott flashed greatness two seasons ago in St. Louis. He posted 9 shutouts in 26 starts, held a save percentage of .940%, and had a goals against average of 1.56. Elliott had a remarkable season, especially for a back up goalie. He made his mark and earned more starts in net for the Blues. Elliott had another decent season last year, and stepped in for the struggling Jaroslav Halak in the playoffs before the Blues were bounced out in the first round by the Los Angeles Kings.

I think it’s safe to say that Elliott owns the net in St. Louis now. The Blues have made a few attempts at moving Halak, but haven’t had much luck in doing so thus far. Behind Halak is Jake Allen who is starting for the Blues AHL affiliate. Allen proved last season in his time in St. Louis he’s ready for the NHL level of competition, making Halak even more of a problem for the Blues.

The Blues have three goalies that are capable of taking over a game. Elliott had an awesome season two years ago, but I’m not convinced he’s not just another one of Ken Hitchcock’s Frankenstein’s monsters. Remember how great his defensive system made Steve Mason look during his rookie season? And now Hitchcock has the league’s best defensive line-up. In Hitchcock’s system, nearly any goalie can prosper. Obviously. Cough, Mason, cough. You sure fooled us good.

22. Speak of the devil, look who it is, Steve Mason himself. Philly has a problem in net this season, and the trade for Mason last year at the deadline was not the answer. And neither was the signing of Ray Emery in the offseason. On the bright side, Mason did play when he was given the chance in Philly last season, and Emery put up some outstanding numbers, but Emery was also playing behind the best team in the NHL last season.

Mason and Emery are more than likely going to split time pretty evenly, so we’ll start with Mason, who saw ice time in 7 games last season with the Flyers. he posted a record of 4-2-0, with a save percentage of .944%, and a goals against average of 1.90. Not too shabby, and much better for the amount of money he’s being paid compared to Ilya Bryzgalov. Don’t get your hopes up just yet Flyers fans, that’s a pretty small sample size, and we have a full 82 game season coming up this year. Just cross your fingers the 3.39, .895%, Steve Mason doesn’t emerge.

Emery played well last season, and Philly is hoping he might be the savior they need when and if Mason plummets back to the depths of goalie hell. Emery spent the season in Chicago and posted a record of 17-1-0. No that isn’t a typo. Ray. Emery. Posted. 17 wins and ONE loss. He held down the net well, putting up a goals against average of 1.94 and a save percentage of .922. Pretty impressive right? Not quite, I’ll be impressed if his numbers don’t drop to 2.40 and .915 this season.

23. Braden Holtby earned his first season of full time duty last year, and he didn’t disappoint. Holtby helped the Caps bounce back from a disastrous start and helped push them into the playoffs late in the season. His play in the playoffs was inconsistent at best against the New York Rangers, and the Capitals fell to the Rangers in 7 games. When Holtby was on his game, the Capitals won, but when he wasn’t at his best, the Caps lost. Consistency is the name of the game for an NHL goaltender.

Holtby played in 36 games last season, starting 35 himself. He posted an overall record of 23-12-1, with a goals against average of 2.58, and a save percentage of .920%, with 4 shutouts on the year. Holtby played well when it mattered during the regular season but couldn’t come through in the playoffs. The experiance should help him in the long run, as the Caps look to get back this season. The only problem is with a full 82 game season, it’s pretty easy to get buried in the standings if you start the year off like they did last season.

On the bench for the Caps is goaltender Michal Neuvirth. Neuvirth never quite panned out the way the Capitals were hoping, but he’s settled into his number two spot on the team behind Holtby. He made 12 starts last season and wasn’t terrible for it. He sported a record of 4-5-2, a goals against average of 2.74, and a save percentage of .910%. The Capitals need Neuvirth to be better when he plays, his numbers aren’t excellent, and they need the best goalie they can get in net night in and night out.

25. Devan Dubnyk stepped in as a full time number one goalie last season for the Edmonton Oilers. He’ll have to do the same again this season with Jason Labarbera backing him up. Dubnyk is big in net, but the lack of consistency plagues Edmonton’s netminder. He’s going to have to step up and play at a much higher level if the Oilers finally want to get back into the playoffs. He’s just one more piece of youth the Oilers have in the works at the moment, and he needs to develop and do it quickly.

Dubnyk started in 37 games last season, and appeared in 38. He held a record of 14-16-6, witha  goals against average of 2.57, and a save percentage of .921%. The defense is a big reason for the lack of numbers in Dubnyk’s statistics, but the Oilers were able to sign veteran defenseman Andrew Ference in the offseason. If the defense can step up and play at a higher level, Dubnyk might be able to prove his worth, and get the Oilers where they want to go. It’s a contract season for Dubnyk, and the goalie market is likely to be seeping with skill next summer.

Jason Labarbera will back up Dubnyk this season. The new comer left Phoenix almost immediately after the free agency period kicked off in July. The veteran goalie backed up Mike Smith last season appearing in 15 games, and starting 10 himself. he posted a record of 4-6-2 in the desert, with a goals against average of 2.64, and a save percentage of .923%.

26. Evgeni Nabokov just signed a new contract this summer with the Islanders and looks to be the number one once again. Nabby has a one year deal, and what the Islanders plan to do in net next season may depend on who ends up hitting the market come next summer. Nabby isn’t the same goalie he was when he played in San Jose. He left for the KHL, and returned to play in net for the Islanders in 2011. This season will be a big test for his age. Can he still compete and pull the Islanders into playoff competition?

Nabokov appeared in 41 games last season, and started them all. Wait, isn’t that dude like 38 years old? Yes, he is indeed 38 years old. Which is why I’m skeptical of the level of consistency and play Nabby can dish out this season. He was a work horse last season, but did well enough to get the job done, and get the Islanders into the playoffs. He put up a record of 23-11-7 with a goals against average of 2.50, and a save percentage of .910%.

Kevin Poulin will back Nabby up this season. He made an appearance in only 5 games last season, and has only played in 21 total games in his short NHL career. He holds a career record of 7-9-1, with a goals against average of 2.76, and a save percentage of .912. Sitting behind a veteran goalie like Nabokov this season should help Poulin get his game together. He’s young, and will likely get a hand full of experience this season in net.

27. Talk about inconsistency, Ondrej Pavelec defines the word inconsistent. He’s a work horse however, and the Jets love him for that. But jets fans can’t expect him to play at a high level when he’s starting 43 of every 48 games. Pavelec shines at moments, but it’s when he’s not shining that everyone in Winnipeg shudders. You might as well blindfold me, suit me up, and throw me in net. I’ll do it for half the price that Pavelec’s doing it for. Just saying. Kevin Cheveldayoff, you have my offer, I trust you will find a way to get ahold of me.

Pavelec appeared in 44 games last season, and started 43 of them. He was able to hold a record of 21-20-3, with a goals against average of 2.80, and a save percentage of  .905%. Pavelec will have to step his game up this season to avoid another disastrous fall out like the Jets had last season. Leading the division for most of the season, and falling victim to a hot team at the right time, to take over the division and knock them right out of playoff contention.

Not that you’ll see a lot of him this season, but Al Montoya will be backing up Pavelec again this year. Montoya started 5 games last season and came in in relief in two more games. Montoya was 3-1 with a goals against average of 2.90, and a save percentage of .899%. The Jets need a better option on the bench to take some of the work load off of Pavelec, and obviously Montoya wasn’t the answer.

28. There was a time in Varlamov’s career when he would have had much more value than he does at the moment, but due to the current state that Colorado hockey is in, it might not ever get back to that point as long as he’s playing for the Avalanche. This will be the last season on Varlamov’s contract, so he’s going to have to play well if he wants to stay where he is. I know he’s capable of it, it’s just going to depend on how well the Aves can do under new head coach Patrick Roy.

Varlamov took shots in 35 games last year, and started in 33 games. he put up a record of 11-21-3 in net, along with a goals against average of 3.02, and a save percentage of .902%. A lot of this is due to the state that Colorado’s hockey organization is in at the moment, but he needs to play better regardless. Varlamov is a better goalie than what the numbers show. At least I like to believe so, he’s going to have to prove that this season, or it might be a rough summer trying to find a job.

Backing up Varlamov is another goalie who fell short after being acquired by the Avalanche. Jean-Sebastien Giguere had a some what of an interesting season last year. The one thing that really sticks out is his outburst in the locker room to the press about his teams awful work ethic. Jiggy might not be capable of Conn Smythe level of play anymore, but he’s still competitive and that’s the big factor. He skated in 18 games last season and recorded a record of 5-4-4, with a goals against average of 2.84, and a save percentage of .908%.

29. Could the Panthers be legitimate sleepers this season? Probably not, but with the signing of Tim Thomas, it’s going to help take a lot of heat off of the upcoming Jacob Markstrom who struggled badly last season as the Panthers tried to find the right goalie. Markstrom is young and has a lot of room to improve. The Panthers made some good signings this offseason, and it could help a lot. With veteran Thomas playing alongside of Markstrom it leaves plenty time for him to learn the game from a champion’s stand point.

Markstrom played in 23 games last season, posting a record of 8-14-1, with a goals against average of 3.22, and a save percentage of .901%. Markstrom has a lot of room to improve on last season, and the Panthers brought in a lot of veteran help to try and help develop all of the youth they own at the moment. This could help Markstrom’s numbers out quite a bit, but he still may not be the most reliable for another season or two. or ever. Who really knows?

Backing up Markstrom will be two time Vezina Trophy winner, one time Stanley Cup Champion, and one time Conn Smythe winner, Tim Thomas. Thomas is aging, and hasn’t played in an NHL game since April 25th 2012 when the Bruins were knocked out of the playoffs in game seven of the first round by the Washington Capitals. The question is what can Thomas still bring to the table?

30. Karri Ramo will get his first shot in net with the Calgary Flames this season after the retirement of long time Flames goalie, Miikka Kiprusoff. Ramo played for the Lightning last season, and wasn’t the greatest show on Earth by any means. Can he turn it around in Calgary? Probably not, but he can definitely try. The Flames are in trouble whether or not Ramo plays well in net.

Ramo started 20 games in Tampa Bay last season and posted an overall record of 4-10-7, with a goals against average of 3.66, and a save percentage of .894%. It might be a stretch to say he’ll do much better this season, but maybe the offseason was good to him and the experience he’s gained over the last two seasons will serve him well.

Joey MacDonald will back up Ramo in net for the Flames, and is more than likely due to a good amount of starts this upcoming season. MacDonald started in 19 games last season in Calgary after being put on waivers by the Detroit Red Wings. Calgary scooped him up and he was able to put up a record of 8-9-1 in his first season in Calgary. He held a goals against average of 2.87, and a save percentage of .902%.