NHL: Top 5 worst starting goaltenders since the start of 2010

There have been many goaltenders in the NHL who have not been as successful as others. Here is a list of the top 5 worst starting goaltenders since 2010.

Being an NHL goaltender is one of the hardest jobs in sports. When they do well, they don’t get enough credit. Yet when they don’t do well, they’re the first ones named in the blame game.

There are a lot of great goaltenders in the league. However, not all of the goalies in the NHL are great. Some of them are bad. But here’s the thing – even the bad ones are among the best in the world at what they do.

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Let’s take a look at the five worst goaltenders since 2010.

5. Michal Neuvirth

Michal Neuvirth has not had a bad career in the NHL. His time with the Washington Capitals was quite memorable during the earlier seasons. He was able to lead the team to the playoffs and performed significantly well. However, during his tenure with the Philadelphia Flyers, his performance was not so great; giving him the number five spot on this list.

Neuvirth played an excellent role on the Capitals during the earlier seasons, maintained good save percentages and was able to come away with a lot of wins. Not only did he accumulate good stats he was also able to lead the team pretty far in the playoffs, giving him some playoff experience.

During his time with the Capitals, he was able to maintain a high save percentage of .914%. This is a very good accomplishment for him to achieve but unfortunately, time spent with the Flyers was subpar.

Playing with the Flyers, was and has been a rough time for Neuvirth in the net. He has achieved a high save percentage of .924% and a low save percentage of .859%. Although the high save percentage is an incredible achievement, this has been a rare occasion for Neuvirth.

The low save percentages have been more frequent in net for him than the high percentages. This type of inconsistency is something that teams do not desire in their goaltenders; and will certainly not land a spot as a starting goalie.

It would be nice to see Neuvirth get back into his groove and showcase his talent again as he did in his early days with the Capitals. It is a lot of pressure being a starting goaltender in the National Hockey League but Neuvirth certainly has the potential to earn a position as a goaltender on a team. However, his performance over recent years does not highlight this positive potential, landing him the number five spot on this list.

4. Petr Mrazek

Petr Mrazek has not been a terrible goaltender over his entire career. He has actually had positive and impacting performances for the teams that he has played for. However, Mrazek’s tenures with the Detroit Red Wings and Flyers were not the greatest performance compared to other goalies, giving him the number four spot on the list.

During his time with the Red Wings, he managed to get a lot of wins and playing time. However, his highest save percentage of .927% and a low of .901%. Not to mention the Red Wings were a struggling team during his playing experience with them.

Mrazek certainly has a different style of play unlike other goalies and he also is talented but this talent did not show with the Red Wings and Flyers. To highlight some of his achievements, Mrazek was able to lead the Red Wings to the playoffs, which is an amazing achievement for any goaltender. Nevertheless, the Red Wings were not successful during the playoffs as they were only able to make it to the first round but he surely contributed positively to the team.

His performance with the Flyers was even worse than with the Red Wings. Although he had spent more time with the Red Wings, his time with the Flyers was not good at all. Mrazek only started in 17 games but maintained a save percentage of .891%. This type of performance certainly was not a good one and did not contribute well to him staying on the team.

Mrazek has found some hope with the Carolina Hurricanes, as his production with them during the 2018-2019 season was pretty good. He also helped lead them to the Conference Finals, which was an achievement the Hurricanes have not been able to accomplish in over 10 years. It looks like Mrazek will have his place with the Hurricanes for another season but his performance with the Red Wings and the Flyers unquestionably earn him a number four spot on this list.

3. Vesa Toskala

Vesa Toskala spent the majority of his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs during his career in the NHL. Although he has spent most of his career in the AHL, Toskala was still unable to produce any significant stats in the NHL.

He has also played a significant amount of games with the Maple Leafs but was not able to lead the team to the playoffs or was able to possess a high save percentage. This type of goal-tending is what gives him a number 3 spot on this list.

The Maple Leafs surely took a chance when they brought Toskala on board and had him start for the majority of games. During the 2009-2010 NHL season, Toskala maintained a save percentage of .874%.

This is definitely a save percentage that is unacceptable and is certainly nothing to note. Toskala was unable to achieve any real significant statistics during his tenure in the National Hockey League. He never led a team to the playoffs, he never stayed and played with a team for a long time, and he also has never won a Stanley Cup.

Although Toskala had impressive statistics when he played in Sweden, he was unable to perform significantly well in the NHL. This type of performance did not set him up with a team that he could grow with or be a future star on.

Earlier in his career, Toskala was a better goalie and had higher save percentages for the number of games that he played. However, playing with the Maple Leafs and Flames, he played a lot of games and was not able to hold a high save percentage. This overall performance has granted Toskala with being one of the worst goaltenders since 2010.

1. Scott Darling

Scott Darling is a goaltender that the Carolina Hurricanes put too much hope and faith into. He had amazing success playing for the Chicago Blackhawks but once he went to the Hurricanes, this success was surely taken away. His performance with the Hurricanes has certainly earned him a number one spot on this list.

During his two seasons with the Hurricanes, Darling had awful statistics. His best save percentage was .888% and his worst was .884%. This is unacceptable for any goalie to have, especially in hopes of leading a team to success.

The Hurricanes put a lot of trust in Darling to deliver positive results and this decision made the seasons very unsuccessful. Not only were the Hurricanes already struggling to make the playoffs as a team but having Darling for both seasons, contributed to them finishing towards the bottom of the league.

It seems a little crazy for Darling to have had such good seasons with the Blackhawks but then have career low seasons with the Hurricanes. He played so well with the Blackhawks and even helped them make it to the playoffs.

Once he was selected to be the starting goaltender for the Hurricanes, he accumulated atrocious statistics and did not help the Canes come anywhere close to playoff hopes. Darling has also struggled to maintain a spot in the NHL as he is not currently on any NHL roster.

His performance has not only minimized his ability to play in the NHL but it has also given him the number one spot for the worst starting goalies since 2010.