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NHL: Ranking the starting goaltenders of the Atlantic Division

By Brendan Azoff

TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 12: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the NHL game between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning on December 12, 2019 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 12: Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the NHL game between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning on December 12, 2019 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Jonathan Bernier #45 of the Detroit Red Wings (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

The NHL’s Atlantic Division features four former Vezina Trophy winners.

The Atlantic Division is filled with established NHL goaltenders and several younger netminders looking to find a home. But at the top, you arguably have four of the top ten goaltenders on the league, making this list extremely subjective.

As a reminder, these are the statistics I will be using to help determine the rankings for the Atlantic Division.

  • GAA (Goals Against Average)
  • SV% (Save Percentage)
  • QS% (Quality Start Percentage)
  • GSAA (Goals Saved Above Average)
  • RBS (Really Bad Starts)
  • HDSV% (High Danger Save Percentage)
  • HDGAA (High Danger Goals Against Average)

Last season’s President Trophy winner (Boston Bruins) and Stanley Cup champions (Tampa Bay Lightning) both hailed in the Atlantic. In an extremely top-heavy division, the standings are a fair indication of the goaltenders each team possesses. Without further delay, here are my rankings for the starting goaltenders of the Atlantic.

. Jonathan Bernier. 8. player. 72. .

Considering how poor the Detroit Red Wings were in 2019-20, Jonathan Bernier held up fairly well in goal. I was close to putting him one spot higher, but with Detroit likely to be poor defensively again and for his role to be split with newly signed Thomas Greiss, Bernier comes in the eighth spot.

He finished last season with a 15-22-3 record, a 2.95 GAA, and a .907 SV%. His QS% (41.5) and GSAA (-3.66) were low, but considering what was going on in front of him, Bernier is hardly accountable. The 32-year old miraculously only had five RBS for Detroit, a category that should be less in 2021 due to some offseason improvements to the roster.

Bernier was just ok in high danger situation, finishing last season with a 1.74 HDGAA and a .808 HDSV%. It was a season to forget for both the Red Wings and Bernier, but there were glimpses of brilliance that the netminder will like to carry over to next year.

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