After the 2018-19 season, New York Islanders General Manager Lou Lamoriello turned some heads when he decided to let Robin Lehner, who had been the team’s best player that season and was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy, leave via Free Agency and instead signed Semyon Varlamov to a four-year, $20 million contract.
The deal to Varlamov itself wasn’t a bad move as the 32-year-old has been a very capable starting goalie in the NHL for some time, but it was nonetheless surprising given that Lehner is three years younger and had posted far better numbers that previous season.
The 2019-20 season was a solid one for Varlamov, who went 19-14-6 with a .914 Save Percentage and a 2.62 Goals Against Average. However, he did cool off as the year went on and struggled with consistency, something that has always been an issue for him.
When he is on top of his game, he is a top 10 goalie in the league but he seems to always go through cold stretches. Thomas Greiss leaving the Islanders will likely mean Varlamov starts a higher percentage of games in 2020-21, as he will have either rookie phenom Ilya Sorokin or veteran Cory Schneider backing him up.
Varlamov will likely have a similar if not slightly better season than 2019-20, as he continues to settle in with his new team after spending the previous eight seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. He plays in a very good goaltending system as Head Coach Barry Trotz preaches defensive play, allowing the Islanders, who don’t have a ton of talent, to find ways to make the postseason and often surprise teams. The style isn’t the most entertaining to watch, but it should help Varlamov remain one of the better starting goalies in the league.
The 2019-20 season was a bit of a rough one for Frederik Andersen, who had his worst season statistically since entering the league in 2013-14, going 29-13-7 but with a .909 Save Percentage and a 2.85 Goals Against Average.
It is hard to blame him, however, as the Toronto Maple Leafs play a very run and gun style, which often leads to many high-end scoring chances against. That, factored in with the Leafs having a suspect blueline, makes it a difficult task for any goaltender to succeed.
The good news going forward for Andersen is that the team was able to improve on the backend this offseason. Free agent signings in T.J. Brodie and Zach Bogosian give the team much more depth in the position, particularly in Brodie who will be relied upon as a top four defenseman. They also have tons of talent up front who are still very young and will continue to improve, which should help for the 2020-21 season.
Another bonus for Andersen is that he will have a reliable backup in Jack Campbell, something the team has really lacked the past two seasons. Having a backup they can trust to win games will allow the 31-year-old Andersen to get more rest than seasons past, which should boost his overall performance.
With a bounce back season he will find himself back in the top 10 of this list.
We’ll be back with the final part of our Goalie Rankings in the coming days so stay tuned!