From Stanley Cup champions to Vezina Trophy winners to All-Stars, the NHL has many great goalies. NHL Network experts chose the Top 10 goalies in the League as part of the NHL Top Players series airing every weekend throughout the summer. Did your goalie make the list? Is another goalie too high or too low? Have your say in the comment field below or by using the hashtag #NHLTopPlayers on social media.
Here is the list:
Top 10 NHL Goaltenders
NHL Network reveals best of current crop
By
NHL.com @NHLdotcom
1. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Price won the Vezina Trophy in 2014-15, leading the NHL in wins (44), goals-against average (1.96) and save percentage (.933), and finished tied for second in shutouts (nine). He won the Hart Trophy as League MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the most outstanding player, as voted by the players. Price and Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks shared the Jennings Trophy, given to the goaltender(s) who play at least 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals. He followed up that season by going 10-2-0 with a 2.06 GAA and .934 in 12 games in 2015-16, and finished third in Vezina voting last season (37-20-5, 2.23 GAA, .923 save percentage, three shutouts).
"When you look at the Mount Rushmore of the greats that have played in Montreal, Carey Price has earned his place among them and he continues to ascend among the greats in Habs history," NHL Network analysist and former NHL goalie Kevin Weekes said.
Price, 29, has been one of the most consistent goalies and has made at least 60 starts in four of the past six full NHL seasons. He has a career GAA of 2.40 and save percentage of .920, and his 210 wins since the 2010-11 season rank fourth.
2. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals
Holtby has won at least 41 games in each of the past three seasons and is 131-42-23 in that stretch. He won the Vezina Trophy in 2015-16, tying a League record with 48 wins (48-9-7) with a 2.20 GAA, .922 save percentage and three shutouts. He followed that up by going 42-13-6 with a 2.07 GAA, .925 Save percentage and a League-high nine shutouts and finished second in Vezina Trophy voting.
"He handles the puck, he's technical, but he's not too locked up when he's at his best," Weekes said. "He can still react to pucks, catch pucks with his glove, active blocker [and] really quick feet. …There are just no holes, he doesn't have any real weaknesses to his game."
The 27-year-old made the NHL First All-Star team in 2015-16 and the Second All-Star Team last season. He has made at least 63 starts in each of the past three seasons, including 72 in 2014-15. Holtby leads the League in wins (177) since the 2012-13 season.
3. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
Bobrovsky put up the best numbers of his career last season, going 41-17-5 with a 2.06 GAA and .931 save percentage, which each led the League, and seven shutouts, to win the Vezina Trophy for the second time (2012-13). He also finished third in Hart Trophy voting, one season after injuries limited him to 37 games in 2015-16. Prior to that, he had won at least 30 games in the previous two seasons.
"He doesn't have very many holes in his game, because what could be open nets on some other guys, he's able to just take them away," Weekes said. "Two Vezina Trophies for him. Now, the biggest thing that he and the Blue Jackets are in pursuit of, of course, is the Stanley Cup."
Bobrovsky, 28, was a big reason the Blue Jackets won a franchise-best 16 straight games from Nov. 29-Jan 3, going 14-0-0 in that span. He also was 10-0-2 with four shutouts, including three straight (March 2-7) from Feb. 26-March 28.
4. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins
In two NHL seasons, Murray has already become an elite goalie. He has won the Stanley Cup twice, the only player in NHL history to do that as a rookie. He went 32-10-4 with a 2.41 GAA, .923 save percentage and four shutouts last season, and for NHL his career is 41-12-5 with a 2.32 GAA, .925 save percentage and five shutouts in 62 regular-season games.
"He doesn't chase the game around," Weekes said. "He's very calm in the net. He'll make you make the first mistake and make the first move, typically before he will. Now we've just got to see it for the whole year now that the net is his. There's no Marc-Andre Fleury behind you. We know this guy has the pedigree."
After becoming the fourth rookie to win 15 games in a single Stanley Cup Playoff season, going 15-6-0 with a 2.08 GAA and .923 save percentage in the 2016 postseason, Murray did even better last season, going 7-3-0 with a 1.70 GAA, .937 save percentage and three shutouts in the playoffs. The 23-year-old finished fourth last season in voting for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the rookie of the year.
5. Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild
Dubnyk has turned his career around since being traded to the Wild from the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 15, 2015. In 39 games with Minnesota that season, he was 27-9-2 with a 1.78 GAA, .936 save percentage and five shutouts, finishing third in Vezina voting and being named to the NHL First All-Star team. Dubnyk followed that up in 2015-16 by going 32-26-6 with a 2.33 GAA, .918 save percentage and five shutouts.
"Since he's come to Minnesota, he's been a great fit for them [and] they've been a great fit for him," Weekes said. "Not too long ago, two and a half years ago, he was down in the American League. To rebuild himself and rebuild his career, I've got to give him tons of credit."
Last season, Dubnyk, 31, went 40-19-5, finishing fourth in the League in wins and setting a career high. He also finished tied for seventh in save percentage (.923) and eighth in GAA (2.25). In 171 games with the Wild, Dubnyk has 99 wins, which rank third in Wild history, a .924 save percentage, 2.17 GAA and 15 shutouts.
6. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
Quick was limited to 17 games last season after injuring his knee in the season opener. However, he performed well, going 8-5-2 with a 2.26 GAA, .917 save percentage and two shutouts. In the past four seasons, he hasn't had a GAA over 2.26 or a save percentage under .915. In 2015-16, Quick led the League in starts (68) and went 40-23-5 to finish third in Vezina voting, the third time in five seasons he finished in the top five.
"The bigger the game, the tighter the spot, the more he's able to get in there," Weekes said. "One of the great U.S.-born goaltenders that will go down in the history of our game, although we've had several."
Quick, 31, won at least 35 games in five of six full NHL seasons prior to last season and has consistently been in the top 10 in wins, goals-against average and save percentage. He won the Jennings Trophy in 2013-14 and has helped the Kings win the Stanley Cup twice (2012, 2014). Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012 as playoff MVP when he went 16-4 with a 1.41 GAA, .946 save percentage and three shutouts.
7. Cam Talbot, Edmonton Oilers
Talbot thrived last season, his second in Edmonton, leading the League in games (73, starting all of them), tying for the lead in wins (42) and tying for third with seven shutouts. He had NHL career highs in starts and wins, and had a .919 save percentage and a 2.39 GAA. He was named the NHLs first star of the week once and third star twice last season, and was 5-0-0 with two shutouts from Oct. 18-28, allowing four goals.
"He's one of those guys that has shown that even with a heavy workload, he still comes to the rink night after night and helps you win." NHL Network analyst E.J. Hradek said.
Talbot, 30, also helped the Oilers to their highest win (47) and point (103) totals since 1986-87, the last time they won a division title. Edmonton qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06 and was one win from the Western Conference Final.
8. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
Lundqvist has arguably been the most consistent goalie in the League in the past decade. He has won at least 30 games in each of the past 11 full NHL seasons and was 31-20-4 with a 2.74 GAA, .910 save percentage and two shutouts last season. Lundqvist, 35, ranks second among active goalies in wins with 405 (Roberto Luongo, 453) and shutouts (61; Luongo has 73). He is a five-time Vezina finalist, winning the award in 2011-12.
"His drive is what has made him a great goaltender and what keeps him on our list," Hradek said. "He is obviously not getting any younger - a 35-year old goaltender now in this league, it starts to get a little bit more difficult - but he finds a way through that desire, through that hard work, through that passion for this game, just to keep stopping pucks."
Lundqvist made the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2005-06, the NHL First All-Star Team in 2012 and the Second All-Star team in 2013. He helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final three times in four seasons from 2012-15, and the Stanley Cup Final in 2014. New York has made the playoffs seven straight seasons with Lundqvist and in 11 of his 12 seasons.
9. Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks
Jones was 35-23-6 with a 2.40 GAA, .912 save percentage and two shutouts last season. He is 72-46-10 with a 2.33 GAA, .915 save percentage and eight shutouts in two seasons with the Sharks. During the 2015-16 season, he finished third in the NHL in wins (37) and tied for seventh in GAA (2.27). He was 22-7-3 with a 2.20 GAA and .925 save percentage on the road, helping the Sharks to an NHL-high 28 road wins, the most in their history.
"He's very quiet in the net," Hradek said. "When he's at his best, he's not running outside the crease, he's not chasing pucks. He's in that blue paint, very structured. It's hard when you compare anybody to Carey Price, but I can see the comparison because of the fact of the size and the quietness of his game."
Jones, 27, also helped the Sharks reach their first Stanley Cup Final that season, going 14-10 in the playoffs with a 2.16 GAA, a .923 save percentage and three shutouts. He won the Stanley Cup as Quick's backup with the Kings in 2013-14.
10. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators
Rinne, who has spent all 11 of his NHL seasons with the Predators, helped them advance to their first Cup Final last season. He was 14-8 with a 1.96 GAA, .930 save percentage and two shutouts in the playoffs, which included allowing three goals in a four-game sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference First Round.
"When that glove is cooking, typically, he's on his game," Weekes said. "I can tell you it is frustrating to shooters. He has an active hand and it's almost like a vacuum. When it's on, it just sucks in pucks at an alarming rate."
He was 31-19-9 with a 2.42 GAA, .918 save percentage and three shutouts last season, and his 106 wins in the past three seasons rank third in the League behind Holtby (131) and Dubnyk (108). The 34-year-old is a three-time Vezina finalist, finishing in second in 2011 and 2015 and third in 2012. Rinne made the NHL Second All-Star Team in 2010-11 and has helped the Predators qualify for the playoffs in six of the past eight seasons.
