As the Sochi Olympics was on the horizon at this time last year, there was great concern and consternation across Canada as fans and analysts debated the state of Canadian goaltending. There was a belief that Canada’s goaltenders were not at the level they had been in previous years, and were behind the other big hockey nations heading into the Olympics. Worse still, a five-year gold medal drought at the World Junior level was being blamed primarily on the failings of Canadian goaltenders in that tournament.
Over the last twelve months though, we have seen a resurgence amongst Canadian goaltenders. And it hasn’t been just a few names, but has been much more widespread than that. In many ways it should alleviate fears that the country is no longer producing high quality netminders.
The argument can be made that there is no goaltender who has done more in the last twelve months than Carey Price. He was brilliant in the Olympics with back-to-back shutouts in the semi-finals and gold medal game, led the Montreal Canadiens to the third round of the playoffs before being knocked out with an injury, and is getting both Vezina and Hart Trophy consideration this season. His .929 save percentage this year is the best of his career to date, and he has faced the most shots of any of the league leaders in save percentage. There is no doubt that Price is amongst the elite goaltenders in the game.
Fellow Olympian and NHL all-star Roberto Luongo is also playing well this year. A trade from Vancouver to Florida has rejuvenated the career of the 35-year-old goaltender. Luongo is a major reason why the Panthers are pushing towards a playoff spot. His .923 save percentage provides the team with stable netminding, while his veteran presence is invaluable to a team full of youngsters.
Marc-Andre Fleury is also playing at an extremely high level. His six shutouts leads the NHL and his .921 save percentage is his best since the 2007-08 season. Fleury was also an NHL all-star, and his play is a big reason why the Penguins are still fighting for first place in the Eastern Conference, despite the numerous injuries they have suffered this year.
When you add in Corey Crawford (.921 save percentage) and Brian Elliott (.930 save percentage), five out of six goalies who played in Sunday’s NHL All-Star game are Canadian.
It’s not just the veterans who have played well over the last year. There has been some concern about the future of Canadian goaltending, but many of those questions are being answered as well.
In Washington, Braden Holtby is delivering on the promise that allowed the Capitals to trade away both Semyon Varlamov and Michael Neuvirth in recent years. The 25-year-old seems to enjoy playing behind a Barry Trotz-coached club that brings a little more defensive structure, and has put up a 2.26 goals against average and .921 save percentage so far this season.
In Toronto, Jonathan Bernier was one of the lone defensive bright spots under previous coach Randy Carlyle. Despite giving up 40 shots on a regular basis last season, Bernier’s .922 save percentage had the Leafs in the thick of the playoff hunt until their collapse. It should come as no surprise that collapse began when Bernier was injured in a game on March 13th, 2014, against the Los Angeles Kings. Still, Bernier came back and the Leafs were just one point out of a playoff spot when he was injured again on April 4, 2014. We all know how the season ended without him.
The Winnipeg Jets are one of the surprise teams in the NHL, and 24-year-old rookie Michael Hutchinson is a major reason why. He has stolen the Jets starting goaltending job from Ondrej Pavelec, and has put up a 14-4-2 record with a 1.90 GAA and .935 save percentage so far this year. Even more impressive, he is doing this behind a defence that has been decimated by injuries, as the Jets were without their top four defencemen at one point this season. Hutchinson had a .938 save percentage in last year’s AHL playoffs, carrying the St. John’s Ice Caps all the way to the Calder Cup Final.
Even younger, there are some high quality prospects in the pipeline.
Zach Fucale and Eric Comrie were both strong in helping Canada end the aforementioned gold medal drought at the World Junior Hockey Championships. After a QMJHL trade that went down during the tournament, Fucale is now a member of the Quebec Remparts and is zeroing in on the QMJHL career wins record. Meanwhile, Eric Comrie has a .921 save percentage for Tri-City in the WHL. They are joined in the junior ranks by Tristan Jarry who led the Edmonton Oil Kings to a Memorial Cup title last season.
With the way these goaltenders are playing, they are going to make the selections for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and any future Olympics (should NHLers participate) a lot harder for the Hockey Canada brass. While fans and media will always debate who is the best man for the job when these tournaments come around, the next round of discussion shouldn’t have the same level of concern about Canada’s goaltending and its future as the last round of debate had.
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