This article is part of our The Goalie Report series.
In this week's column, we'll take a look at the goalie depth charts for the upcoming tournament that will play out over the next two weeks while the NHL schedule is paused.
Canada
It seems odd to suggest Canada may be considered weak in goalie depth, but that is only relative to the quality of previous editions of Team Canada, which have traditionally featured the best goalies in the world. For the first time in hockey history, the rest of the national teams in this event can reasonably proclaim they have a comparable quality of talent in goal.
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Binnington is the most experienced netminder on the Canadian roster, and that seems to be the main reason for him to get the nod as the starter in Game 1. He has been steady, if not spectacular, this season for a St Louis club fading from playoff contention. His resume is dotted, not only with a Stanley Cup triumph, but also with international experience, dating back to his time in junior hockey. This stage won't be too big for him. The other factor to consider is that the rest of the roster is at least equal to the other teams in talent. He'll be well insulated.
Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights
Hill should be second in line if Binnington falters. He is also a former Stanley Cup Champion. This season, Hill has been locked in as the Golden Knights' top goalie and has
In this week's column, we'll take a look at the goalie depth charts for the upcoming tournament that will play out over the next two weeks while the NHL schedule is paused.
Canada
It seems odd to suggest Canada may be considered weak in goalie depth, but that is only relative to the quality of previous editions of Team Canada, which have traditionally featured the best goalies in the world. For the first time in hockey history, the rest of the national teams in this event can reasonably proclaim they have a comparable quality of talent in goal.
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
Binnington is the most experienced netminder on the Canadian roster, and that seems to be the main reason for him to get the nod as the starter in Game 1. He has been steady, if not spectacular, this season for a St Louis club fading from playoff contention. His resume is dotted, not only with a Stanley Cup triumph, but also with international experience, dating back to his time in junior hockey. This stage won't be too big for him. The other factor to consider is that the rest of the roster is at least equal to the other teams in talent. He'll be well insulated.
Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights
Hill should be second in line if Binnington falters. He is also a former Stanley Cup Champion. This season, Hill has been locked in as the Golden Knights' top goalie and has the lowest GAA (2.64) of the three netminders on this roster. He's enjoying his best season in terms of win percentage, with 20 triumphs out of 34 starts. On the downside, he's allowed four goals against in three of his last five starts.
Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens
Montembeault is the third goalie option for Canada. His season started well and peaked with Montreal's hot stretch in late December and through early January, where he was the toast of the town. However, he's struggled lately, posting a 1-5 mark in his last six starts. Correspondingly, the Canadiens' playoff hopes have dimmed considerably and an air of pessimism has taken hold.
Lately, in some quarters, there have been calls to replace him with the likes of Logan Thompson and Mackenzie Blackwood, who both outplayed him throughout this season. That roller coaster is symptomatic of hockey fandom in Montreal.
USA
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
If you've followed the NHL or read this column during the current campaign, you'll not be surprised to see Hellebuyck is the top goalie for any team in this event. Despite the solid depth here, he's the top option for Team US based on an MVP-quality season to date for the Winnipeg Jets, who sit atop the overall NHL standings. He doesn't have much international experience and there are zero Stanley Cups on his resume, so success here would be a personal high-water mark.
Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars
Oettinger might be the second-best goalie in this tournament and may not play at all if Hellebuyck performs as expected. He has been the Dallas Stars' workhorse in goal for the past four years and is enjoying another solid season for one of the league's top teams. His career record reflects one of the highest win percentages (.676) in league history and he's on the verge of a fourth straight 30-win campaign.
Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins
Swayman is in his fifth NHL season and, for the first time, has been entrusted with the top role in Boston. It's been a tumultuous season with a series of ups and downs for the perennial contending team. The struggle is best captured by the highest GAA of Swayman's career (2.98 over 40 appearances).
Finland
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
Saros has long been one of the NHL's busiest goalies, and that's likely the reason to expect him to be the presumptive starter for Team Finland in this tournament. He's also been among the top winning goalies over the last three seasons for a very good Nashville team. This year, his record, and that of the Preds, has taken a step backward, but he's still the most sensible pick to start the majority of games for his country based on the significant edge he has in experience.
Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver Canucks
Lankinen may have elevated himself to the second-best option here, based on his play this season. He was thrust into the top role in Vancouver because of an injury that continued to sideline Thatcher Demko, dating back to last season. Lankinen has responded with a solid breakout-level effort in rising to this challenge. He has a sparkling 2.53 GAA in 34 appearances.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres
Luukkonen's profile suffers in comparison to the other goalies because he toils for one of the few teams (Buffalo Sabres) who are already out of realistic playoff hopes. His 3.02 GAA and sub-.900 save percentage doesn't inspire much excitement compared to better options. It also doesn't help any of Finland's goalies when we note that their defense looks like the weakest contingent, by far, in this event, missing arguably top blueliner Miro Heiskanen, who is nursing a knee injury.
Sweden
Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild
The choice of a starting goalie for the Swedish entry in this event is not as clear as the other teams. Gustavsson appears to have a slight advantage when comparing his current season against the other options. The combination of his effort to date and his good health would appear to give him a notable edge. His performance and ability to take on a large workload have been key factors in elevating the Minnesota Wild into third place in a competitive Central Division.
Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators
Ullmark signed with the Ottawa Senators to fill a key need for their roster. The Sens haven't had a goalie of this quality for several years and his presence was expected to be a big part of changing fortunes here. He's played well, but he's also dealt with injuries this season, so that's been a bit of a concern, limiting him to only 25 starts. That's the lowest total of any of his peers at this event. He comes in on a nice hot streak, with three wins in his last four appearances.
Samuel Ersson, Philadelphia Flyers
Ersson has to rate as the surprise component on this depth chart. His appearance was necessitated by an injury to Jacob Markstrom of the New Jersey Devils. He has put together a strong campaign despite playing behind a suspect Philadelphia defensive structure. He deserves plenty of credit for an impressive 2.81 goals against average for a team that's second-last in the Eastern Conference. He has four wins and allowed a total of 10 goals in his last six starts.
This should be a compelling tournament, but if anyone other than Binnington, Hellebuyck, Saros or Gustavsson makes an appearance, that would most likely be because some adversity or injury has occurred.
