Ranking the Top 10 Goalies in the NHL in 2022
After Shesterkin's Vezina and Vasilevskiy's continued dominance, we ranked the top goalies heading into the 2022-23 season
Using analytics, resumes, and projected trajectories, this list is meant to rank the top-10 goalies in the NHL heading into the 2022-23 season. There is a slight bias towards goalies who are expected to play on playoff teams and there is a strong bias towards the latter half of the most recent 2021-22 season.
10. Tristan Jarry
After coming off a career season for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tristan Jarry hasn’t been given his rightful flowers. Top 10 in Save Percentage, Goals Against Average, Wins, Shutouts, GSAA, and Short handed Save percentage.
Maybe the biggest fault for Jarry is in his, albeit small sample size, poor playoff numbers with a career average .891 SV% and a 3.00 GAA in 8 games. A good playoff performance against the Rangers last playoffs would have been the making of a coming out story for the league for Jarry, unfortunately, he missed all but the last game due to injury.
Jarry has the potential to be a top-5 goalie next year if he builds off his regular season as he is the 4th youngest guy on this list but where he stands now is one of the most solid goaltenders in hockey without any major areas of dominance.
9. Darcy Kuemper
Darcy Kuemper is the only goalie on this list to change teams this offseason. Even after winning the cup with Colorado, Kuemper’s stock as a goalie has fallen around the league, signing a $5.25m contract with the Capitals, notably less than Grubauer’s $5.9m, a goalie with a less impressive resume who left the Avalanche the year prior. Kuemper did have an impressive regular season with a .921 SV%, (5th in the league) and a .928 5v5 save percentage, (5th in the league) in front of one of the best defensive teams in the league in Colorado.
The main gripe with Kuemper is, like Jarry, his poor playoff run in 2021-22 which inspired the concept that it’s possible to win a cup without outstanding goaltending in todays NHL. The last time a goalie had numbers below Kuemper’s .902 SV% and won a cup was Grant Fuhr on the 1988 Edmonton Oilers with Wayne Gretzky putting up 43 points en route to his 4th championship.
Heading into the 2022-23 season, Kuemper is now a member of the Washington Capitals, a post-2000s strong goaltending team which has had it’s recent lull in goaltender stars. He should still be a strong goalie but is more or less a wildcard considering he is 32 years old and he is playing in front of a worse defensive squad.
8. Jake Oettinger
Jake Oettinger the youngest goalie on this list by a decent margin and up until this year, was still seen as a developing prospect in the Stars system - he even started in the AHL playing 10 games there this past season. Those days for Oettinger though are over; next season being lined up to be his proper breakout as one of the elite goaltenders in the league. Showing off flashes of his potential in the regular season and putting it completely on display in the playoffs.
3rd in HDSV%
2nd fewest HD Goals Against
Best all-time playoff performance in 7 games (.954 SV% and 1.81 GAA)
Oettinger still is unproven as a star over a large sample size but his recent success shows his ceiling for next season. Dallas has a lot of faith that he is the future in net and so far every challenge he's faced has given them all the reason to believe that he is Ben Bishop’s successor.
7. Frederik Andersen
Frederik Andersen has had some struggles over the past few seasons. As a Toronto Maple Leaf, Andersen developed into a high-end starting goaltender originally but saw some strong regression near the end of his time in Canada, however, a fresh start seemed like the remedy for his success. Andersen with the Hurricanes would start his stint in Carolina off by playing the best all-around season of his career.
2nd in GAA
T-3rd in SV%
6th in GSAA
At 5v5 or on the penalty kill, Andersen’s numbers stay among the elite and near the top. The main concerns for Andersen are age, (he starts the season at 33 years old) and injuries, especially after missing the entire 2021-22 playoff run for the Hurricanes. He just had a career year in his early 30s, something that isn’t entirely rare for goaltenders, but banking on him replicating it to that calibre might be a tough call.
6. Thatcher Demko
Thatcher Demko is a workhorse. Entering his 3rd season as a starter for the Vancouver Canucks, the team often rides or dies on Demko’s success. The Canucks reliance on Demko has affected his numbers, however, especially on the penalty kill which was a general Canucks struggle for much of the season. Demko's stats at 5v5 are a lot more reflective of his potential as a star in this league.
2nd in GSAA at 5v5
3rd in SV% at 5v5
5th in HDGSAA at 5v5
8th in HDSV% at 5v5
Demko has yet to fully put in a Vezina-caliber season but his recent play sets expectations high for what he can do in this coming season. Even if the team around him is isn’t strong enough defensively to cover areas where goalies ahead of him on this list can, there is reason to believe Demko could be a world class starter next season. As long as Demko is on his game, he gives Vancouver a chance to win.
5. Jacob Markstrom
From the current Canuck’s goalie in Demko to Demko’s mentor - Jacob Markstrom struggled at the start of his tenure with the flames putting up the worst numbers of his career after establishing himself as a starter in Vancouver. Since his poor 1st season in Calgary, he has fully bounced back with the strongest season of his career.
1st in Shutouts (9)
2nd in Vezina voting
3rd in SV%
3rd in GSAA
Markstrom's play this last season has given the Flames the consistency in the net they've been looking for since the likes of Miikka Kiprusoff left town. While not the youngest goalie in the league, Markstrom’s play reflects a goalie in his prime and not one who is leaving it.
4. Juuse Saros
Juuse Saros has been one of the most consistent net-minders since joining the league. Being one of the key reasons for Nashville's overachievement the past few seasons, Saros closed out one of his strongest campaigns in one of the most tiring situations for a goalie.
1st in Games Played (67)
2nd in Shots against
3rd in Vezina voting
5th in GSAA
6th in SV% at 5v5
Saros' consistency in what is the most games from a goalie in the last 5 seasons at 67, arguably the most valuable player on a team with a player who just finished 2nd in Norris voting, Roman Josi. Nashville in the regular season without Saros went 7-5-4 and in the playoffs, while he was injured were swept by the cup winning Colorado Avalanche meaning their combined record on the year was 7-9-4 without Saros, a 74 point pace, worse than the 2021-22 Buffalo Sabres.
3. Ilya Sorokin
Arguably the most underrated goaltender in hockey, Ilya Sorokin finished 6th in Vezina trophy voting despite finishing
1st in 5v5 save percentage
1st in 5v5 high danger save percentage
2nd in save percentage overall (behind Shesterkin)
2nd in GSAA
2nd in Shutouts (7)
all in front of an Islanders team that never managed to gain any traction and ultimately didn’t make the playoffs. If the defensive core didn’t face constant injuries with Pulock and Mayfield missing a combined 47 games, then the 84-point team could have had a fighting chance making the playoffs and growing the reputation of Sorokin.
Entering 2022-23, Sorokin is expected to maintain the outstanding and under-appreciated level of performance that has replicated the recent string of goaltender success in New York - the top calibre. If Romanov and a healthy team can give Sorokin a could breaks, he could rise even further on this list.
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Andrei Vasilevskiy is in the midst of 5 years of dominance at the NHL level for the Tampa Bay Lightning and is still only 28-years old. Before finishing 5th in Vezina voting this most recent season, he had 4 straight top-3 finishes in the Vezina race despite only winning it once. When you extend the sample to the playoffs, his 48 wins in a 3-year span is 1st in NHL history and is an unbeatable record - in the tune of records, here are all the playoff records he holds in the last 3 years
1st in Save percentage
1st in Wins
1st in Goals against average
1st in Games played
1st in Goals saved above expected
Next season, Vasilevskiy is going to be playing for a team that, while losing a couple pieces ahead of him, is still contending for the cup. There’s a good argument to be made that the regular season stats of the last couple seasons are moreso Vasilevskiy loafing before turning it on the in the playoffs. Either way, it’s impossible to say he isn’t a top-2 goalie in the league with how easily he becomes a world-class goaltender when the time is needed.
1. Igor Shesterkin
Igor is the GO22 (Greatest of 2022). After slowing down to end the year, Shesterkin still had a .935 save percentage, 3rd in NHL history among starting goalies. The 26-year old goaltender not only just came off 96.25% unanimous vezina win, but among goalies in 2021-22, he was 1st in
GSAA (The difference between Igor and 2nd place is the same as 2nd place and 11th place)
SV% (The difference between Igor and 2nd place is the same as 2nd place and 12th place)
GAA
HDSV%
HDGSAA (High Danger Goals Saved Above Average)
Entering 2022-23, there isn’t any reason to expect Shesterkin to not perform up to this calibre again except for just the law of expecting greatness to regress. Igor holds all the chips and is the clear favourite for best goalie in hockey.