Here we are at this precarious point of the offseason. Far enough away to not really get excited about things, and yet close enough to start projecting and predicting things pertaining to the coming season.
Of course it’s really fair to do this at any point in the offseason. We have the stats, we know the teams, we know the divisions. Here’s something though that probably most Kings fans aren’t ready for when it comes to most of these rankings and/or lists: In this particular one we are at the top. I am of course talking about the rankings of the top 30 starting goaltenders in the league released on the Yahoo! Sports NHL page by Sam McCaig.
Here is the full article:
Top 30 starting goaltenders
However, I’ll spare you the extra reading and just layout the list here sans the editorial input and reasoning. Feel free to check his reasoning out though.
1. Jonathan Quick (LAK)
2. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
3. Pekka Rinne (NSH)
4. Tuukka Rask (BOS)
5. Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ)
6. Mike Smith (PHX)
7. Carey Price (MTL)
8. Antii Niemi (SJS)
9. Roberto Luongo (VAN)
10. Cam Ward (CAR)
11. Corey Crawford (CHI)
12. Craig Anderson (OTT)
13. Corey Schneider (NJD)
14. Jonas Hiller (ANA)
15. Kari Lehtonen (DAL)
16. Ryan Miller (BUF)
17. Jimmy Howard (DET)
18. Niklas Backstrom (MIN)
19. Brian Elliot (STL)
20. Braden Holtby (WAS)
21. James Reimer (TOR)
22. Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT)
23. Ondrej Pavelec (WIN)
24. Devan Dubnyk (EDM)
25. Evgeni Nabokov (NYI)
26. Semyon Varlamov (COL)
27. Jakob Markstrom (FLA)
28. Steve Mason (PHI)
29. Ben Bishop (TBL)
30. Karri Ramo (CGY)
Now, non-King related, I agree with these rankings
for the most part. To get a few of my own personal opinions out of the way; Mike Smith is ranked far too high, Jimmy Howard, Dubnyk and Varlamov are seriously underrated, and there are serious doubts around Markstrom, Reimer and Schneider actually being starters. Okay, whew, but with that out of the way how about that No. 1 ranking? It’s a nice surprise to see a little recognition being tossed the way of the Kings and I’m almost certain it rustled a few jimmies on the East Coast. Particularly since Jonathan Quick really didn’t have that good of a year last year. Any Ranger fan out there will promote Lundvist with statistics until your ears bleed, and they do have a point. Lundqvist has had remarkable numbers the past four seasons in the NHL, and despite not winning the ultimate prize he’s had solid playoff numbers also. Let's be honest, finishing the last four seasons wih a save-percentage above at least .920 is just ridiculous. He’s a Vezina winner, and a would be Conn Smythe winner if his team were to ever get into the Finals.
The thing with Quick though, when you look at him you can still just see the oozing potential for him to have a truly dominant year. He started slow last season but came on strong at the end of the season and utterly stood on his head in the playoffs. He’s only 27 and has a lot less experience then Lundvist, 225 regular season games less to be exact. This is not to say anything against Lundqvist who I think is one of the world’s greatest, but at 31 you have to begin to wonder if one of those dominating style seasons is less likely. He had his best seasons so far between, you guessed it, age 27 and 31. However, I know there are those out there like Brodeur, Hasek, Roy and Belfour who played some of their best seasons after 30. Let’s put it this way, Lundqvist’s stock to me has hit a bit of a ceiling as it currently stands, where as Quick, 27, is just entering his prime. It would, in my opinion, be the safer pick to say that Quick will be the best goaltender in the NHL next season over Lundqvist. Now maybe it won’t be next year, but in general, I speculate that if you asked most hockey pundits these days who will cumulatively have the better seasons over the next three years, Quick would be the answer probably six or seven times out of ten. Quick is entering his prime on a premier team with loads of confidence.
It’s also that potential to steal, nay, dominate games, play big at the big moments, and rarely show a weakness (eeeerrrr puckhandling) that makes the Quick bet the safe bet. When you look at career numbers so far, Quick with almost half the games played is sporting a save-percentage just .05 less than Lundqvist. (.915, .920 respectively). So do I agree with Quick being the choice as No. 1 starting goaltender in the league? In theory, absolutely I do, but it’s a photo finish. You know, either way you slice it, for both Quick and Lundvist, being second to the other guy is still quite the compliment. We’re talking THE two best goaltenders in the world. So before we get too dicey and heated with our east coast friends over the whole Quick V. Lundqvist debate, we should both thank our lucky stars as fans of said teams that we are even in such a position. Or if you want, just thank Glen Sather and Dave Taylor.
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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