Nothing gives an NHL coach and general manager more peace of mind than consistent quality goaltending. Lou Lamoriello was the New Jersey Devils’ GM for 27 years and Marty Brodeur was a starter for 20 of those seasons. We can guess, with confidence, that Lamoriello didn’t spend much time worrying about his goaltending during Brodeur’s reign.
Now with a tandem of Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin, Lamoriello is also probably not worrying much today about his New York Islanders goaltending.
But there are coaches and GMs who have to wonder what their goaltending will accomplish in 2021-22. Here is my list of the Hot Seat goalies. They either have something to prove or are facing a higher level of pressure than they have faced before:
Darcy Kuemper, Colorado Avalanche: For those who still believe it isn’t a big deal that Philipp Grubauer jumped to the Seattle Kraken, we point out that he owned a 1.95 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and seven shutouts. He was a Vezina Finalist. Kuemper, 31, has a career .917 save percentage and is known for keeping the Coyotes competitive over the past few seasons, even on nights when they should have been. Here is the issue: The Avalanche are the consensus pick to win the Stanley Cup this season. Kuemper never faced that level of expectations in Arizona.
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins: Jarry didn’t play well in the playoffs, but the Penguins decided not to make a goalie move. Sidney Crosby has an injury that could cause him to miss a game or two at the start of the season. Evgeni Malkin is out two months. The Metropolitan Division will again be highly competitive. The Penguins seem vulnerable to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006. What could possibly go wrong?
Robin Lehner, Vegas Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury is gone. The net belongs exclusively to Lehner. He’s 16-4 in his career as a Vegas netminder. He has shown he can play at a high level. But he will be under expanded scrutiny this season because he’s now the guy and the Golden Knights are still a top contender. Can he carry the load? His recent decision to call out NHL teams for the way they deal with medical issues has earned him even more attention. Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins: Fans always complained about Tuukka Rask, but the truth is he served them well for eight seasons. He owns 57 playoff wins. Ullmark has never played in an NHL postseason game. Plus, Rask hasn’t gone away. He is an unrestricted free agent and will recover from hip surgery in late December. Now with a four-year deal paying $5 million per season, Ullmark will face heavy pressure for the first time in his career. Do we expect Rask to be the Boston goalie after New Year’s? Freddie Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes are a Stanley Cup contender and they let one goalie Petr Mrazek leave through free agency and traded away Alex Nedeljkovich who was a rookie of the year finalist. They signed Andersen coming off his worst NHL season. If Andersen falters, the Carolina fans may blame Hurricanes management more than Andersen.
Mike Smith, Edmonton Oilers: Nobody paid much attention to the fact that Smith played exceptionally well (21-6-2 record, .923 save percentage, 2.31 goals-against average) last season. The problem is the hockey world expected the Oilers to make a goalie move in the offseason. They didn’t make one. Smith turns 40 in March. The Oilers have Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. They need to make a playoff run. If Smith falters at all, fans are going to demand the Oilers acquire a goalie before the trade deadline. Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers: Is Hart still one of NHL’s top young goalies or is he the inconsistent and leaky goalie we saw last season? Seemed like a confidence issue. But we will see this season. He has something to prove. Jack Campbell and Mrazek, Toronto Maple Leafs: Maybe they are the answer. Maybe they are not. Campbell showed on multiple occasions that he has the right stuff and the Hurricanes were pleased with Mrazek most of the time. But it’s fair to say we aren’t quite sure where the Maple Leafs goaltending ranks among the true contenders. We think it’s good, but...