With more than $1.2 billion in salary committed on the opening day of free agency, July 1 was somewhat of a blur this year.
The same can be said for the NHL’s goalie carousel, which was whirled into hyper-speed thanks to two blockbuster trades before the Stanley Cup Final even concluded. It maintained that momentum through free agency, as 21 different goalies signed deals on Monday.
Several contending teams look a lot different in the crease than they did when the 2023-24 season concluded. Some dramatically improved their netminding, while some are still searching for answers.
We are going to analyze this year’s goalie carousel by breaking the teams down into four categories: Those who nailed it, those who filled a need with the potential for more, those who safely filled a need, and those who are left with questions as of today.
Nailed it
Ottawa Senators
After the way Joonas Korpisalo struggled in the first season of the five-year, $20 million contract he signed with the Senators last offseason, the future was looking pretty bleak for Ottawa in the crease.
Senators GM Steve Staios found a way to not only get out from under the remainder of that deal, but upgrade the position in a massive way. He traded Korpisalo, forward Mark Kastelic and the 25th overall pick in the draft to Boston for 2023 Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark.
Considering how well Ullmark has played over the last two seasons, the return on the trade was more than reasonable. The 30-year-old Swedish netminder has stopped 59.83 goals above expected during that span, second in the league behind Connor Hellebuyck (72.97 GSAx). After finishing with the second-worst team save percentage in the NHL in 2023-24 (.884) the Senators were in desperate need of a bonafide franchise goalie, and Ullmark gives them that.
Many will point to the fact that Ullmark will have a tougher time playing behind the Senators than he did behind a strong Bruins team, but I wouldn’t be so sure. Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman were brilliant last season, often covering up defensive deficiencies for Boston. The Bruins ranked 23rd in high-danger chances allowed (1,010) while the Senators ranked 14th (950). Ottawa also allowed fewer expected goals last year, but was undone by subpar goaltending.
Plus there’s the fact that Ullmark already has shown he can play behind a less-than-stellar defense. Prior to signing with Boston, he put up an impressive .916 save percentage over his last two seasons in Buffalo, playing behind a defense that ranked 21st in expected goals allowed.
There’s no guarantee that Ullmark will be a perfect fit and maintain his elite level in Ottawa, but this is about as sure of a thing as the Senators could acquire to help a young, talented team take the next step toward playoff contention.
New Jersey Devils
Following the trade deadline in early March, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said he wanted to go “big-game hunting” in net this summer. He was so excited, he didn’t even wait for the season to end, trading for Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom on June 19 – with two games still to be played in the Cup Final.
Adding a proven, high-end goalie such as Markstrom to an ultra-talented squad that drastically underperformed in 2023-24 may be the best way to ensure it doesn’t happen again. The Devils aren’t a great defensive team, but they are certainly better than their 28th-place finish in goals allowed suggests. Of the three goalies who played at least 15 games, none finished with a save percentage above .895. They combined to allow 14.17 goals above expected.
Meanwhile, Markstrom had a career year despite playing behind a struggling Calgary defense. His .905 save percentage doesn’t exactly stand out, but that number is deceiving because of the inordinate amount of high-danger chances Markstrom faced last season. The Flames were mediocre in terms of the volume of shots they gave up (16th with 29.5 per game), but they gave up tons of chances directly in front of the net.
Markstrom had the best save percentage in the NHL on high-danger chances at .857. For context, the league average on those shots is .788. He’s a gigantic goalie at 6-foot-6, 207 pounds, but he has the agility of someone much smaller. That allows him to explode across his crease for highlight-reel stops, and makes him an excellent stylistic fit for the Devils.
Even at 34, Markstrom is in fantastic shape and is feeling healthier than he has in a while. New Jersey is one of the fastest skating teams in the league. With the elite scoring talent the Devils have up front, they’re generally more than happy to trade chances, and now they have the right goalie to steal a couple grade-A looks per night.
Markstrom’s combination of size, skating and play-reading makes him exceptional at stopping rush chances. He uses excellent depth management to be in the right positions, and has the athleticism to make the desperation stops when he’s not.
Jacob Markstrom should give the Devils exactly what they need. (Sam Hodde / USA Today)
Nashville Predators
The Predators were faced with a tough decision — between the elite goalie they already have in Juuse Saros, and the top goalie prospect in the world, who could be elite down the road, in Yaroslav Askarov. It’s why Saros’ name has swirled around trade rumors since last year’s deadline.
Nashville GM Barry Trotz made the decision to re-sign Saros to an eight-year, $61.92 million extension on Monday. That, paired with his aggressive free-agency strategy that brought in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei, proves that Trotz and the Predators are not trying to win now, rather than waiting for a rebuild and Askarov to develop.
Saros has been one of the most consistent goalies in the NHL since he entered the league, posting positive GSAx in eight seasons. Last year was a bit of a down season for him, but his play was far from poor. Now, with more reinforcements up front, Saros and the Predators are set up for an exciting 2024-25.
Nashville did allow steady backup Kevin Lankinen to walk in free agency, but that just opens the door for Askarov to see more NHL action. Plus, Trotz added veteran Scott Wedgewood on a cheap, two-year deal just in case Askarov isn’t quite ready.
Filled a need with the potential for more
Washington Capitals
After a disappointing season with the Capitals, in which he was usurped as the starter by Charlie Lindgren, Darcy Kuemper and the remaining three years of his contract were traded to Los Angeles in a deal that brought back Pierre-Luc Dubois. It was a case of two teams moving on from regrettable contracts with the hope that a change of scenery could be beneficial for both players.
Where Capitals GM Brian MacLellan was really shrewd, though, was in his follow-up move, to acquire Logan Thompson in a trade with the Golden Knights. Thompson played well in three seasons in Vegas, and even represented the team in the All-Star Game in 2023. Just as important, he carries a cap hit of only $766,667, which is below the current league minimum.
That gives Washington two goalies who have proven that they can start in the NHL, with a combined cap hit of only $1.87 million (lowest in the NHL). Thompson was only available because he requested a trade from Vegas, hoping for a chance to prove he’s a true No. 1 goalie. If he does that, this was an exceptional trade for the Capitals, who gave up only two third-round picks. Even if he doesn’t, Washington still has great value in net, and two goalies who catch with their right hand (which isn’t necessarily important, but it’s an interesting oddity).
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs were able to lock in rookie Joseph Woll with a three-year extension worth $10.98 million, which feels like a good deal for both sides, but we’re going to focus more on the addition of Anthony Stolarz.
Stolarz is on a short list of only five NHL goalies with positive GSAx in each of the last five seasons. His workload has obviously been very small, but it shows how consistent he’s been in a backup role.
He’s coming off the best season of his career, in which his underlying metrics were actually better than his goalie partner – and Vezina finalist – Sergei Bobrovsky. Stolarz’s 21.7 GSAx ranked seventh in the NHL despite him playing only 27 games. He was the only goalie to rank in the top 10 with fewer than 40 games.
The question for Stolarz is durability. He’s a massive goalie with an injury history, and he has never started more than 24 games in a season. If he has put that behind him, he has the potential to be an excellent tandem goalie with Woll, and perhaps even take the No. 1 spot. That isn’t the most likely outcome, but the fact that it’s in the range of reasonable possibilities makes this a good gamble by the Leafs.
Chicago Blackhawks
The rebuild may not be fully complete, but the Blackhawks showed Monday that they’re trying to win more games in 2024-25. Chicago added a slew of veteran skaters (Tyler Bertuzzi, Teuvo Teravainen, Alec Martinez, TJ Brodie and Pat Maroon) along with longtime backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit.
Brossoit has proven himself as an incredibly reliable backup capable of winning big games in stops in Winnipeg and Vegas. Lately, he’s shown that he may be more than that. After undergoing hip and abdominal surgery in 2022 to fix issues that had been bothering him since junior hockey, Brossoit has gone 22-5-5 with a .927 save percentage (behind only Ullmark) and stopped 24.34 goals above expected.
Without an entrenched No. 1 in Chicago, it’s possible Brossoit can finally grab the starter role that has eluded him for the first 10 years of his career. He’s a very technical goalie with efficient movement in the crease, and has proven himself in big games – going 5-2 in the playoffs for the Golden Knights in 2023.
Detroit Red Wings
There’s a lot going on in the Detroit crease at the moment. After two signings on Monday, the Red Wings now have four goalies with extensive NHL experience under contract: Cam Talbot, Ville Husso, Alex Lyon and Jack Campbell. Plus, they have two of the top goalie prospects in the league, Sebastian Cossa and Trey Augustine.
Augustine will be a sophomore at Michigan State, so he’s not ready to join the traffic jam, but Cossa (a first-round pick in 2021) has already put together excellent seasons in the ECHL and last year in the AHL. He’s likely the future in net for Detroit, and one of the reasons why the signing of Talbot makes a ton of sense.
Not only can Talbot still play — he proved that with 15.01 GSAx last year in Los Angeles — but he’s a perfect veteran presence to have around Cossa. How many games Talbot will end up playing is still to be settled, but he adds a professionalism to the Red Wings’ goalie room that should benefit everyone in it.
Cam Talbot can still play, and he should serve as a solid mentor in Detroit. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
Vegas Golden Knights
After trading Thompson to Washington, the Golden Knights were in search of a backup goalie behind Adin Hill, and they signed Ilya Samsonov to a one-year “prove-it” deal on Monday worth $1.8 million. Even coming off a poor 2023-24 season, it’s a good value for a goalie with Samsonov’s raw talent.
There’s no way around it: Samsonov was bad last year in Toronto. He ranked 83rd out of 96 NHL goalies with -5.75 GSAx, and 61st out of 65 goalies with at least 20 starts with a .890 save percentage. However, he’s only one-year removed from his 27-win season, in which he stopped 21.24 GSAx. The difference is that the Maple Leafs were a lot more sound defensively that year, which is theoretically what Samsonov should be playing behind in Vegas.
With one of the most talented blue lines and an excellent defensive scheme, the Golden Knights make life easy on their goalies. They give up predictable chances, which should play into Samsonov’s style. There’s a chance he won’t bounce back from the confidence-shattering 2023-24 season, but if he does, Samsonov has the ceiling to be more than a pure backup.
Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon said after the signing that Samsonov reminds the staff of Hill: An incredibly talented, athletic goalie who needs some refining in his game. If goalie coach Sean Burke can do with Samsonov what he did with Hill, this will be an excellent signing. If not, especially considering Hill’s injury history, it could be a long season in net for the Golden Knights.
Safely filled a need
Winnipeg Jets
Brossoit was such a good backup for the Jets last season that he ended up pricing himself out of Winnipeg, but GM Kevin Cheveldayoff pivoted and found a good value with a one-year deal worth $1 million for UFA Kaapo Kähkönen.
Kähkönen faced an onslaught nightly for most of last season behind a historically poor San Jose Sharks defense, but he actually managed it well. His .895 save percentage may not look impressive, but considering the quality and quantity of the chances he faced, he fared relatively well. He proved that after the deadline, posting a .923 save percentage in six starts for the Devils. As Hellebuyck’s backup he won’t be asked to shoulder much, but Kähkönen is a fine backup.
The Jets also added Eric Comrie on a two-year deal with an average annual value of $825,000. He’s a great personality to have in the dressing room and an ideal third goalie in the organization.
Florida Panthers
Similarly to Brossoit in Winnipeg, Stolarz played his way out of the backup role in Florida. The Panthers turned to a goalie they know well in Chis Driedger, signing him to a one-year, $795,000 deal. Driedger played two seasons with the Panthers from 2019 to 2021, and now returns to backup Bobrovsky on a great value deal for the team.
Driedger struggled his first year in Seattle, but bounced back with a solid 2023-24. He’s comfortable handling 20-plus starts to lighten the load on Bobrovsky, who will be 36 before next season begins.
Dallas Stars
The Stars lost last year’s backup, Wedgewood, to Nashville in free agency, but may have upgraded by filling that spot with Casey DeSmith, whom they signed to a three-year, $3 million deal on Monday.
DeSmith is coming off a disappointing season backing up Vezina finalist Thatcher Demko in Vancouver, but that was the first time in his six-year NHL career that he finished with a save percentage below the league average. He isn’t going to push Jake Oettinger for starts, but should give coach Peter DeBoer enough trust to take more starts and lighten Oettinger’s regular-season workload.
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres are set at starting goalie. There may not be an NHL netminder with faster-rising stock at the moment than Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who had an incredible 2023-24 season. He’s an unsigned restricted free agent at the moment, but that should be settled in time for the start of the season.
Behind him, Buffalo did well to add a steady veteran in James Reimer on a one-year, $1 million deal. Reimer is coming off a strong season in Detroit, where he was the best of three goalies for the Red Wings. His 7.06 GSAx ranked 34th out of 96 goalies despite starting only 20 games.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins were in a tough spot, needing to move Ullmark before his contract expired next summer. The rest of the league knew that, so they were never going to get full value in a trade, but even under those circumstances, the return from Ottawa seemed light.
Boston is in this tier because they technically did fill a need by bringing Korpisalo back to play behind Swayman. The contract isn’t great, especially for what they’ll be asking of him, but I do expect Korpisalo to play much better now that he’s in a more comfortable situation. He wasn’t the savior in net that Ottawa hoped he would be, but he’s a solid rotation goalie, which is what he’ll be for the Bruins.
Left with questions
Los Angeles Kings
For the second straight year, the Kings entered the offseason with a clear need in goal, and opted not to invest in it. Los Angeles traded for the remaining three years of Kuemper’s deal at $5.25 per season, but did that improve the goaltending?
Talbot walked in free agency after stopping 15.01 goals above expected, while Kuemper lost the net in Washington after posting a .890 save percentage and -1.73 GSAx.
On the bright side, even at 34, Kuemper is still a talented goalie, and he has shown the ability to play well behind a strong defensive team (winning the Cup with Colorado in 2022). The Kings should make life relatively easy on him, but betting on a resurgence is risky. Los Angeles still has more than $10 million in cap space if it wants to add further, but the team’s recent history says that’s not particularly likely.
Kuemper in net isn’t a disaster, but it’s certainly not a move to solidify the team as Cup contenders (the way the Devils did by trading for Markstrom).
Philadelphia Flyers
Considering how weak the goaltending free-agent class was, and the size of contracts being thrown around on Monday, it may have been the wisest move for the Flyers to stand pat. Having said that, Philadelphia did have the worst overall team save percentage in the NHL last year, and will rely on two inexperienced netminders to improve upon it.
Samuel Ersson, 24, had a really strong start to his rookie season, but faded down the stretch with a 11-14-4 record and .876 save percentage after Jan. 20. He’ll be joined by Ivan Fedotov, who came over after several strong seasons in the KHL but didn’t look great in very limited NHL action late last season.
This tier placement isn’t necessarily a criticism of the Flyers for not adding, especially considering where they are as an organization, but there are tons of questions in Philadelphia’s crease entering 2024-25.
Colorado Avalanche
Colorado has continued to show faith in Alexandar Georgiev, not making any additions in net. As of now, the Avalanche have only two goalies with NHL experience under contract: Georgiev and 24-year-old Justus Annunen, who showed well in limited action as a rookie last season.
I wouldn’t go as far to say that goaltending is a major problem for the Avs, but for a team among the favorites to win the Cup next year, it would’ve been nice to see an upgrade in net. Cap space is tight, but Colorado could get creative if it really wanted to add.
Georgiev is entering the final year of his contract, and John Gibson is still sitting in Anaheim. His numbers have declined behind a poor Ducks team, but there’s plenty of belief within the goaltending coach community that he still has what it takes, especially if put behind a team as strong as Colorado.
(Top photo of Linus Ullmark: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
