Justin’s 1st Annual Pre-season Top 30 Goaltenders List (30-21)

Welcome to Justin’s first annual Top-30 goalies list.  I hope you guys enjoy this little exercise, because it was an absolute blast to put together.  In this first edition, I will run down the goalies ranking 30-21.  Following this post, 20-11 and 10-1 will be revealed.

Before we get to it, I wanted to explain my methodology for compiling this list.  “Top” in this case is something of a moving target.  Basically, it’s the order in which I would want to see a team pursue a goaltending solution.  There are keepers included here for potential, durability, present value and experience.  For example, obviously Jose Theodore has accomplished more in the NHL than Jonathan Bernier at this point, and at present, I could entertain an argument that Theodore is a “better” goaltender.  However, Bernier has a ton of upside and star potential and I’m not going to sell him short because he hasn’t gotten his shot yet.  Ok, got all that?

Without further adieu, Goaltenders 30-21

30. Jonathan Bernier, Los Angeles Kings- While Bernier might not have starting experience in the NHL as of yet, he certainly has the talent to excel in the role.  It seems the Kings are always on the verge of trading him so he can spread his wings in a place with more opportunity, but there is no such thing as too much quality goaltending. Read more »

In goal for the Los Angeles Kings, #32 Mike Richter?

Every Rangers fan who followed the team through that magical 1994 season has a nostalgic affection for Mike Richter.  He was the reason myself, and I’m sure countless others decided to put those bulky pads on and have chunks of frozen rubber shot at them.  He embodied everything that Rangers fans loved about that team. To say that his career was cut tragically short by concussions is an understatement.

During his peak years, he stacked up against the Brodeur’s, Roy’s and Hasek’s of the league.  He was an athletic marvel who made every save exciting and never ceased to amaze with his desire to keep the puck from crossing that red line. As the years have passed and the position has evolved, we have seen a stark decline in goalies that embody the excitement of the game.

The position has become a science, with every move deliberate and each save calculated.  Although reflexes and reaction time are still a part of the position, the advances in equipment and technique have made everything look a little too easy. While I feel that this is best for the position, some critics feel that is has sucked the soul out of goaltending.  Enter Jonathan Quick.

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To Biron or not to Biron (Part II)

On Monday, we looked at the most likely replacements for the backup goalie position should Marty Biron not be retained.  The first batch of options were the most likely names to get at least a look from the Rangers front office, but this time around, I wanted to look at some of the unconventional choices for the role.  All of these tenders would likely come cheap on short term contracts, always a plus for a role player.  As before, all stats are weighted, two-year composites of the major rate stats.

Without further adieu, my long shots…

Michael Leighton

Stat line: (All stats from Adirondack of the AHL) 86 GP, GAA 2.45, SV% .920

You might remember Michael Leighton from the 2009-2010 playoffs, backstopping the Philadelphia Flyers’ to the Stanley Cup Finals.  (Also, I found it awesome, because Philly made Boston understand what we Yankee fans felt back in ’04).  Outside of that season, where he was thrust into that role due to injuries, he has played the role of journeyman.  He continued this trend of no respect when he resigned with Philadelphia after that Finals run and found himself in the AHL behind Brian Boucher and Sergei Bobrovsky (really?).  He was again squeezed out this year with the arrival of Ilya Bryzgalov.

Leighton is a UFA this off-season, and while I still prefer Marty, he is an interesting dark horse for me.  I think from a scouting perspective, the 31 year old backstop has the skill set to be a quality second string keeper and I’m sure all it would take is a promise of an NHL job to secure his services.

Like most backups Leighton is fairly solid in all aspects of his game, with no skill really standing out.  Not that he would need the playoff experience playing behind Hank, but it’s always nice to know that he can get hot for an extended period like he did in 2010.  Obviously, Leighton replacing Biron is a long shot, but one of the better possible gambles on the cheap.

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To Biron or not to Biron (Part I)

On July 1, 2010, Glen Sather went out and secured the solid, veteran backup goalie that Henrik Lundqvist had never known.  For the past two seasons, Marty Biron has been the consummate professional, teammate and role player behind one of the game’s premier workhorses.  It’s no coincidence that Henrik Lundqvist had his strongest playoff performance in a year where he had his lowest regular season workload*.  This July, Biron is once again a UFA, and the question becomes, should he be retained, or should the Rangers look elsewhere for a quality backup?

The reason this post is being split into two parts is that as I was researching all the other possibilities, it kind of took on a life of its own.  Before I knew it I had nine possibilities for the Rangers to examine, plus several more who, while I don’t feel are realistic targets, could end up becoming options due to market conditions and/or salary and playing time demands.  So, in this post, I will make the case for Marty’s retention and then examine what I feel are the most realistic targets based on salary and role.  The second part of the post will have a couple more creative/non-conventional choices and we will see where we end up when the dust settles.  Got that?  Ok, let’s go.

Since Marty has been a Ranger for two seasons, I wanted to normalize the statistical comparisons, so all of the stats that will be referenced are weighted two-year averages of the major evaluating statistics (GP, GAA, SV%) and my own personal scouting reports.

The Case for Biron

Stat line: 38 GP, 2.31 GAA, .912 SV%, 2011-2012 Salary: $875,000

For the most part, we all know the book on Marty.  He is a rock solid backup who fits into the team culture and is completely comfortable in his role within the organization.  He received a relatively modest salary for his services (875k) the past two years, and since he is approaching his 35th birthday, he likely isn’t in line for a significant raise or starting job.

What surprised me in researching UFA goaltenders, is that with one or two exceptions, Marty has significantly better numbers than almost all available alternatives**.   The biggest argument in favor of Marty, assuming his dollar/term requirements are in line with his previous deal, is the old “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t” argument.  We know what Marty brings to the table, and the organization and the fans seem to have a comfort level with him.  For a detailed scouting report on Biron, make sure to check out my previous analysis of his style here.

Now, onto some other possibilities… Read more »

Rangers final grades: Goaltending and management

Goaltending this season was a huge factor in both the Rangers regular season and postseason success.  The tandem of Henrik Lundqvist and Martin Biron finished third in the league in goals against during the regular season, behind only the notoriously stingy St. Louis Blues and LA Kings.

In addition to the goalie report cards, I’m also going to break down management.  John Tortorella, Mike Sullivan and Glen Sather have their fingerprints all over this team, so we’ll also take a look at how they performed this season.  Let’s get to it…

Henrik Lundqvist

• Honestly, at this point, what is there to say about The King that hasn’t already been said?  The presumptive Vezina winner and Hart nominee had an absolutely dominant regular season and a Stanley Cup worthy post-season.  His biggest problem was that the Rangers couldn’t score.
• Although Hank has always been in the conversation of the league’s elite netminders, this season he cemented himself firmly at the top, along with Jonathan Quick and Pekka Rinne.  I’ll entertain arguments for any of those guys as the top tender, but for my money, no one can dethrone The King right now.
• With a final line of: 39 wins, 1.97 GAA and .930 SV (top 3 in the NHL in each), Lundqvist was the backbone of the Blueshirts yet again.
• Mid-season grade: A+/Full season grade: A/Playoffs: A

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Putting a narrative about Lundqvist’s glove to rest

Every internet sports writer (national media or bloggers) at some point or another will try to spice up a headline or article subject to entice readership.  It’s the nature of the beast.  One of the most effective tools utilized is the well-crafted narrative.  Causing derision between multiple groups of people over any minute detail of the team, focusing on a slow boiling “problem” that will inevitably sink the club, etc. are a driving force behind ad revenue and page views.  Most of the time, these stories are harmless enough, the WFAN crowd will read way too much into them and post ignorant garbage all over the comments of multiple national media outlets, and life will move on.

Obviously, here at BSB, we try to cater to the more informed, rational, nuanced fan, so this isn’t an issue here, for the most part.  It’s when a narrative grows legs beyond those of the loud-mouth, know-nothing fan, is when I start to become concerned.  So, with all of that said, I want to put to rest a pesky little narrative that is getting too many people worked up.  There is nothing wrong with Henrik Lundqvist’s glove hand.

Does The King have the quickest glove in all the NHL?  Absolutely not.  With respect to the rest of his game, his glove hand is one of his weakest links.  Which isn’t to say that it’s a weak or ineffective glove hand, at all. In fact, it is an asset.  I can only dream of having advanced metrics that could back this claim up statistically, so I’m going to rely on old-fashioned scouting.

Since I have this bizarre passion for this weird position, when watching highlight shows or other games on the hockey package, I tend to focus on the technical errors in execution when goals are scored.  So, I’ve seen most of the guys in the league at least in highlight form on a regular basis.  From the eye test, Hank’s glove hand is not in the league of elite glove guys like Jonathan Quick, Carey Price or even Braden Holtby (whose glove hand is fantastic), but certainly not as bad as quite a few NHL starters/platoon goalies. (Jonas Gustavsson, Ilya Bryzgalov, and James Reimer come to mind)  Read more »

Have the Capitals figured out Lundqvist?

The old book on Henrik Lundqvist was always to shoot high glove side. It was Hank’s biggest weakness, and was exploited a few years ago by Sergei Fedorov when the Capitals completed their comeback in the playoffs after being down 3-1 in the series. Fedorov’s goal was high glove side from a decent angle, and was a shot that a lot of people would have liked to see stopped.

It seems Washington Capitals goalie coach Olaf Kolzig thinks that this might still be his weakness. Chuck Gormley of CSN Washington has the scoop from his interview with Kolzig:

“You look at him and you think, ‘Geez, he plays pretty deep, you should be able to pick his pocket,’” Capitals associate goalie coach Olie Kolzig said. “But his angles are so good and he plays so wide. You’ve got to beat him with a good shot, a good high shot.”

Gormley later notes that two of Saturday’s goals against Lundqvist came on high shots. To be fair, that’s a truthful statement, albeit skewed a bit. Alex Ovechkin’s goal was a case of Hank flubbing the shot. He was there, the puck didn’t beat him. He just had it bounce off of him. In fact. Hank saw the shot the whole way. It was a weak goal (caused by a turnover, but weak nonetheless). Niklas Backstrom’s goal was a blown coverage one-timer from the slot. Yes, that shot was high too.

But if you look at Kolzig’s statement, it doesn’t necessarily say anything. “You’ve got to beat him with a good shot.” Thanks Olie. You have to beat any goaltender in the league with a good shot. Well, that or talking about the universe prior to shooting.

Besides, how many times has Hank been cleanly beat on a high shot? It’s what Kolzig said after that is what the Caps really need to be doing.

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Playing the puck a necessary evil for goaltenders

The risk/reward dynamic of when a goalie plays the puck is not usually hotly debated by fans.  It is only when the playoffs roll around that fans, writers, analysts and the like all start to put these types of plays under a microscope.  They tend to have a polarizing effect and when I was asked by a buddy of mine whether Hank should ever leave the net ever again, I realized a primer was necessary on how and why playing the puck from a goalie’s perspective is a necessary evil.

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Hank is not particularly adept at playing the puck.  We all know this.  However, Hank is generally very functional back there.  He’s not going to ever act as a third defenseman like Marty is so famous for, but he generally does not hurt the bottom line with his puck playing.  Let’s go through the three main functions that the goaltender playing the puck can accomplish, and we will see if folks still want Hank glued to his crease…

Breakout:  When a puck is dumped in by a forechecking winger, the goaltender playing the puck does not allow the forechecker to isolate one of the defensemen.  Each can play out and receive the pass from the tender, they can criss-cross behind the net and begin the breakout, or one can run a variation of a pick on the forechecker to allow space for first pass out of the zone.

The play looks incredibly innocuous when we watch from afar because the value is only seen if the goalie does not play the puck.  If the tender lets the puck go, it forces the d-man to chase it, usually into the far part of the corner, which takes the clean passing lane to the other d-man away.  It also can force the winger, who would normally be drifting high to accept a breakout pass, to drop down low to support the play.  It’s a quick recipe for getting pinned in your own zone by the opposing forecheck.  Especially if they are dropping two into the zone. Read more »

Opponent’s scouting report: Braden Holtby

As luck would have it, the Rangers drew the Caps in the second round and they were the only team in the Eastern Conference that didn’t get a goalie scouting report prior to the start of the second season.  Luckier still, at the time I was previewing the potential goaltending matchups the Rangers might run into, Braden Holtby was the third option in goal for the Caps, and not even on most fans’ radar.  All that changed with a rock solid performance in knocking off the defending champion Boston Bruins, and now Holtby is very much on the radar.  Same structure as always applies, general style, strengths, weaknesses and how the Rangers should approach the matchup.  Let’s get to it…

General Style

This is probably the subject of a whole different post, but modern goaltending, despite a few stylistic outliers can now be classified into two camps.  There are very few NHL tenders who aren’t gifted athletes at this point, one camp using that athleticism to maximize the results of an efficient style in the net, the others allow their athleticism to override their technical soundness.  For example, goalies like Pekka Rinne, Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price are all tremendously athletic goaltenders, but they use that athletic ability inside a disciplined system which helps keep them from over-moving and other traps of the overzealous keeper.  Guys like Antti Neimi, Sergei Bobrovsky and Jonas Gustavsson fall into the other camp.  They are incredible athletes, but that tends to get in the way of them stopping the puck.  Until they learn that sliding in a butterfly covers more surface area than a split save, they will continue to come up short on their potential.

The whole point of that explanation is Braden Holtby.  He walks that fine line.  While not nearly as disciplined as the elite tenders mentioned above, he displays remarkable control and efficiency in the net for someone with his relative inexperience and youth.  You can tell by watching him play that he maintains an energy level that those of us over the age of 25 are quite envious of, but doesn’t allow himself to devolve into the second group of goalies.

This is a really long winded way of saying that Holtby plays a fundamentally sound style, while flashing at times ridiculous athleticism. Read more »

Lundqvist proving doubters wrong

When the playoffs started this year, many blogs and writers in the media were questioning the Rangers and their ability to perform as a top seed. It wasn’t because of their skill or style of play, but it was because Henrik Lundqvist “wasn’t a playoff goalie.” Their claims weren’t that far fetched, as his stats in the playoffs did take a bit of a nosedive in the past few postseasons. Only that seven game series against Washington in 2009 stands out as a series where Lundqvist carried them.

This year is different. This year Lundqvist is different. But most imporantly, the supporting cast for Lundqvist is different.

Prior to this season, the Rangers had tremendous roster turnover from season to season, sometimes reaching as high as 10 players. The Rangers were rebuilding, but because of some shrewd moves and the goaltending of The King, the Rangers were a playoff team. The teams weren’t necessarily built to succeed in the playoffs, and it showed. They lacked skill, speed, toughness, grit, physicallity, and a scoring touch. Those are a lot of holes for a goaltender to fill, even if he is the best in the world.

This year is different. The roster didn’t turnover too much. The Rangers have an identity as a physical, hard working team that will play defense. Lundqvist no longer needs to stand on his head every single game for the Rangers to win. More importantly, the addition of Martin Biron has led to a more rested Lundqvist. A rested Lundqvist is a better Lundqvist, and it shows.

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