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Niklas Backstrom (right) is one of the best goaltenders in the Northwest Division. (AP Photo)
The Northwest Division has some of the best goaltenders in the NHL.
There is a lot of experience in those goaltenders. Four of the five starters in the division are at least 30-years-old. The division newest starter, Nikolai Khabibulin, began his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets.
Here are the Northwest Division goaltender rankings.
No. 5 - Nikolai Khabibulin. The Edmonton Oilers' new starter posted a 25-8-7 record with a 2.33 goals against average and .919 save percentage with the Chicago Blackhawks. He played a platoon role until taking the reigns in the playoffs. He backstopped the Blackhawks to the Western Conference finals. He is entering his 14th season in the NHL and his play is starting to show his age.
No. 4 - Roberto Luongo. The Vancouver Canucks' starter posted a 33-13-7 record while helping the Canucks win the Northwest Division last season. He had a 2.34 goals against average and .920 save percentage. He was once hailed as the NHL's next great goaltender, but an injury and inconsistent play have marred most of his career. He has 47 career shutouts, which leads all goaltenders in the Northwest Division. He is entering his ninth season in the NHL while playing for three teams.
No. 3 - Josh Harding. The Minnesota Wild's backup has shown he could be a starter in the NHL. He posted a 3-9-1 record, but had a 2.21 goals against average and .924 save percentage. Both his goals against average and save percentage, albeit in limited action, are better than the five starters in the division. He posted the best single game performance by a goaltender in the NHL with a 44-save victory over the Blackhawks on Feb. 22. He is entering his third season in the NHL.
No. 2 Miikka Kiprusoff. The Calgary Flames' starter was rated as the No. 2 Finnish player and top Finnish goaltender in NHL.com's ranking by country. He led all NHL goaltenders in wins with 45 and had a 2.84 goals against average and .903 save percentage. He will benefit from the Flames' change to a defensive system.
No. 1 Niklas Backstrom. The Minnesota Wild's starter was a Vezina Trophy finalist while finishing in the top five among NHL goaltenders in wins, goals against average, save percentage and shutouts. He posted a 37-24-8 record with a 2.33 goals against average, .923 save percentage and eight shutouts. He was the only goaltender in the NHL to finish in the top five of those four categories. Some have been wondering if his success was due to the system. He has a chance to prove just how good he is this season in an attacking system. He is entering his fourth NHL season.
Comments
so the Avs won't be skating a goalie this year?
Luongo would be higher if he were better than three goalies listed ahead of him. He hasn't lived up to the hype that made him a No. 4 overall pick. Backstrom has a higher career goals against average than all of them. When you look at the numbers for last season and their careers, Backstrom is No. 1. The Avalanche have not had a goaltender worthy of a top five ranking since Patrick Roy. Craig Anderson will be the next backup to start for the Avs.
Luongo has been one of the top three goalie in the NHL since before he came to Vancouver. His numbers are the most consistent out of any goalie in the division.
Khabibulin is a Stanley Cup champion and a head case, he needs someone to push him for his starting job.
Kiprusoff has led a team to the finals. and into the playoffs for 4 straight season since becoming a number one goalie.
Backstrom has never won a playoff series, he was the third string goalie in Torino, for Finland.
Anderson and Harding have never been number one goalie for an extended period of time. For the time being they are out of equation.
I rank the goalies as follows;
1). Luongo. Will want to prove he is Canada's #1 goalie, going into the Vancouver Olympics.
2). Kiprusoff. Will be re-energized with the new team focus on defense first. Chances are he won't go to the Olympics.
3). Backstrom. Has led the Wild for two straight years, to the playoff, prior to last year.
4). Khabibulin. There is
no one to push him in Edmonton so either he falls on his face or he is focused on being the number one for Russia at the Olympics.
5). Anderson/Harding. In pressure situations, there is not enough known to be able to make an informed decision.
6). Budaj. When this is on he is average at best. When this guy is off, he is awful.
If I were going to start a team from scratch and I could have any players in the world. I would take Luongo with my first pick. Before Brodeur, Crosby or Ovechkin. He means that much to a team. Where would the Canucks be without Luongo. Look at last season for your answer.
With all due respect to your rankings, You have Robero Luongo behind Kiprusoff and Harding. As a Flames fan, I appreciate the fact the moves in the off-seson should hopefully help Kipper's numbers but he would be Finland's number one goalie if he goes to the Olympics.
Luongo has been one of the top three goalie in the NHL since before he came to Vancouver. His numbers are the mos
Here are the stats for the top 4 over the past 3 seasons:
Luongo - 203 Games 115-64-22 GAA 2.28 .919 Save% With 20 Shutouts
Harding - 55 Games 8-12-4 GAA 2.10 .920 Save% With 2 Shutouts
Kippersoff - 226 Games 124-74-24 GAA 2.59 .907 Save% 13 Shutouts
Backstrom - 170 Games 93-45-22 GAA 1.72 .923 Save% 17 Shutouts
The real author. If you want to look at stats; here are the career stats for the five goalies listed:
Nikolai Khabibulin 2.67 GAA and .908 save percentage
Roberto Luongo 2.57 GAA and .919 save percentage
Josh Harding 2.49 GAA and .920 save percentage
Miikka Kiprusoff 2.46 GAA and .912 save percentage
Niklas Backstrom 2.24 GAA and .923 save percentage
Do you still think Luongo is God? or has reality set in. The best goaltender is the one lets in the least goals. The stats above show that Backstrom lets in the least goals and Luongo is fourth best in the division.
I'm reading a lot of comments saying "I'm a homer," but am not reading much to discount my rankings.
Hey Gunny... Patrick Roy's career stats were 2.54GAA and .915 SV, I guess that make Backstrom and Harding better than him too eh?
You can maybe base goalies on career stats if they've played the same number of games. Even then, stats don't tell the whole story. Here's what should be a telltale sign though:
Josh Harding: 58 GP in his career
Roberto Luongo: 544 GP in his career
What if a goalie plays one NHL game and gets a shutout? 1.00 SV% and 0.00 GAA. Does that make him the greatest goalie to have ever played the game? Someone already pointed out Patrick Roy's career stats, so... I think that's about all that needs to be said.
I agree with alll my previous posters.
Loungo is the best goalie in the world not the 4th best in the NW. Your article is a joke. Injury prone??? Yeah that ONE he has had.
Maybe in 6 months when hes starting in net for Team Canada while Martin Brouder(the alltime NHL leader in wins and SO's) is backing him up for the olympics youll realize how wrong you are.
Hi. I'm a fan of NEITHER the Wild or the Canucks, so I have no biases.
Luongo is easily the best in the NW (Maybe best in the world) followed by Backstrom/Kiprusoff.
Period.
luongo sux he is inconsistent, having only won 2 division titles in the last 3 yrs. He is also injury prone missing close to 40 games in his 9 yr career. Since moving to the canucks hes ONLY won 115 times. harding on the other hand has a 19-27 career record but who cares that makes him much better than an allstar, olympian, and captain which is luongo. wenever u make a list like this just start from no.2 after luongo and it mite make u seem less of an idiot.
"here are the career stats for the five goalies listed:
Nikolai Khabibulin 2.67 GAA and .908 save percentage
Roberto Luongo 2.57 GAA and .919 save percentage
Josh Harding 2.49 GAA and .920 save percentage
Miikka Kiprusoff 2.46 GAA and .912 save percentage
Niklas Backstrom 2.24 GAA and .923 save percentage
Do you still think Luongo is God? or has reality set in."
Uh, no one said he was a deity, but it should go without saying that he's a better goaltender than Backstrom and Harding. If Gillis offered Luongo straight up for Backstrom, and say their cap number was the same, do you think that Chuck Fletcher would say 'No, Backstrom is way better!'
You are quoting career stats, but that does not take into account the fact that Luongo backstopped a terrible Florida team for years, while Backstrom and Harding have been playing in a extremely defensive system. Now with a new GM and coach, and an abandonment of the defense first policy, they are going to get lit up like Xmas tree
Only someone from Minnesota could possibly have Josh Harding ranked higher than Roberto Luongo. Are you saying you would rather have Harding as your starting goalie? Wow, I really hope you get relieved of your duties before you make a bigger fool of yourself!
GAA is based on the system a team plays. Obviously if you have terrible defense and your forwards don't play in their own end to help out your goaltender, regardless of who he is, will have a higher GAA than a goaltender like Harding. Save% is a better stat to use since career numbers will separate the good from the average, but it still has it's faults. The list is ridiculous in every sense. If Harding was that good he wouldn't have only played 13 games. Backstrom is a good goaltender, but I will take Luongo ahead of him, and I'm sure everyone else, not you, will also.
Wow.
Okay, I'm a Wild season ticket holder and a lifelong Flyer fan. But reading this assessment is rather mindboggling.
I do not have a contention with Backstrom being placed at #1. I think he's pretty interchangeable anywhere in the top 3.
I do take issue with Luongo being 4th. Especially in light of Harding being tabbed at #3.
That assessment is beyond laughable. Stats or no stats, Harding is nowhere near the level of play of Luongo. In fact, he belongs nowhere in the top 5.
I wonder what Harding will be doing during the Olympic break? Maybe Luongo can comp him a couple of tickets to the gold medal game!
Luongo's only Olympic appearance was the 2006 Olympics and how did the Canadians do? NO medal. In 2002 in Turino, The Canadians won gold, Luongo was not on the roster. Martin Brodeur, Ed Belfour and Curtis Joseph were the 3 goaltenders. If you want to bring up Luongo's stats prior to joining the Canucks. The save percentage is about the same. His GAA has gone down since joining the Canucks, but that just means he hasn't seen as many shots. A junior coach always said, when I was interviewing him, if the goalie doesn't stop at least 90% of the shots. Luongo consistently posted save percentages in the low .900, which means, on average he just gives you a chance to win and the opposition has a chance to win. He reached the .920 save percentage for a season just 4 of the 9 seasons he has been in the NHL. Backstrom has reached the .920 save percentage in all 3 NHL seasons. Harding has posted at least a .920 save percentage in 2 of 3 seasons.
I think if the author is trying to use stats to prove that the goalies for a defensive trap team like Minnesota are the best, he might as well have ranked them by save percentage, then he'd have Minnesota with the two top goalies in the division rather than 1st and 3rd...better bias towards the Wild which I think was the goal.
5th Nikolai Khabibulin 2.67 GAA and .908 save percentage
4th Roberto Luongo 2.57 GAA and .919 save percentage
3rd Miikka Kiprusoff 2.46 GAA and .912 save percentage
2nd Josh Harding 2.49 GAA and .920 save percentage
1st Niklas Backstrom 2.24 GAA and .923 save percentage
Sorry....in my previous post forgot to re-rank the rest of the goalies based on save percentage. I am so focused on trying to prove that the Wild have the best goalies.
5th Nikolai Khabibulin 2.67 GAA and .908 save percentage
4th Miikka Kiprusoff 2.46 GAA and .912 save percentage
3rd Roberto Luongo 2.57 GAA and .919 save percentage
2nd Josh Harding 2.49 GAA and .920 save percentage
1st Niklas Backstrom 2.24 GAA and .923 save percentage
JG, news for you: if everyone's crazy but you, you're the crazy one. Maybe everyone is saying you are a homer because you are. Posting the S% and GAA of goalies and expecting them to tell the whole story is a joke move and really discredits you. Stats are useful because they are the only quantitative measure we have, but a whole look takes into account the qualitative aspects of a goaltender's performance. To do this, you would have to examine the team in front of each goalie; how are the D? What's the system like? A good defensive team could limit the number of quality shots so as to affect both GAA and S% and thus make a lesser goalie appear better. A team who attacks more or is better offensively than defensively may win more games, but have a goalie who has a lower S% or higher GAA despite being a better goaltender because they respond better to the quality shots against them that they recieve. Not to mention to pretend that you can judge a goalie after 55 GP...Jim Carey anyone?
You set out to rank the top 5 goalies in the division, and based your ranking SOLELY on GAA? Seriously? Just GAA? Wow. Just wow.
Joe, I believe you should get off the internet. It's too dangerous in here for you.
"The best goaltender is the one lets in the least goals. The stats above show that Backstrom lets in the least goals and Luongo is fourth best in the division."
So, by this logic, Roman Turek and his 2.31 career GAA is one of the greatest goalies of our generation? Huh, who knew?
The rankings are based on statistics and my analysis of the goaltenders after watching them play. It is from games not you tube highlight videos. I left reputation out of the equation. Reputation is the only argument I am reading in these comments supporting Luongo. I have not read sound analysis and the statistics support Harding, except games played which, like record, is not a differentiating statistic.
One other thing about Harding, he is a backup goalie, and wont play against the toughest competition, or consecutive days where he might get fatigued. Until he's shown he can do what he is doing over 50 games+ in a single season, you can't really include him in the convo.
(For the record, I think he is a good goalie, can could be a top 10 if a team took a chance and signed him)
Joseph Gunther how come my post in which I discounted all of your claims was removed right away? Was it because I was right???
Joe, you can start here:
puckprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=247
and work your way through.
GAA, and even SV%, are much more of a team stat than you are accepting.
I love how this guy writes the most ridiculous piece of crap article based on pure favoritism and then has the audacity to come on here and try and defend it, when 99.9% of the comments are saying he's wrong. Not to mention he deletes any comments that are sound retorts to his claims. Man, you are some piece of work, Mr. Joe Gunther. Hope you have a real job.
I think Joe is right. I mean, it must be a tough job as a goalie in Minnesota. You have to put up those numbers with 5 defensemen in front of you playing shutdown hockey at all times. Of course there were 17 games that Gaborik played in, then Minnesota only had 4 d-men playing shutdown hockey. Wow, talk about having it tough as a goalie!
Some people disagree with this article:
Players - Luongo was nominated for the Lester B. Pearson award
GM's - Multiple Vezina nominations.
Fans - Voted starter for West last two years, won inaugural Fan Fave award.
But what do the NHL players, GM's, and Fans know - Joe has GAA and Save% stats!
Claiming Harding does not play against the tougher competition is incorrect. Of his 11 starts, 8 were against playoff teams, including 3 against the Western Conference champion and runner-up. In those 3 starts against the Red Wings and Blackhawks, he had a 2-goal shootout loss and 4-goal loss to the Wings in which he stopped nearly 80 shots and a 44-save, 1-goal win over the Hawks. Luongo had two starts against the Wings. In those two starts, he allowed 3 goals in an overtime win and 3 goals in a loss. Against the Hawks, Luongo had a 4-goal loss, a 3-goal win and a shutout win. He had about 50 saves in 2 games against the Wings and about 80 saves against the Hawks in 3 games.
All I am hearing in Luongo's defense is opinion and hype, all statistics are in Harding's favor.
And Mr. BURMAN and Dan, these are the first comments I have seen from you. The only comments that I delete have swearing (or any form of it), and drug or sexual references in them.
My first comment had nothing to do with swearing/drugs/etc. It just pointed out that you must be a MAJOR homer.
Luongo's .930 career playoff save percentage is the best in the league. But wait...Harding played out the final 20 mins of a single playoff game, and didn't let a single goal in - so I guess his 1.000 makes him the best playoff goalie in the league?!?!?!
The award argument is the first argument for Luongo that I have heard. The Lester Pearson and Vezina are legitimate awards. The Fan Fave and All-Star do you mean one player is better than another. The All-Star voting has always been wrong for the fans to vote. The fans vote for who they are told to vote for, not the better player.
And talking about the defensive system having 5 defenders in front of the net. What is the hardest shot to stop? The one with traffic in front of the net. Luongo sees a lot of clear shots with no one in front of him, where Backstrom and Harding continually see shots with 2 or 3 players in front of him.
So you deleted my post over writing BS, yeah sure...
I worry about the state of the Wild franchise. Two of the top 3 goaltenders in the division, and we can't even make the playoffs?
BTW...Fernandez and Roloson had some of the best stats in the league while with the Wild. Their respective careers since leaving seem to indicate the defensive style of the team had something to do with that.
BURMAN, did you read what I said. The first comment I saw of yours was the one telling me you were not seeing your previous comments.
All of Minnesota's guys play defense, not "screen the goalie". Any good defender can keep the opposition away while still allowing thier goalie a clear view of the puck. Saying that having more guys devoted to playing D is having "more traffic" in front of the net is just silly. Minnesota, having more D, makes it easier to be a goaltender by keeping shots to the perimeter. Ask any goaltender in the world where he would like the majority of the shots he faces to come from and he WILL tell you the outside or perimeter.
Despite playing in 17 less games last season, Luongo only had 4 less wins (11 less losses), and actually had more shutouts than Backstrom.
And if we're going by stats, why is Kiprusoff 2nd? His .903 save% and 2.84 GAA were both 32nd in the league! The only plausible reason would be to have a back-up explaination as to why Backstrom won't be starting for Finland at the Olympics.
And if we're going by country ratings, who do you think will be rated higher for Team Canada: Harding or Luongo? That question sums up the ridiculousness of the article.
BURMAN, I agree you want shots to come from the perimeter, but the shots coming through traffic were from the high slot. Like I said, Backstrom and Harding continually faced shots with a lot of traffic in front of them, while Luongo saw a lot of unobstructed shots. A goalie will take an unobstructed shot from the slot over a shot from the point with a lot of traffic in front of them. There is a reason the media, coaches and players say the most important thing for forwards to do is go to the net.
I forgot to mention I delete the posts that have my name in the name and have absolutely nothing to say or are defamatory.
Joe, I haven't said anything about Luongo, so why do you keep bringing him into the conversation? I just want to state that Minnesota does NOT have a bunch of traffic in front of thier net because the team has 5 guys playing defense and defensemen keep guys AWAY from the front of the net. Minnesota's own players do NOT obstruct thier own goalies view and they keep the opposition away by collapsing so where does this traffic you speak of come from? If any team in the league lets thier goalie have clear, un-obstructed shots to clearly see and stop, its Minnesota.
"A goalie will take an unobstructed shot from the slot over a shot from the point with a lot of traffic in front of them."
---------------
Not sure what constitutes your hockey knowledge, but a player allowed to shoot unobstructed in the slot will score far, FAR more often than any point shots. That is the area a shooter is most likely to score from, and the goalie less likely to save. That sort of reasoning adds evidence AGAINST your claims.
(PS. - I am still waiting for the explanation for Roloson and Fernandez's drop in stats since going to other teams.)
Burman, that is the idea. That does not happen. When the defense collapses the front of the net, the opposing forwards follow, creating the traffic in front of the net. When Jacques Lemaire created the trapping system it was when the bigger forwards were not athletic enough to get to the net. So the defenseman could easily create the lane for the goaltender.
JG, news for you: if everyone's crazy but you, you're the crazy one. Maybe everyone is saying you are a homer because you are. Posting the S% and GAA of goalies and expecting them to tell the whole story is a joke move and really discredits you. Stats are useful because they are the only quantitative measure we have, but a whole look takes into account the qualitative aspects of a goaltender's performance. To do this, you would have to examine the team in front of each goalie; how are the D? What's the system like? A good defensive team could limit the number of quality shots so as to affect both GAA and S% and thus make a lesser goalie appear better. A team who attacks more or is better offensively than defensively may win more games, but have a goalie who has a lower S% or higher GAA despite being a better goaltender because they respond better to the quality shots against them that they recieve. Not to mention to pretend that you can judge a goalie after 55 GP...Jim Carey anyone?
Joe, you've put you're team's goalie as #1, big surprise there... But you've got your untested backup as #3, AHEAD a league top-3 goalie, Roberto Luongo? You Minnesoaters need to get out more...
Dan, Roloson and Fernandez both have had knee injuries that limited their mobility. Also, Fernandez played very well when he was in net for Boston, Tim Thomas just had a career year. Roloson is still a top-30 goaltender, but he is not as quick as he was. Remember he led the Oilers to the Stanley Cup as the No. 8 seed in the West.
When an offensive player has the puck in the slot, more often than not, the shot is stopped or is shot wide. The reason the slot has a higher shooting percentage is because so many less shots are taken on goal than the point. Most goals are scored on tips, deflections and rebounds. Traffic in front of the net accounts for those.
I wonder how Harding is going to do at the Olypics camp... What? He wasn't invited? They chose LUONGO over HARDING?
You should write Steve Yzerman, and describe how this decision is a large oversight. Something tells me your future as an NHL writer will be set...
you do realize that this article is now linked in numerous places on the interwebs and in every case the commentary is completely incredulous...
luongo is in the top 3 of any discussion of best goalie in the entire league, "injury marred" year or not. the blatant homerism of putting josh harding, a goalie that has accomplished nothing, ahead of any starting goalie in the northwest division is breathtaking to say the least.
Nice Homer article...so surprise here. Minnesota would trade both Backstrom and Harding for Luongo if they could...
"The best goaltender is the one lets in the least goals. The stats above show that Backstrom lets in the least goals and Luongo is fourth best in the division."
So, by this logic, Roman Turek and his 2.31 career GAA is one of the greatest goalies of our generation? Huh, who knew?
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