The Goalie Report: Risers and Fallers

As we've passed the quarter pole of the 2024-2025 season, we're going to take a look at the top teams in the goals against (GAA) department, as well as some of the poorest in that metric. In hockey circles, the old axiom "defense wins championships" still applies.

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Minnesota Wild (2.32 GAA)

The stingiest team, in terms of allowing goals against this season, has been a bit of a surprise considering Minnesota has over $14 million in dead cap money on their books. Filip Gustavsson deserves a lot of credit for this success. For the third time in his young career, he boasts a GAA under 2.20. We are left to wonder if his current pace is sustainable because of two factors. First, he is on pace to play 60 games this year, which would top his career-high of 45, by a considerable margin. Second, the Wild are in the lower half of the league in shots allowed (29.2 per game). His save percentage (92.9 percent) is remarkable, but it's in line with two of his previous four seasons, so that's encouraging. Marc-Andre Fleury, a certain future Hall of Famer, is the backup, but he's 40 years old and should not be expected to appear in more than 25 games. That could be a problem.

Toronto Maple Leafs (2.54 GAA)

The Leafs are second in the league in the GAA race, a rare feat for a team more known for scoring in recent years. The impressive play of Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll is fulfilling a key role here. Head Coach Craig Berube has installed an effective and comprehensive teamwide commitment to defense and general manager Brad Treliving has made over the defense corps with players who are well-suited to the new focus. The two goalies are sharing the load, which is rare among the upper echelon of teams in the NHL. Even in the face of a lengthy injury list, that combination of factors leaves critics feeling more confident this early-season trend can continue in Toronto.  

Dallas Stars (2.54 GAA)

This is a club with a veteran core that has proven capable of operating a tight defensive structure for the last few seasons. Primary backstop Jake Oettinger has emerged as a prototype of the modern goalie, with his combination of size and agility. Within this framework, his ability to churn out stellar statistics (.915 save percentage, 2.38 GAA), once again, seems to foreshadow another season where the Stars will be a serious contender for the top of their division and a long playoff run.

Winnipeg Jets (2.58 GAA)

The Jets started the season with a record-setting run of success, but have since stumbled a little in posting a 3-7 mark in the last 10 games. They are once again leaning heavily on Connor Hellebuyck, who continues to take on a large share of the goaltending role while posting very good statistics (.926 save percentage, 2.16 GAA). Winnipeg features one of the largest and most physical lineups in the league, but the roster doesn't seem focussed on defensive play and that puts a little more pressure on the goalie position. The addition of a piece or two, with that commitment in mind, will be required to take some pressure off Hellebuyck, who is expected to be among the league leaders in games played in goal once again.      

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Pittsburgh Penguins (3.78 GAA)

The Penguins have given up more goals per game than any other team in the league. When evaluating their goalies, it's a little hard to say how much of the defensive struggles can be pinned on the trio of Alex Nedeljkovic, Tristan Jarry and Joel Blomqvist, as this seems to be a teamwide malaise. Of the three, Jarry has come under the most criticism this season. After a very poor showing in his first three starts, he was demoted to the AHL for a few weeks to regain his confidence. In six games since his return, his statistics are more positive, but we can't forecast an impressive season for this team because they are thin on talent throughout a roster that continues to be led by an aging (and expensive) core in decline.  

Colorado Avalanche (3.73 GAA)

It's got to come as a surprise to many onlookers that the Avalanche rank 31st in the league in GAA. A bevy of highly skilled skaters had this club in the discussion among the Stanley Cup favorites to start this season. They have been hampered by the subpar play of presumptive starter Alexandar Georgiev. He is in his third season with Colorado and has stumbled badly (.867 save percentage, 3.54 GAA) in 17 games played this season. Those totals pale in comparison to his other years with the Avs and are certainly not going to keep the team in line with their lofty preseason expectations. It's quite telling they brought in Scott Wedgewood via trade last week. He blanked Buffalo to collect a win in relief of a poor Georgiev start. A new goalie competition is starting here and Georgiev faces the very real possibility his role may diminish in the Mile High City.      

Ottawa Senators (3.29 GAA)

The Senators began this season intending to finally challenge for a playoff spot, as a high-water mark in their current rebuild. This team has plenty of offensive skills but hasn't mastered the defensive side of the game yet. Things have not panned out in the early going and it's once again looking like goaltending remains an issue. The oddity here is that the club made a large financial commitment in acquiring recent Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark with the hope of shoring up the netminding role. Sadly for the Senators, his pedestrian numbers (.888 save percentage, 3.07 GAA) have been topped by backup Anton Forsberg (.896 save percentage, 2.93 GAA). If these tendencies don't get resolved, it may be another year where the Senators will be on the outside, looking in, as the playoffs begin in the spring of 2025.