We had a fun few days of free agency, and while there are certainly still some names out there, not much has happened recently. There has been a lot of analysis here at Dobber Hockey, and all of the summary takes can be found here. As so much of this ground has been covered already, I wanted to turn to a bigger overview of goalies. We had quite a few goalies on the move this offseason and the landscape has really shifted for a lot of teams. It seems worth the time to see where teams are at this point and if we should be thinking about anyone differently because of it. We are going to hit every team so will likely break this one up over a couple of weeks.

This week on Frozen Tool Forensics: Riding the Goalie Carousel Part 1

To get us started I pulled data from the 21-22 season using the Big Board Goalie report. This report is extra helpful for a bunch of reasons. For one it includes a lot of goalie metrics that we can use to compare goalies (including their salary), and over the summer it has been updated to include the new teams for goalies that have moved.

For the tables below I exported the Big Board Report and pulled forward the data that seemed most relevant in trying to figure out how the goalies for each team rank.

A quick note on goalie salary – because it is data for the 21-22 season it is listing the salary for last season, not what free agent or extended goalies will be making in 22-23. In most cases I will note the new salary below if needed. It is relevant because salary can be a useful clue when considering how a team will deploy their goalies. Team default usually is to defer to the higher paid guy even if the lower-paid goalie steals the net for a time. This could be either because big money goes to goalies who have been good, so it isn't entirely surprising for them to be better than the other person in the crease over the long term, or because organizations don't want to pay big money to a goalie sitting on the bench so are more likely to keep returning to them and giving them more chances.

Now on to the goalies

Anaheim

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
JOHN GIBSON	29	ANA	56	18	32.1%	26	11	1	3.19	0.904	26	46.4	$6.4M
ANTHONY STOLARZ	28	ANA	28	12	42.9%	8	3	3	2.67	0.917	12	42.9	$0.95M
LUKAS DOSTAL	22	ANA	4	1	25.0%	2	0	0	2.98	0.907	2	50	$0.91M

Nothing has really changed in Anaheim. There were rumors about John Gibson being on the move, but that hasn't materialized. The only thing to note here is that Gibson seems to be consistently struggling. His poor 46.4 percent quality start percentage is actually the highest of his last three years, and he has posted a negative goals saved above average in each of those last three seasons. That follows three straight years of over 55 percent quality start and 10 or more goals saved above average. Basically this is three straight years of a new goalie, and not a good one.

Arizona

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
KAREL VEJMELKA	26	ARI	52	13	25.0%	32	3	1	3.68	0.898	22	42.3	$0.93M
JON GILLIES	28	ARI	20	3	15.0%	10	2	0	3.71	0.887	6	30	$0.75M
IVAN PROSVETOV	23	ARI	3	0	0.0%	2	1	0	4.22	0.875	1	33.3	$0.93M
JOSEF KORENAR	24	ARI	2	0	0.0%	0	0	0	2.56	0.914	1	50	$0.75M

No one currently in the Arizona system had a great season last year, but someone is going to have to man the crease in Arizona and Karel Vejmelka kind of looks like the guy right now. He is signed until 25-26 making $2.75M. Arizona will likely feature predominantly in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes so a repeat of last season's numbers isn't out of the question.

Boston

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
LINUS ULLMARK	28	BOS	41	26	63.4%	10	2	1	2.45	0.917	18	43.9	$5M
JEREMY SWAYMAN	23	BOS	41	23	56.1%	14	3	3	2.41	0.914	22	53.7	$1.05M
KEITH KINKAID	33	BOS	1	1	100.0%	0	0	0	2	0.935	1	100	$0.83M

A very even split last season in terms of games played, though Jeremy Swayman with the better quality start numbers. Judging by salary, edge goes to Linus Ullmark for the 1A role next season, but it still seems very likely that a pretty even split  is in order.

Buffalo

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
CRAIG ANDERSON	41	BUF	31	17	54.8%	12	2	0	3.12	0.897	14	45.2	$0.75M
ERIC COMRIE	27	BUF	19	10	52.6%	5	1	1	2.58	0.92	10	52.6	$0.75M
UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN	23	BUF	9	2	22.2%	5	2	0	2.74	0.917	5	55.6	$0.91M
MALCOLM SUBBAN	28	BUF	4	0	0.0%	2	1	0	4.85	0.871	1	25	$0.85M

Both Craig Anderson ($1.5M) and Eric Comrie ($1.8M) are under contract for next year. Anderson had a better season than expected, particularly at the beginning, but still ended up under water for save percentage and quality start percentage. Given his injury history and inconsistent performance it wouldn't be a surprise to see Comrie get more starts, but if Anderson goes down it might be Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen brought in instead.

Carolina

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
FREDERIK ANDERSEN	32	CAR	52	35	67.3%	14	3	4	2.17	0.922	29	55.8	$4.5M
ANTTI RAANTA	33	CAR	28	15	53.6%	5	4	2	2.45	0.912	13	46.4	$2M
ZACH SAWCHENKO	24	CAR	7	1	14.3%	2	1	0	3.61	0.901	1	14.3	$0.73M
PYOTR KOCHETKOV	23	CAR	3	3	100.0%	0	0	0	2.45	0.902	2	66.7	$0.93M

Nothing much changed in Carolina. Freddie Anderson had a good season, is the higher paid goalie, and seems to be set for another starting season in Carolina.

Columbus

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
ELVIS MERZLIKINS	28	CBJ	59	27	45.8%	23	7	2	3.22	0.907	27	45.8	$4M
JOONAS KORPISALO	28	CBJ	22	7	31.8%	11	0	0	4.15	0.877	5	22.7	$2.8M
DANIIL TARASOV	23	CBJ	4	0	0.0%	2	0	0	2.4	0.937	2	50	$0.93M

Elvis Merzlikins took the reins in 21-22 after a shared season with Joonas Korpisalo the year before. It wasn't exactly a great season for Merzlikins with a 45.8 percent quality start and a negative goals saved above average. Even so he did play 59 games, and Columbus made no moves in net indicating they would be interested in replacing him. Adding offensive firepower during the offseason can only help, and it seems to be his net.

Calgary

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
JACOB MARKSTROM	32	CGY	63	37	58.7%	15	9	9	2.22	0.922	37	58.7	$6M
DAN VLADAR	24	CGY	23	13	56.5%	6	2	2	2.75	0.906	11	47.8	$0.75M

Nothing has changed here, at least in net. The offense could be in dire need of support, but Jacob Markstrom has been very solid for a while now. This marks the fourth season where Markstrom has posted a higher than 53 percent quality start number and only once in the last seven seasons has he had a lower save percentage than .910. Wins might be harder to come by with Johnny Guadreau and possibly Matthew Tkachuk gone, but the volume is Markstrom's.

Chicago

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
PETR MRAZEK	30	CHI	20	12	60.0%	6	0	0	3.34	0.888	5	25	$3.8M
ARVID SODERBLOM	22	CHI	3	0	0.0%	2	0	0	5.01	0.863	0	0	$0.93M
ALEX STALOCK	34	CHI	1	0	0.0%	1	0	0	7.81	0.786	0	0	$0.79M

It is fire sale time in Chicago and that does not bode well for goalies. Technically Patrick Kane, Seth Jones, and the shell of Jonathan Toews are still on the team, but who knows for how long. Petr Mrazek is the only goalie currently rostered who played a meaningful number of games last year, and is the only one making a decent salary so he is likely the starter. He was not good in Toronto though with a .888 save percentage, a 25 percent quality start number, and a -11.72 goals saved above average. While he may begin the season as a starter it seems like the reason he was brought in was to help the team tank for Connor Bedard. This is a very significant buyer beware scenario.

Colorado

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
ALEXANDAR GEORGIEV	26	COL	33	16	48.5%	10	2	2	2.92	0.898	13	39.4	$2.43M
PAVEL FRANCOUZ	32	COL	21	15	71.4%	5	1	2	2.55	0.916	6	28.6	$2M
JONAS JOHANSSON	26	COL	11	3	27.3%	4	1	0	4.69	0.856	3	27.3	$0.75M
JUSTUS ANNUNEN	22	COL	2	1	50.0%	0	1	0	4.34	0.863	0	0	$1.05M

Alexander Georgiev was brought in with a salary of $3.4M this offseason. He has never been a starter before and did not have a particularly good showing in his 33 games in New York. Pavel Francouz's per game numbers aren't fantastic either and he is making a little less money. It is hard to know if either of these guys has what it takes to be a starter, my guess is something of a timeshare at least to start. The Avs are clearly hoping that their team is good enough that it doesn't really matter who is in net.

Dallas

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
JAKE OETTINGER	23	DAL	48	30	62.5%	15	1	1	2.53	0.914	25	52.1	$1.39M
SCOTT WEDGEWOOD	29	DAL	37	13	35.1%	15	6	1	3.14	0.91	15	40.5	$0.83M
ANTON KHUDOBIN	36	DAL	9	3	33.3%	4	1	0	3.63	0.879	2	22.2	$3.33M

Dallas brought back Scott Wedgewood for $1M, but this is Jake Oettinger's net. It should have been last season and his strong play when called upon and his playoff run certainly put any notion of a goalie competition to bed.

Detroit

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
ALEX NEDELJKOVIC	26	DET	59	20	33.9%	24	9	4	3.31	0.901	26	44.1	$3M
VILLE HUSSO	27	DET	40	25	62.5%	7	6	2	2.56	0.919	22	55	$0.75M

This marks the second consecutive season that Detroit has gone out and added a young hot goalie to replace an inconsistent veteran. It didn't pay huge dividends last season with Alex Nedeljkovix putting up a .901 save percentage and quality starts in 44% of his games. Clearly Detroit wasn't satisfied as they went out and added Ville Husso for $4.75M. Husso had better numbers (playing for a better team), the higher salary, and is the hot new thing so I wouldn't be surprised if he gets the initial 1A nod to start the season, but I also wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being a true tandem and it comes down to whoever is playing better at the time.

Edmonton

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
JACK CAMPBELL	30	EDM	49	31	63.3%	9	6	5	2.66	0.914	28	57.1	$1.65M
MIKE SMITH	40	EDM	28	16	57.1%	9	2	2	2.81	0.915	15	53.6	$2.2M
STUART SKINNER	23	EDM	13	6	46.2%	6	0	1	2.62	0.913	6	46.2	$0.75M
CALVIN PICKARD	30	EDM	3	1	33.3%	1	0	0	4.3	0.875	1	33.3	$0.8M

Edmonton's solution in net for the past couple of seasons in Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen was clearly a problem. Mike Smith had some surprisingly useful runs when he was healthy, but was not the answer. Mikko Koskinen, who was supposed to be the stop gap until Stuart Skinner was ready also clearly wasn't. Enter Jack Campbell ($5M). Campbell had a wildly inconsistent year with Toronto so he is certainly not a shoe-in problem solver here either, but entering the season he should be the starter. An inconsistent starter for an inconsistently effective defensive team. Definitely a big risk/reward scenario here fantasy wise.

Florida

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
SERGEI BOBROVSKY	33	FLA	54	39	72.2%	7	3	3	2.67	0.913	31	57.4	$10M
SPENCER KNIGHT	21	FLA	32	19	59.4%	9	3	2	2.79	0.908	14	43.8	$2.49M
ALEX LYON	29	FLA	2	1	50.0%	0	1	0	2.93	0.908	1	50	$0.75M

Sometimes defaulting to your highly paid goalie works out. Sergei Bobrovsky was on the ropes entering the season and many were salivating about Spencer Knight taking over for the juggernaut Panthers. That didn't happen though with Bobrovsky having a significant bounce-back season. Knight wasn't amazing in the starts he did get so I would imagine that Florida would prefer to get their money's worth with Bobrovsky for the time being.

LA

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
JONATHAN QUICK	36	L.A	46	23	50.0%	13	9	2	2.59	0.91	23	50	$5.8M
CAL PETERSEN	27	L.A	37	20	54.1%	14	2	3	2.89	0.895	19	51.4	$0.86M
PHEONIX COPLEY	30	L.A	2	0	0.0%	1	0	0	3.11	0.878	1	50	$1.1M

Cal Petersen was handed a $5M extension that kicks in for 22-23, and was clearly supposed to be the heir apparent to Jonathan Quick in LA. After a strong end to 20-21, that coming out party was supposed to be in 21-22. It didn't really happen. For most periods of time Quick was the better goalie, going on some seriously productive runs (he also had some rocky patches, but hey what else is new?). It seems like the best case scenario for Petersen to start next year is a timeshare where he is the 1B. If he returns to form in the way LA was hoping he would I am sure they would love to give him the net, he just couldn't put it together last year.

Minnesota

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
MARC-ANDRE FLEURY	37	MIN	56	28	50.0%	23	5	4	2.9	0.908	28	50	$7M
FILIP GUSTAVSSON	24	MIN	18	5	27.8%	12	1	0	3.55	0.892	7	38.9	$0.79M

With Cam Talbot safely out of the picture Marc-Andre Fleury (signed at $3.5M) appears to be poised to inherit the starter's crease. Filip Gustavsson has generated some interest in the past, but wasn't ready to step into prime time with Ottawa last season losing out to Anton Forsberg when Matt Murray went down (both to injury and the AHL). Playing for Minnesota is usually good for any goalie, so Fleury is certainly worth considering.

Montreal

Name	Age	Team	GP	W	W%	L	OTL	SO	GAA	SV%	QS	QS%	AAV
SAM MONTEMBEAULT	25	MTL	38	8	21.1%	18	6	1	3.77	0.891	11	28.9	$0.75M
JAKE ALLEN	31	MTL	35	9	25.7%	20	4	2	3.3	0.905	14	40	$2.88M
CAYDEN PRIMEAU	22	MTL	12	1	8.3%	7	1	0	4.62	0.868	3	25	$0.97M
CAREY PRICE	34	MTL	5	1	20.0%	4	0	0	3.63	0.878	3	60	$10.5M

What a disaster in net. Jake Allen wasn't great, but at least was approaching NHL caliber some of the time. When he was injured Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau had an occasionally decent game, but blew up their managers way more often than not. Hopefully all of that is moot as Carey Price is back with the team and should be ready for game one next season. Price has maintained excellent quality start numbers over his career even as his save percentage and goals saved above average numbers have declined over the last three seasons. He is going to be 36 at the start of next season and it is hard to know what to expect from him, though given his recent declines, and Montreal's poor play last season it is hard to be overly optimistic.

That is all for this week

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