There’s something about goaltending that, when it’s bad, it can hang on a franchise like an odour, weighing on fans and netminders alike. Pre-Luongo, for example, Vancouver was always pegged as a goalie graveyard (although some would argue a few of his predecessors were stiff upon arrival). In Ottawa, they seemingly haven’t had a lot of luck at the position either, with Patrick Lalime’s ugly turn in the 2004 postseason serving as just one reminder of failures past.
Anyway, it all made me wonder which franchises have really been home to the worst goaltenders in recent years and where exactly teams like Flyers, Sens and Canucks fit into the picture. So I made a chart.
Over the past 10 seasons, the average team save percentage has been about .904, with the top team (Minnesota) coming in well ahead of the pack at .916, followed by Florida and Anaheim at .911. Bringing up the rear are the Lightning with a god-awful .894.
If we limit this analysis to just the postlockout period, things change up slightly, however. The Wild, Devils, Panthers, Predators and Ducks are the top teams the past four seasons, with the Lightning, Leafs, Kings, Blues and Avalanche all at the bottom:
TEAM 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 AVG
1 Minnesota 0.914 0.922 0.915 0.922 0.918
2 New Jersey 0.906 0.917 0.914 0.914 0.913
3 Florida 0.912 0.896 0.920 0.922 0.913
4 Nashville 0.916 0.919 0.908 0.905 0.912
5 Anaheim 0.909 0.912 0.920 0.906 0.912
6 NY Rangers 0.911 0.909 0.911 0.913 0.911
7 Vancouver 0.898 0.918 0.913 0.911 0.910
8 Boston 0.902 0.896 0.914 0.925 0.909
9 Montreal 0.903 0.907 0.917 0.908 0.909
10 Calgary 0.915 0.912 0.904 0.899 0.908
11 Ottawa 0.913 0.913 0.901 0.901 0.907
12 Buffalo 0.906 0.906 0.900 0.911 0.906
13 San Jose 0.892 0.908 0.906 0.911 0.904
14 Pittsburgh 0.886 0.905 0.916 0.906 0.903
15 Detroit 0.906 0.905 0.907 0.894 0.903
16 Philadelphia 0.893 0.889 0.913 0.913 0.902
17 NY Islanders 0.892 0.912 0.904 0.900 0.902
18 Columbus 0.900 0.896 0.907 0.902 0.901
19 Dallas 0.897 0.907 0.905 0.891 0.900
20 Atlanta 0.891 0.907 0.904 0.896 0.900
21 Edmonton 0.884 0.900 0.904 0.909 0.899
22 Washington 0.896 0.899 0.900 0.901 0.899
23 Carolina 0.897 0.894 0.896 0.909 0.899
24 Chicago 0.885 0.896 0.902 0.911 0.899
25 Phoenix 0.892 0.886 0.911 0.904 0.898
26 Colorado 0.896 0.896 0.903 0.894 0.897
27 St. Louis 0.887 0.895 0.897 0.903 0.896
28 Los Angeles 0.891 0.886 0.900 0.902 0.895
29 Toronto 0.895 0.888 0.893 0.885 0.890
30 Tampa Bay 0.887 0.884 0.885 0.900 0.889
Average 0.899 0.903 0.906 0.906 0.903
via The Flyers goaltending: Not as bad as you think (and other netminding myths) – From The Rink.
Some posts the robot says are related, but I'll let you be the judge of that:
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- Standings in Points Blown: Kings XMas Vacation Edition
- The Hockey News: Western Conference predictions
- Team Canada 2010
- From The Puck Stops Here: Team Corsi Numbers
- HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – KINGS FANS NEED TO CALM THE HELL DOWN