Well, here we are.  The Top 10.  I hope you enjoyed the ride, I know I sure did.  In case you missed it, here are the previous two entries in this years list (30-21) and (20-11). Without further adieu, your 2014-2015 Top 10…

10. Mike Smith- Arizona Coyotes. Last year’s ranking: 10

  • Smith has become more famous for his goal at this point than his puck stopping abilities, but those should absolutely not be overlooked.  For a big guy, he moves exceedingly well and has cemented his status as a top-notch positional goaltender over the past few seasons.  I mentioned in my first Top 30, that I expected perennial Vezina-caliber campaigns out of Smith, and while he has been slightly off that lofty standard, he has been a rock in the Arizona (Phoenix?) net.  His large frame and third defenseman puck-handling skills make him an integral part of the ‘Yotes franchise and remains one of the league’s top tenders.

Smith

9. Pekka Rinne- Nashville Predators. Last year’s ranking: 3

  • What a brutal season for Rinne, huh?  First he had to undergo hip surgery only nine games into the year.  Then he got an infection from the surgery, which wiped out almost his entire season.  Once he came back in March, he was greeted with how terrible of a team he played on, and the rust showed in the form of him getting lit up for the final fifteen games of the season.  Since the pre-season rankings started, Rinne has clocked in at #3.  However, with the lost year and poor performance, his ranking took a hit.  I am confident that the talent remains after he gets farther away from surgery, and fully expect him to start his climb back up the list.  He is still firmly in his prime years and Nashville didn’t bother to seek any insurance this offseason, so they appear confident in his recovery.  Big bodied, elite-moving goaltenders don’t grow on trees, so I think everyone is looking for a nice rebound season from Mr. Rinne.

Rinne

 

8. Ben Bishop- Tampa Bay Lightning. Last year’s ranking: N/R

  • As with most big goaltenders, it took the 6’8″ Bishop a few extra years to get his body under control and really unleash his considerable talent.  The former University of Maine product took it to the next level this season with a Vezina-caliber campaign.  He almost immediately unseated the serially-underperforming Anders Lindback and grabbed the starting job in Tampa, and looks to build on that season with a reworked roster (Tampa Bay Rangers?) this coming year.  Bishop has a tremendous amount of athleticism for a tender of his size and moves very well.  His positioning is solid, even if he is still a bit prone to running around.  He is the type of goalie who can play deeper and concentrate on efficiency of movement because his sheer size cures a lot of angular ills.  I’m looking forward to seeing Bishop refine his game as his playing time stabilizes going forward.

Bishop

 

7. Cory Schneider- New Jersey Devils. Last year’s ranking: 8

  • While I’m sure that Lou and Co. in the New Jersey front office fully expected Schneider to eventually supplant Martin Brodeur as the no-doubt starter in Newark, I don’t think they expected it to be that severe, that quickly.  I think it was a combination of development on Schneider’s part and decline on Brodeur’s that created a huge talent gulf almost immediately.  With their franchise goaltender now flapping in the free-agent breeze, Schneider is taking his shiny, new 7-year deal and parking himself in the Devil’s crease full-time.  Honestly, it’s about time someone gave the former BC standout the keys and let him go.  He is a tremendous talent with fantastic positional instincts and fluid, efficient movements that should drive us Ranger fans just as crazy as his predecessor.  For the next 7 years.

Schneider

 

6. Semyon Varlamov- Colorado Avalanche. Last year’s ranking: N/R

  • I often lump super-athletic european goaltenders together for the purposes of analysis, because they all usually suffer the same fatal flaw: they have an obscene amount of athletic talent, but no positional or stylistic discipline.  We saw that sink Antti Niemi this season and had Sergei Bobrovsky take a small step back. Varlamov was always the worst offender in this category (hence, no ranking), possessing the most raw-talent and seemingly being the least willing to put it all together.  All that changed this season, proving why Colorado wasn’t completely nuts giving up a first round draft choice for him two years ago.  I am still going to be monitoring his consistency after one big year, but the talent is undeniably there, domestic violence allegations notwithstanding.

Varlamov

 

5. Jimmy Howard- Detroit Red Wings. Last year’s ranking: 4

  • The Red Wings star goaltender continues to be serially underrated from the hockey punditry.  He’s not particularly flashy, but he combines above-average athleticism with above-average positioning, above-average movement and above-average vision (seeing a pattern here?).  Howard does everything very well, if not possessing some of the truly elite tools that some of his Top 10 brethren share. His role of youngster backstopping veterans has shifted to Howard providing veteran stability to an increasingly younger Red Wings team, and he seems to be up to that challenge.  Howard will always keep them in contention, and that’s all Mike Babcock can really ask for while the team is in transition.

Howard

 

4. Jonathan Quick- Los Angeles Kings. Last year’s ranking: 2

  • So, how do you win a Stanley Cup for the second time in three seasons and see your ranking drop?  Ever since his obscene run in 2012, which I believe was one of the greatest goaltending performances in playoff history, Quick has seemingly gotten drunk on his own athleticism.  His positional and save execution decisions have gotten more and more erratic and inefficient over the last couple seasons, seemingly pushing the bounds on what types of saves he can make in a given situation.  As noted in many other tidbits of analysis on Quick I’ve done for the site, his lateral movement is categorized as mind-blowing more than elite.  He seems to have become more and more reliant on this skill and now wanders huge distances from the goal-mouth on relatively routine scrambles and finds himself having to cover massive amounts of ground to get back into position.  When it works, it’s a sight to behold, and when it doesn’t…he honestly looks kind of silly. Quick obviously has the skill set to be the top goaltender in this league.  The question is, can he get back to a positional foundation that will allow him to fully utilize that skill set?

Quick

 

3. Tuukka Rask- Boston Bruins. Last year’s ranking: 7

  • What a meteoric rise for the young Finn.  Rask has slowly but surely entrenched himself as one of the league’s best, capping it off with a phenomenal, Vezina winning season in 2013-2014.  He has done it almost completely on positioning and efficiency (and a rock-solid Bruins blue line).  He is basically Jimmy Howard’s best case scenario; jack of all trades, master of none.  But rarely do you see a more calming, consistent presence in the net.  The type of goaltender who can look absolutely unbeatable, and you can’t really figure out why.  He has distilled the position to it’s least common denominator and has become one of the game’s finest practitioners.  Bravo, Mr. Rask, on a truly fine season.

Rask

 

2. Carey Price- Montreal Canadiens. Last year’s ranking: 5

  • So, then.  How does Tuukka Rask win the Vezina and still get ranked #3?  The first issue is Carey Price, the toolsiest goaltender in all the land.  He possesses the greatest combination of athleticism, positioning, instincts, vision, movement and poise of any goaltender in the NHL.  We saw in the Olympics, when he held the greatest collection of hockey players the world has to offer to 3 (!) goals over the entire span of the tournament, just how good Carey Price really is.  After some bouts with maturity and consistency issues, I’m confidently ready to anoint him one of the game’s truly elite.  Price is now entering his prime years and should be an absolute force in the crease from here forward.  Habs fans should really appreciate what they have in goal, as they are truly spoiled with a talent like Price.

Price

 

1. Henrik Lundqvist- New York Rangers. Last year’s ranking: 1

  • Which brings us to #1.  Yeah, I get it, homer, Rangers blog, didn’t beat Quick in the finals, blah blah blah.  Nine years of consistent Vezina-caliber, first ballot trajectory play lands in at the top spot in my book, every time.  Even after his horrendous start to this past season, Lundqvist’s numbers finished almost exactly in line with his career statistics.  He lead his team to the Stanley Cup Final, and had the Rangers not blown two consecutive two-goal leads in Games 1 and 2, might have lifted The Cup this spring.  He passed all-time Ranger greats this season in Mike Richter and Eddie Giacomin to take the mantle of franchise leader in both wins and shutouts.  His #30 will one day hang from the rafters of The World’s Most Famous Arena.  He has Olympic Gold and Silver Medals.  A Vezina Trophy and five nominations.  He is a three time All-Star and a seven time winner of Rangers team MVP.  There is no goaltender on this list that means as much to his team as Lundqvist does.  He is also only 32 years old.  If that’s not worthy of the Top Spot despite my homerism, I don’t know what does.

The King

That’s it for this year’s Pre-season Top 30, I hope you all enjoyed.  Let me know if you agree or disagree with my rankings in the comments, and I look forward to doing it again next year.  In the meantime, with the list completed, it means that actual hockey is just around the corner.  Keep it locked to BSB for some great content coming up this season, and we look forward to another great year of Rangers hockey!

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