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 Colorodo Avalanche®
Goaltending Grade-
1st in NHL
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Comments- | Roy was in many playoff games last post-season and was awsome for his club. Patrick Roy proved that he wouldn't yeild under pressure by shutting out the competition in two of three game 7 do or die competitions. In the Avs final game roy allowed in over five goals yeilding to the awsome pressure of the Detroit Red Wings. Patrick Roy is the best goaltender in the NHL and has three Stanley Cups, three Conn Smythe awards, and many goaltending records under his belt. Roy's backup, David Aebischer, is doing well and is definately the future of the Colorodo Avalanche. Aebischer is not yet ready to carry a team but by the time Roy retires, her definately will be. |
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 Montreal Canadiens®
Goaltending Grade-
2nd in NHL
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Comments- | Jose Theodore shocked the NHL when he was one of the best goaltenders in the NHL. Theodore was almost as good if not equally as good as Patrick Roy himself. Theodore is just hitting the depth of his prime and he has definately become a franchise player last season. The Vezina throphy is a good symbol of how well Jose Theodore really did last season. |
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 New Jersey Devils®
Goaltending Grade-
3rd in NHL
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Comments- | Puck handling and stick handling is a key to good goaltending. Martin Brodeur is currently the best puck handling goaltender in the NHL to day. Brodeur is probably the second best puck handler in NHL history second only to Ron Hextal of the Philadelphia Flyers. |
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 Detroit Red Wings®
Goaltending Grade-
4th in NHL
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Comments- | Goaltending has never really been a huge problem for the Red Wings. Even though Dominik Hasek retired the Wings were still able to sign Curtis Joseph who is pretty close to be just as good as Hasek. The only problem is that Curtis Joseph has never won a Cup, and just like Hasek, the Wings may have to carry him to his Cup as well. Backing up Joseph is Manny Legace who is also a really good goaltender. Two years ago, Legace took the starting spot from Chris Osgood making him the starting goaltender of the Detroit Red Wings, but during the off season the capability to sign Dominik Hasek came to the surface and Legace was put back into the backup spot again. The Red Wings are coming off of a Stanley Cup winning season and they have a very old lineup, so the chances of Detroit winning another Cup this year is very nill.
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 Philadelphia Flyers®
Goaltending Grade-
5th in NHL
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Comments- | The Flyer's Jinx, thats is what it has been called around Philadelphia. The ability to keep a good goaltender is hard to come by. The Flyers have had a different goaltender every year until Roman Cechmanek came along. Cechmanek is an experienced goaltender that has alot of international hockey experience as well as a 1998 Nagano gold metal. Cechmanek is a risk, he has many holes in his play and it is a wonder why more goals aren't scored against him. Cechmanek goes down early, he makes the first move, he doesn't challenge the shooter well and he is very slow to get back to his feet. These things are not necessarily bad if the goaltender can keep the puck out of the net. Cechmanek was a Vezina Trophy runerup in his rookie year and is the only goalie to play back-to-back playoff seasons with the Flyers since Ron Hextal did it. The fact is that Brian Boucher was consistent in his play, but due to bad coaching last season, Boucher was left out of the loop to take a risk with Roman Cechmanek in the playoffs. After winning one and losing three games Cechmanek was upset and took his anger out on his teamates questioning their dedication and etc. Cechmanek can keep the puck out of the net and he plays much like Dominik Hasek in his own style. In most respects, Cechmanek is actually better than Hasek.
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 Carolina Hurricanes®
Goaltending Grade-
6th in NHL
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Comments- | The Hurricanes hasve an extremely under rated goaltending tangent that thrives in situations where they need it the most. Bost Arturs Irbe and Kevin Weekes are ready to be starting goaltender and both are good to carry their team in the playoffs.
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 Phoenix Coyotes®
Goaltending Grade-
7th in NHL
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Comments- | Brian Boucher has greatly added to this teams ability to be a playoff team. Sean Burke is solid but will most likely lose his spot to the quick and young Boucher who has proven that he can carry a team in the playoffs. The chances that the Coyotes will win a cup next year is slim but don't count them out four years from now. They are young, in four years or less, Boucher will be in the middle of his prime and we predict that Boucher will be one of the best in the NHL.
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 New York Islanders®
Goaltending Grade-
8th in NHL
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Comments- | The Islanders lost out in the first round last year but it is the first time they made the playoffs since Ron Hextal brought them there. This shows that Chris Osgood will be their most important player in getting them cvlose to the Holy Grail of hockey.
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 Washington Capitals®
Goaltending Grade-
9th in NHL
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Comments- | Kolzig is awsome, he just doesn't have a team that can score goals for him. If we were to rate him, he would probably be the third best goaltender in the NHL. If Kolzig would have played for Detroit last year, they would have probably never lost a game.
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 New York Rangers®
Goaltending Grade-
10th in NHL
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Comments- | Rangers have goaltending problems, Richter hasn't been able to be solid enough to get them to the playoffs and Blackburn is one of the best young goaltenders but is still not capable to take the reigns of a hockey club. This team has a high payroll and have invested much in scoring but they seem to overlook their goaltending which, lets face it, is quite over-rated, the Buffalo Sabres had the same problem three years ago with Hasek.
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 Dallas Stars®
Goaltending Grade-
11th in NHL
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Comments- | Marty Turco is a solid goaltender and he has proven that he is a better goaltender them Ed Belfour. This fact must have greatly contributed to the Dallas Star's decision to not resign Belfour. Turco is definately one of the best prospects for the 2002-2003 hockey season.
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Goaltending Grade-
12th in NHL
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Comments- | Nabokov is an awsome goaltender who challenges the shooter real well. The only problem is tha Nabokov is one of the worst in the NHL on breakaway shots so his team will have to help him out with some solid defense.
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 St. Louis Blues®
Goaltending Grade-
13th in NHL
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Comments- | The Blues are pretty much set in their goaltending department. Both Johnson and Fred Brathwaite have played the spot as starting goaltenders before and are both ready for playoff competition. Last playoff year the Blues were knocked out in the second round by Detroit which was one of the best last season. Even though Johnson didn't play well in this series, his team didn't play very well in front of him as well. Detroit was good, but not THAT good to beat a team with such talent as the 2002 St. Louis Blues in only 5 games.
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 Toronto Maple Leafs®
Goaltending Grade-
14th in NHL
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Comments- | Lets face the facts, Belfour is reaching an age where the end of his career is just right around the corner. Toronto had an awsome goaltender, but when Curtis Joseph went to Detroit, the Leafs had to settle for Belfour. Belfour has been getting worse and worse every year since he won the cup in 99 and shows no signs of having a sudden "awsome" year. Toronto should have picked up on Byron Dafoe instead of taking Belfour.
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 Calgary Flames®
Goaltending Grade-
15th in NHL |
Comments- | Turek is a good puck-handler and can stop the puck better then a lot of goaltenders in the NHL. The only problem is that Turek seems to choke under large amounts of pressure. His team will need to play hard for him because in the playoffs he may allow three goals a game unless he improves.
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 Tampa Bay Lightning®
Goaltending Grade-
16th in NHL
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Comments- | Nikolai Khabibulin is a great goaltender that seems like he is geting better every season. Even though the Lightning have a slim chance of making the playoffs next season, they will probably still keep with their trend of getting more and more points every season. This Russian goaltender has proven himself capable of holding up a hockey club.
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 Edmonton Oilers®
Goaltending Grade-
17th in NHL
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Comments- | Tommy Salo is a highly under-rated goaltender who only seems to be getting better as his career goes along. This team will definately make the playoffs next season and at this rate, next season this club will be higher in our team ratings.
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 Ottawa Senators®
Goaltending Grade-
18th in NHL
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Comments- | Lalime has serious problems with playing playoff games. In his entire career, he has never once won a playoff series against a team that was a real challenge. Last year in the playoffs Lalime had three shutouts in a row against Philadelphia who was having HUGE scoring issues before they even started the playoffs. This series wasn't won because of good goaltending, it was won because Philadelphia hit more post then net. Lalime is awsome during the season it just doesn't seem that he is mature enough yet to be able to carry a team to the Cup Finals.
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 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim®
Goaltending Grade-
19th in NHL
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Comments- | The Ducks have two of the youngest goaltenders in the league. Giguere is solid and has nothing to do but get better. With the trades that this club has made this offseason, don't count them out for a playoff run within the next three years.
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 Pittsburgh Penguins®
Goaltending Grade-
20th in NHL
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Comments- | The Penguins have great goaltending, the problem is that they are young. Hedberg has not yet had the same success as he had his rookie season and Aubin is also still pretty young. This team's goaltending is getting better and the only reason they didn't make the playoffs last year is because they traded their best scorer for practically nothing as well as their best defensiveman. If this team had some shooters, they would be one of the most dangerous in the East. When Aubin and Hedberg are on their game they are two of the best in the NHL, but when they are off, well, Pittsburgh turns red.
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 Buffalo Sabres®
Goaltending Grade-
21st in NHL
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Comments- | Goaltending is not a problem for this club, it is scoring that they have to look into. The Sabres have one of the best defenses in the league and with a good defense you have to score goals too. If this club would get some shooters, then they may find themselves going for the Cup again.
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 Vancouver Canucks®
Goaltending Grade-
22nd in NHL
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Comments- | Even though he had a good run last year in the playoffs, Cloutier still has to get some more from his team. He kept them in that series but they still lost it in 6 to the Wings. This team is just like the Sabres, give them some good shooters, and BAM, you got yourself a cup!
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 Minnesota Wild®
Goaltending Grade-
23rd in NHL
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Comments- | Manny Fernandez is a good goaltender and started off learning from one of the best. He didn't do so well his rookie year but during his following season he seemed to do well. After being shipped to the Minnesota Wild, Manny Fernandez definately showed that he is a better starter then backup. This guy has a huge future in this league.
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 Boston Bruins®
Goaltending Grade-
24th in NHL
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Comments- | UNABLE TO BE WRITTEN WITHOUT A DAFOE SIGNING
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 Nashville Predators®
Goaltending Grade-
25th in NHL
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Comments- | The problem with the Predators not winning is not with their goaltender. Dunham is good enough for a Cup, he just wasn't blessed with the ability to be on a Cup bound team like Hasek.
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 Chicago Blackhawks®
Goaltending Grade-
26th in NHL
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Comments- | The Blackhawsk showed last season that they are ready for playoff competition. Even though a first round lost may not seem like much, it does show that they can make it to the playoffs. You must remember that only 16 teams make it, so there must be some challenge in it.It seems that the Blackhawks have had a bad reputation for goaltending. They seem to always lose the players that become all talent in only a few years. In the late 80s' both Dominik Hasek and Eddie Belfour played on the same team. Both men became some of the best in the league and the Blackhawks gave them away for barely anything.
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 Atlanta Thrashers®
Goaltending Grade-
27th in NHL
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Comments- | Rhodes just can't seem to do well with the limited defensive ability that his team has.
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 Florida Panthers®
Goaltending Grade-
28th in NHL
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Comments- | Awsome! The Panthers have some of the best goaltending in the National Hockey League, but the problem is that Luongo and Kidd both seems to have problems with getting hurt pretty often. If this club were to find a way from keeping these two goaltenders from getting hurtb then we would move them up to at least seventh on our ratings, that is how good these goaltenders are. Luongo was a good goaltender since his very first game with a win against the Bruins where he set a record by stopping over 40 shots in a 2-1 victory.
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 Las Angelas Kings®
Goaltending Grade-
29th in NHL
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Comments- | Potvin does really well in the playoffs and seems to play even better when the Kings need him the most in the post season. The only problem is that he doesn't do so well in the season. Even though a goaltender may carry you in the playoffs, he still needs to be good during the regular season to be a good goaltender.
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 Columbus Blue Jackets®
Goaltending Grade-
30th in NHL
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Comments- | The Blue Jackets are a new team and we are not taking anything away from Denis, the problem is that when you stick a good goaltender on a bad defensive team, you get the Blue Jackets.
Ratings are NOT scientific, for more information see our Legal Section
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