Ranking the top 3 available RFA goaltenders
Which RFA goaltenders are getting paid this NHL offseason? Here's a look at the three best.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
This year’s RFA class is a pretty strong one. Especially if you look at its goaltenders. Earlier today, I looked at the five best UFA goalies. Now let’s take a look at the three best RFA goalies.
1. MacKenzie Blackwood
If there was a goalie on this list I’d be tempted to sign to an offer sheet, it’s MacKenzie Blackwood. But the New Jersey Devils have tons of cap space, so they’d match just about anything, so it wouldn’t even be worth it.
At 23 years old, Blackwood is the youngest goalie on this list. He’s also coming off a very strong season, during which he proved he could be a starting goalie in the NHL. From Dec. 3 (the day the Devils fired John Hynes) to the end of the season, Blackwood had the third-highest save percentage among goalies with at least 20 appearances.
It was a toss up between Blackwood and Georgiev for the top spot, so I went with the younger goalie.
2. Alexandar Georgiev
If you like fancy stats like me, New York Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev had the best numbers of any RFA goalie last season. Per Evolving Hockey, his GSAx (goals saved above expected) of 2.88 was the highest among the RFA goalies. Blackwood, if you’re wondering, had a GSAx of -0.44.
The problem with Georgiev is he has yet to prove he’s a starting goalie. Blackwood has. Georgiev’s career high in games played is 34, so he’s more of a tandem goalie or a backup than a starter.
With Lundqvist being bought out, Georgiev’s future in New York is secure. It’ll be interesting to see how much he gets. And I wonder if the Rangers might trade him if they get an offer they really like.
3. Matt Murray
You’re probably wondering why Matt Murray is so high on this list after struggling for the previous two seasons. That’s reasonable. I have him this high because I think Murray will bounce back.
Here’s a very encouraging stat from Murray. Since the start of the 2017-18 season, among goalies with at least 5,000 5v5 minutes played, Murray has the sixth-highest high danger save percentage in the NHL. Granted, he’s struggled with medium-danger and low-danger shots. But high-danger save percentage is pretty repeatable.
What concerns me about Murray is his2019-20 season. He was dreadful in every aspect, including the one thing he’s great at (high-danger chances), as he ranked 34th out of 77 goalies in high-danger save percentage.
I’m fairly confident Murray can bounce back, but goalies are voodoo, so who knows? We might have already seen the best from him.
Honorable Mentions
The pickings are quite slim after Murray. Linus Ullmark is a decent backup goalie and will probably get the opportunity to be the number one in Buffalo next season. However, he’s 27 years old, so time’s running out for him to live up to his potential.
Kaapo Kähkönen of the Minnesota Wild won the AHL goalie of the year award. At 24 years old, he’ll likely get a chance to play in the NHL at some point in the next two seasons.
Malcolm Subban of the Chicago Blackhawks has experience as an NHL backup, but his past two seasons have not been good at all. Samuel Montembeault of the Florida Panthers is only 23 years old, so he has room to grow. He hasn’t been too impressive in his brief showings in the NHL, though.