Nine of the 12 men's hockey teams at the Olympics will have one to three NHL goalies. Ranking the teams' netminding:
Canada was considered to have the weakest goaltending in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and the country proved critics wrong.
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington made big saves in overtime against the USA before Connor McDavid scored and gave Canada the championship.
Binnington is back for Canada heading into the Olympics, though he has been struggling this NHL season, ranking last in the league in Moneypuck's goals saved above expected. But Canada/Blues general manager Doug Armstrong noted that Binnington will be playing behind a much better team than St. Louis has put on the ice.
Every country except Slovakia, France and Italy will bring at least one NHL goalie to the tournament.
Here's a ranking of the countries with an NHL goaltender:
9. Latvia
Goalies: Kristers Gudlevskis, Bremerhaven; Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus; Arturs Silovs, Pittsburgh
Analysis: Silovs has better numbers than Merzlikins, but his save percentage is still below .900.
8. Switzerland
Goalies: Reto Berra, Fribourg; Leonardo Genoni, Zug; Akira Schmid, Vegas
Analysis: Schmid's gotten more NHL starts than usual this season because of an injury to Adin Hill, but he's more of a backup. Genoni helped Switzerland win silver at the world championships.
7. Denmark
Goalies: Frederik Andersen, Carolina; Frederik Dichow, Jonkoping; Mads Sogaard, Ottawa
Analysis: Though Andersen is the veteran, the goalie to watch might be Dichow. He made 39 saves in an upset of a loaded Canada team in the world championships quarterfinals. Sogaard has spent most of the season in the American Hockey League.
6. Germany
Goalie: Maximilian Franzreb, Mannheim; Philipp Grubauer, Seattle; Mathias Niederberger, Munich
Analysis: A year ago, Germany would have ranked lower. But Grubauer and the Kraken have had turnaround seasons. Grubauer has shaved a goal off his goals-against average and he has a .916 save percentage after finishing below .900 in his prior four seasons in Seattle.
5. Finland
Goalies: Joonas Korpisalo, Boston; Kevin Lankinen, Vancouver; Juuse Saros, Nashville
Analysis: Saros is the lone No. 1 goalie in the group. He had a strong December and January as the Predators got back in the playoff race. Lankinen is getting more starts with Thatcher Demko out. Korpisalo replaces injured Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
4. Czechia
Goalies: Lukas Dostal, Anaheim; Karel Vejmelka, Utah; Dan Vladar, Philadelphia
Dostal has had two six-game winning streaks this season and Vejmelka has had six- and eight-game streaks to push their teams into a playoff position. Vejmelka is tied for the league lead with 27 wins. Vladar has grabbed the No. 1 job in his first year in Philadelphia, and the team struggled when he was out with an injury.
3. Canada
Goalies: Jordan Binnington, St. Louis; Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles; Logan Thompson, Washington
Analysis: Binnington and Kuemper won Stanley Cup titles, and Kuemper was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season. Binnington won the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he hasn't won since Jan. 3 and has started fewer than half of the Blues' games since then. The key could be Thompson, who was a Vezina Trophy favorite early in the season and looked good on Feb. 5 in his return from an injury. It will be interesting to see how Canada coach Jon Cooper deploys his goalies.
2. Sweden
Goalies: Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota; Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey; Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota
Gustavsson and Wallstedt have been one of the best tandems this season. Markstrom has been hit and miss. His goals-against average is about half a goal more than his career average. A 9-0 loss to the Islanders contributed to that.
1. USA
Goalies: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg; Jake Oettinger, Dallas; Jeremy Swayman, Boston
Analysis: Hellebuyck has won the last two Vezina trophies, plus the Hart Trophy last season. But he hasn't been as strong this season as the Jets have struggled and he had knee surgery. He was solid in the 4 Nations and not so strong on the road in the playoffs. Oettinger has reached the Western Conference final the past three seasons and Swayman has bounced back from his 2024-25 struggles. He helped the USA win a gold medal at the world championships.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olympic goaltending ranked: Can Jordan Binnington bounce back?
Category: General Sports
