FanPost

New York Islanders future goaltending options: What's out there?

See the puck, stop the puck. - Bruce Bennett

LHH Editor's note: Despite Evgeni Nabokov's performance hardly being to blame in the OT loss last night, Islanders goaltending has been a hot topic -- the prospects not looking otherworldly, and in fact, this weakness looking like what could separate a competitive team from a playoff berth. But the proper follow-up question to a sports complaint is, "What options are there to fix it?" Read on...

In an effort to examine what goaltending options are out there, I decided to write a different post that focused on stat comparison. This way, we can all look at a goalies track record, see what they've done and come to a decision on what we'd each like.

Some options are not going to happen, others are interesting to ponder. Let's have a look:

IN THE PIPELINE

Kevin Poulin - 126th Overall (5th Round) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft

Height: 6'2 Age: 22

Most Islanders fans are familiar with Poulin as he is now the current backup and because of previous short stints in the NHL. He is generally regarded as a talented goaltender with some upside. According to the various scouting reports, Poulin has ideal size for an NHL goaltender, is positionally sound and quiet in his movements and plays with confidence. Poulin's weaknesses include: working on his consistency (letting in soft goals at the wrong time).

Statistics:

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2006-2007

QMJHL

10-6

0

.896

3.34

2007-2008

QMJHL

Playoffs

18-24

2-4

0

0

.887

.846

3.69

5.80

2008-2009

QMJHL

Playoffs

18-19

0-4

1

1

.900

.903

3.17

4.34

2009-2010

QMJHL

Playoffs

35-16

10-6

0

0

.916

.918

2.63

2.84

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2010-2011

NHL

4-2-1

0

.924

2.44

2010-2011

AHL

10-5

2

.932

2.19

2011-2012

NHL

2-4

0

.907

3.04

2011-2012

AHL

Playoffs

26-18-4

0-3

3

0

.912

.917

2.79

3.09

2012-2013

AHL

15-14-3

1

.904

3.22

In 17 GP in the NHL, Poulin has a .915% EV Strength Save Percentage. A small sample size, but you'd like to see that number a little higher.

Anders Nilsson - 62nd Overall (3rd Round) of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

Height: 6'6 Age: 22

Nicknamed Thor, Isles fans got a little taste of Nilsson last season; his first in North America. Via Elite Prospects: "A huge goaltender that is technically skilled. Nilsson has good hockey smarts, plays with calmness, and has good mental strength. Challenges the shooters and has been very consistent during his career, rarely having bad games. Furthermore, he is athletic and quite agile." Unfortunately, Nilsson has been ailing with an unknown injury/illness and has barely played.

Statistics:

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2007-2008

SuperElit

16 GP

2

.926

2.07

2008-2009

SuperElit

Playoffs

37 GP

6 GP

4

1

.927

N/A

2.05

2.35

2009-2010

SuperElit

Elitserien

4 GP

27 GP

0

2

.899

.897

2.95

2.65

2010-2011

Elitserien

Playoffs

31 GP

13 GP

6

0

.918

.931

1.92

1.96

2011-2012

NHL

1-2

1

.911

2.75

2011-2012

AHL

15-8-2

1

.921

2.42

2012-2013

AHL

7-10

1

.896

3.14

Of note: In 4 NHL GP, Nilsson has a .914 EV Strength SV %. Also, in his last season in the Elitserien, Nilsson was 4th overall in SV % (of goaltenders with 30+ GP).

Mikko Koskinen - 31st overall (2nd round) of the 2009 NHL Entry draft.

Height: 6'6 Age: 24

Koskinen had a taste of the NHL in the 2010/2011 season but after disappointing in the AHL, has started in the SM-liiga the past two seasons. This year, Koskinen is doing decently well with good numbers (7th overall in SV% of goaltenders with 30+ GP).

Statistics:

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2007-2008

Jr. SM-liiga

12-4

2

.907

2.30

2008-2009

Jr. SM-liiga

9-0

2

.930

1.65

2008-2009

SM-liiga

Playoffs

17-9-7

6-8

1

0

.932

.912

1.91

2.59

2009-2010

AHL

ECHL

1-1

6-0

0

0

.902

.924

2.45

2.50

2010-2011

NHL

AHL

2-1

12-21-1

0

0

.873

.892

4.33

3.49

2011-2012

AHL

0-2

0

.909

2.82

2011-2012

SM-liiga

Playoffs

13-5-4

3-2

5

2

.916

.889

2.30

2.23

2012-2013

SM-liiga

20-14-13

7

.921

2.01

Of note: In 4 NHL GP, Koskinen had a .867% EV Strength Save %.

CURRENT NHL BACKUPS- TRADE TARGETS

Two goaltenders whose names get thrown around a lot in trade discussions are Jonathan Bernier and Ben Bishop. Both have had larger amounts of experience in the NHL than any of the Islanders prospects. Let's take an in depth look at their stats as well.

Jonathan Bernier - 11th overall (1st round) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Height: 6' Age: 24 Team: Los Angeles Kings

Bernier, a 1st round selection of the Kings, has been the topic of numerous trade discussions due to Quick's incredible season last year and signing a long-term deal this past off-season (ex: Bernier was a trade target for Columbus). According to the Central Scouting report of the year he was drafted, Bernier is: "A very strong skater with excellent balance...has both quick reactions and recovery...has very quick feet and pads with excellent, controlled lateral movements...very good post-to-post...does a good job of blocking a pass from behind the net...very good angles and net coverage...challenges at the top of the crease and to the shooter...good rebound control deflecting shots out of danger with his stick and blocker...uses paddle down technique on wrap around attempts...goes behind the net well to stop the puck on dump ins and is smart at moving it...communicates well with his defense...does a very good job of reading and reacting to the play...has an excellent well balanced butterfly stance...shows excellent determination...very solid and strong in the crease...battles hard for any loose pucks and holds his ground when players cut hard to the net...very quick recovery to get set for a rebound opportunity...very aggressive and competes hard...very confident and doesn't get rattled...capable of making big saves to keep his team in the game or to hold a lead."

Statistics:

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2004-2005

QMJHL

7-12-3

2

.909

2.97

2005-2006

QMJHL

Playoffs

27-26

2-4

2

1

.908

.914

2.70

2.84

2006

WJC-18

3-3-1

1

.942

1.71

2006-2007

QMJHL

Playoffs

26-10

16-1

2

1

.905

.919

2.58

2.34

2007

Memorial Cup

1-3

0

.940

2.07

2007-2008

QMJHL

Playoffs

18-15

2-4

0

0

.908

.918

2.73

2.93

2008

WJC-20

1-1

0

.947

2.00

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2007-2008

NHL

1-3

0

.864

4.03

2007-2008

AHL

Playoffs

1-1-1

0-3

0

0

.946

.908

1.63

2.76

2008-2009

AHL

23-24-4

5

.910

2.40

2009-2010

NHL

3-0

0

.957

1.30

2009-2010

AHL

Playoffs

30-21-6

10-6

9

3

.936

.939

2.03

1.81

2010-2011

NHL

11-8-3

0

.913

2.48

2011

WC

2-1

0

.917

2.01

2011-2012

NHL

5-6-2-1

0

.909

2.36

2012-2013

NHL

5-1

0

.916

1.93

2007-2013

NHL Totals

25-18-5

5

.911

2.43

In 55 NHL GP, Bernier has a .915% EV Strength Save Percentage.

Ben Bishop - 85th Overall (3rd Round) in 2005 NHL Entry Draft

Height: 6'7 Age: 26 Team: Ottawa Senators

With Anderson's incredible NHL season and some good quality goaltending in the AHL with Lehner, Bishop has been a topic of trade talk amongst Islanders fans. With his giant frame, Bishop is considered a future starting goaltender.

Statistics:

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2004-2005

NAHL

Playoffs

35-8

9-2

5

0

.920

.891

1.93

2.73

2005-2006

University of Maine

21-8-2

0

.908

2.28

2006-2007

University of Maine

21-9-2

3

.923

2.14

2007-2008

University of Maine

13-18-3

2

.920

2.43

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2007-2008

AHL

2-2-1

0

.908

2.38

2008-2009

NHL

1-1-1

0

.893

2.94

2008-2009

AHL

15-16-1

1

.900

2.81

2009-2010

AHL

23-18-4

0

.901

2.77

2010-2011

NHL

3-4

1

.899

2.76

2010-2011

AHL

17-14-2

2

.914

2.55

2011-2012

AHL

24-14

6

.928

2.26

2011-2012

NHL

3-3-2

0

.909

2.48

2011-2012

AHL

2-1

0

.944

2.35

2012-2013

NHL

4-4

0

.925

2.54

2008-2013

NHL Totals

11-12-3

1

.910

2.63

So far in 31 NHL GP, Bishop posts a .913% Even Strength Save Percentage.

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS

In no particular order...

Thomas Greiss - San Jose Sharks Backup

Height: 6'1 Age: 27

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2006-2007

AHL

Playoffs

26-15-2

0-3

0

.912

N/A

2.61

4.18

2007-2008

AHL

18-21-2

0

.892

3.09

2008-2009

AHL

Playoffs

30-24-2

6-6

1

.910

.912

2.47

2.43

2010-2011

SEL

N/A

2

.901

2.92

2009-2013

NHL Totals

17-15-3

1

.910

2.55

Even Strength SV % this season: .906

Anton Khudobin - Boston Bruins Backup

Height: 5'11 Age: 26

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2008-2009

AHL

Playoffs

3-6-1

8-8

0

2

.890

.900

3.04

2.70

2009-2010

AHL

14-19-4

4

.907

2.43

2010-2011

AHL

AHL

19-12-1

9-4-1

1

1

.911

.920

2.58

2.40

2011-2012

AHL

21-19-3

2

.919

2.61

2009-2013

NHL Totals

8-2

1

.940

1.83

Even Strength Save % this season: .896%

Ray Emery - Chicago Blackhawks Starter/Backup

Height: 6'2 Age: 30

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2013

NHL

10-0

0

.925

2.02

2002-2013

NHL Totals

119-62-19

11

.908

2.66

Even Strength SV % this season: .937%

Jose Theodore - Florida Panthers starter, currently injured

Height: 5'11 Age: 36

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2013

NHL

4-6-3

0

.892

3.30

1996-2013

NHL Totals

286-254-30-58

33

.909

2.68

Even Strength SV % this season: .901%

Mike Smith - Phoenix Coyotes Starter

Height: 6'3 Age: 30

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2013

NHL

9-6-2

3

.900

2.90

2006-2013

NHL Totals

114-90-31

22

.913

2.59

Even Strength SV % this season : .906%

Niklas Backstrom - Minnesota Wild Starter

Height: 5'11 Age: 35

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2013

NHL

9-6-2

0

.918

2.22

2006-2013

NHL Totals

169-115-44

26

.917

2.42

Even Strength SV % this season: .912%

Jimmy Howard - Detroit Red Wings Starter

Height: 6' Age: 28

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2013

NHL

9-7-3

1

.912

2.63

2005-2013

NHL Totals

119-61-22

12

.916

2.43

Even Strength SV % this season: .933%

From this group, I showed limited stats but most importantly also showed goaltenders EV Strength SV % this season which has been a hot stat thrown around LHH recently. OF this group of goaltenders that are going to be UFAs this summer, Jimmy Howard is my favorite. Still relatively young, has proven NHL success. Niklas Backstrom, while aging could still be a solid goaltender and Mike Smith, coming off of a career year last year, could be solid in net (but is he a product of PHX system a la Bryzgalov?). I'm not interested in Theodore who has looked awful this season and is aging, nor Greiss or Khudobin who are frankly not that good.

The name that really interests me is Ray Emery. Chicago has been playing incredibly in front of him, but he's also having a career year and became the first goalie in NHL history to reach 10-0. I would not mind signing him and platooning him with Poulin next season as an option.

OVERSEAS: LEADERS IN THE ELITSERIEN AND SM-liiga

Inspired by what Fasth has done for Anaheim this season, I decided to look to the top two European leagues and check out which goaltenders have been thriving there. I took guys into account that weren't ever drafted by an NHL team or had played in North America yet (with the exception of one who played Juniors here). While it's highly unlikely we would sign any of these, it's an interesting thought after Fasth's recent success.

I apologize in advance as I wasn't able to get some statistics (Record, EV ST SV%, SOs, etc.)

Elitserien:

Christian Engstrand - 2nd in the Elitserien in SV %

Height: 6' Age: 24

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2005-2006

SuperElit

Playoffs

27 GP

6 GP

N/A

.904

.956

2.33

1.62

2006-2007

SuperElit

Playoffs

32 GP

5 GP

N/A

.926

.927

1.99

2.00

2007-2008

SuperElit

Allsvenskan

5 GP

20 GP

N/A

.850

.906

3.99

3.02

2008-2009

Allsvenskan

32 GP

N/A

.888

3.33

2009-2010

Elistserien

Playoffs

13 GP

4 GP

0

N/A

.917

.913

2.56

2.66

2010-2011

SuperElit

Allsvenskan

Elitserien

3 GP

6 GP

7 GP

N/A

N/A

2

.931

.889

.942

2.23

4.03

1.57

2011-2012

Allsvenskan

Elitserien

3 GP

13 GP

N/A

1

.925

.914

2.31

2.44

2012-2013

Elitserien

34 GP

6

.936

1.89

Bernhard Starkbaum- 4th in the Elisterien in SV % (Goaltenders with 30+GP)

Height: 6'1 Age: 27

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2008-2009

Austria

17 GP

N/A

.925

2.69

2009-2010

Austria

18 GP

N/A

.913

2.85

2010-2011

Austria

33 GP

N/A

.923

2.70

2011-2012

Austria

48 GP

N/A

.936

2.27

2012-2013

Elitserien

46 GP

N/A

.933

2.06

Julius Hudacek - 6th in the Elitserien in SV % (Goaltenders with 30+GP)

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2008-2009

Slovakia

Playoffs

Slovakia 2

22 GP

8 GP

5 GP

N/A

.922

.950

.924

2.40

1.59

2.75

2009-2010

Slovakia

Playoffs

Slovakia 2

27 GP

16 GP

2 GP

N/A

.936

.936

.969

2.16

2.00

1.00

2010-2011

Slovakia

Playoffs

45 GP

14 GP

N/A

.936

.936

1.79

1.25

2011-2012

Allsvenskan

3 GP

N/A

.926

2.09

2012-2013

Elitserien

48 GP

N/A

.930

1.89

SM-liiga

Antti Raanta - 1st in the SM-liiga.

Contract up after this season.

Height: 6' Age: 23

Scouting report: A small goalie with good positional play. Competitive.


Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2008-2009

Jr. A SM-liiga

Playoffs

Finland 2

40 GP

8 GP

2 GP

N/A

.922

.924

.912

2.66

2.66

2.51

2009-2010

Jr. A SM-liiga

Playoffs

SM-liiga

15 GP

4 GP

15 GP

N/A

.928

.957

.917

2.20

1.51

2.66

2010-2011

SM-liiga

Playoffs

20 GP

2 GP

N/A

.910

.818

2.37

4.28

2011-2012

SM-liiga

Playoffs

38 GP

3 GP

N/A

.933

.917

2.23

3.07

2012-2013

SM-liiga

43 GP

N/A

.943

1.84

Juha Metsola - 2nd in the SM-liiga in SV%

Height: 5'10 Age: 24

Scouting report: A small, agile goalkeeper with a good movement pattern. Agile and quick reflexes.

Year

League

Record

SO

SV%

GAA

2007-2008

WHL

Playoffs

30 GP

18 GP

N/A

.916

.908

1.98

2.37

2008-2009

WHL

53 GP

N/A

.907

2.80

2009-2010

Sm-liiga

Finland 2

4 GP

4 GP

6 GP

3 GP

N/A

.871

.933

.939

.926

3.30

2.01

1.93

2.68

2010-2011

SM-liiga

Finland 2

6 GP

2 GP

2 GP

N/A

.942

.930

.907

1.80

1.48

3.05

2011-2012

SM-liiga

Finland 2

26 GP

2 GP

N/A

.925

.947

2.76

2.40

2012-2013

SM-liiga

Finland 2

44 GP

2 GP

N/A

.931

.939

2.05

2.03

Well, hope you guys took the time to read this and try to make some opinions on what the Islanders could do. Unlikely anything happens, but it's fun to think about.

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