Anything can happen during a season in any sport. In an NHL season, players go through injuries, dips in form, off-ice issues and other instances that can affect their campaign.
All these different situations are all the more sensitive for goaltenders. Everyone understands teams usually can’t win without a great goaltender between the pipes. However, no one can control fate, and it forces others to step up to the plate.
Here are NHL goaltenders who may become very important at work and could be up to the task.
Ottawa Senators fans should prepare to see a lot of Leevi Merilainen this season. He’s shown great promise in his young NHL career so far.
Merilainen, 23, has played in 14 career NHL games, starting in 13 of those contests. Last season, he was a key contributor to helping the Senators get into the playoffs. In 11 starts, Meilainen put up a .925 save percentage and a 1.99 goals against average.
While it’s a short sample size, the Finnish netminder had multiple show-stopping performances, including three shutouts.
If Merilainen continues where he left off next season, not only will he put plenty of pressure on Linus Ullmark, but if Ullmark drops in form, he could be at risk of losing games to Merilainen.
While Ullmark is Ottawa’s starting goaltender, there’s a history of the former Vezina Trophy winner underperforming in the playoffs. If playoff-Ullmark leaks into the regular season, it may not be long before coach Travis Green calls upon Merilainen more often than expected.
Jet Greaves has been a standout goaltender in the AHL, especially last season, when he recorded a .920 SP and 2.62 GAA in 40 games with the Cleveland Monsters.
He made 11 appearances for the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and really impressed in his final five outings of the campaign. In that stretch, he recorded two shutouts and never registered a save percentage under .950 percent. In fact, he featured in back-to-back games because of his performances – something that rarely happens in today’s NHL.
At this point, the only goalie in the way of Greaves becoming an outright starter is Elvis Merzlikins. Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason will likely have Greaves and Merzlikins as a tandem and let it play out organically from there.
Merzlikins seems to be happy with the current goaltending situation in Columbus when he spoke to reporters at training camp about being a tandem.
“I think it’s great,” the Latvian netminder said. “I remember myself with (Joonas Korpisalo) together, we were No. 1s, both of us, and that helped us a lot.”
“We were helping each other. There were nights I was taking off and (Korpisalo) was doing great and we were winning, and then (Korpisalo) was taking off, and I was doing good, and we were winning the games. That’s really good on a hockey team to have two solid goalies because the season is long.”
Only time will tell who gets most of the games. Performances and player form can easily swing in any direction. However, it’s worth noting that Merzlikins hasn’t averaged over a .900 SP in the last three seasons, hinting that Greaves could edge him out in 2025-26.
Jonas Johansson hasn’t been the hottest of goaltenders for the Tampa Bay Lightning. But with Andrei Vasilevskiy’s recent injury issues, he might have to get into a groove quickly.
Since Sept. 19, Vasilevskiy hasn’t participated in any Lightning practices as he’s been dealing with an undisclosed injury. Nonetheless, reports say that the two-time Stanley Cup champion is expected to return to practice soon and to be back for opening night of the regular season.
Even if and when Vasilevskiy returns, health will remain a worry. Around this time two years ago, the Russian netminder required surgery for his back to treat a lumbar disk herniation. He was sidelined for 10 weeks and went on to have the worst season of his career, statistically.
He had a huge bounce-back season last year, putting up a .921 SP and a 2.18 GAA, ultimately one of the best campaigns of his 11-year career.
However, with another injury in the air, maybe Johansson should expect the worst and be prepared to feature in more contests than he may have anticipated.
Last season was a year to forget for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ starting goaltender, Tristan Jarry. He ended the season with a 3.09 GAA and .893 SP, and at one point, he was sent down to the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after clearing waivers.
Joel Blomqvist was one goaltender who stepped in for the Penguins, making his first 15 appearances in the NHL as a 23-year-old. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the answer with his .885 SP and 3.81 GAA.
Nonetheless, he’s still a promising goalie, who still put up an impressive .914 SP and 2.84 GAA in 18 AHL games last year. Although recent reports say he’ll be out for at least a month with a lower-body injury.
Nonetheless, alongside Blomqvist is Arturs Silovs, who was traded to the Penguins in the off-season. Silovs spent the last few years in the Vancouver Canucks organization. He made headlines in the 2023-24 playoffs when he suited up for the Canucks for 10 games as a rookie. He was a big reason why Vancouver advanced in the first round against the Nashville Predators.
While Silovs hasn’t really been consistent aside from that post-season, he may still be looked upon to be the main man in the crease for Pittsburgh. The goaltending situation with the Pens is far from solidified, and whoever decides to take the reins will likely keep it for some time.
Thatcher Demko missed a lot of time last season because of a torn popliteus muscle that destabilized his knee. He wasn’t available from the start of the 2024-25 campaign until December.
In the meantime, Kevin Lankinen came to the rescue for the Canucks. Before Demko could return, Lankinen had already recorded two shutouts and helped maintain a playoff position. Furthermore, on Dec. 1, Vancouver was third in the Pacific Division, ahead of the Edmonton Oilers, and was just four points off the division leaders, the Vegas Golden Knights, with two games in hand.
Lankinen finished the year with 51 appearances, a 2.62 GAA, a .902 SP and four shutouts. It’s no secret that Demko’s health and performance will be watched closely, and if he can’t come through like last season, Lankinen will need to get to work.
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