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With Stuart Skinner finally traded to Pittsburgh after what seemed like weeks or months of speculation, I decided to check in with the Western Teams and see how their goalies were doing.
We all should know that it’s not just a reflection on goaltending, but on team defense as well, so I’ve broken out defender ratings for each team. For our purposes, we will be rating teams from worst to first in the West, using my rating system from www.playergameratings.com and each roster here.
We are going to rank the team goalies from worst to first in the West (16th to 1st)
The average NHL goalie rating in 2025-26 is 6.261, down from approximately 6.40 in the 2024-25 season. First in the NHL is 6.85, and 32nd is 5.69. There is a lot more volatility for goalies than skaters.
The average defender rating in 2025-26 is 6.406, which is very close to the 6.41 from 2024-25. First in the NHL is 6.52, and 32nd is 6.3.
16th – St. Louis Blues (30th in the NHL with a 5.72 goalie rating)
The Blues have the 31st-ranked defense in the NHL currently at 6.34, so their goaltending is not getting the help it needs, and their low ranking is a combination of poor defense and poor goaltending.
Jordan Binnington has struggled, with a record of 7-8-5, an 86.9 save percentage, and a negative GSAx of 19.33. His goalie rating is 5.55, which is dead last in the NHL for any goalie with 10 starts or more. Joel Hofer has fared better, but not enough to take over the starting job. He has a record of 5-6-2, a save percentage of 89.3, a GSAx of negative 3.34 and a goalie rating of 6.03.
15th – Vancouver Canucks (28th/5.91)
Vancouver had the 22nd-rated defense in the NHL at 6.39, with Quinn Hughes. Moving Hughes has put them near the bottom with a rating of 6.32. Buium will likely bring that up in time, but that is the difference for now.
Thatcher Demko has managed to play just 12 games with a record of 6-5-0, a save percentage of 90.3 and a negative GSAx of 1.41. His goalie rating is 6.22, which is very close to average. He played on Sunday afternoon in a 2-1 win over New Jersey, so there is hope he is back to health and that their team rating will improve.
Kevin Lankinen has played in 17 games with a record of 4-10-3, a save percentage of 87.8, and a negative GSAx of 10.03. His goalie rating of 5.71 is fourth-worst in the NHL for goalies who have played 10 games or more.
14th – Nashville Predators (27th/5.95)
The Predators have the 29th-rated defense in the NHL at 6.35, which is well below the league average.
Juuse Saros is getting better as the season progresses and is now 11-10-3, with a save percentage of 89.6, a GSAx of negative 10.81 and a rating of 6.22, which is league average. Saros’ results have been on par with the team’s.
Justus Annunen, on the other hand, has a record of 1-5-1 with a save percentage of 86.3, a negative GSAx of 4.17 and a rating of 5.25, which is well below the league standard.
13th – Edmonton Oilers (26th/5.95)
By getting Tristan Jarry, the Oilers got back a goalie in better form than Stuart Skinner at the time of the trade. Jarry has a record of 10-3-1, a save percentage of 90.8 and a GSAx of 5.72 with a rating of 6.58, which is well above the league average of 6.26.
The Oilers’ team defense is rated third in the NHL with a 6.49 rating, so the goaltending was letting them down by quite a large margin. The hope is that Jarry is closer to the league average than Skinner was.
Calvin Pickard has a record of 3-4-2, with a save percentage of 85.3, a GSAx of negative 10.16 and a rating of 5.08.
12th – Utah Mammoth (23rd/6.05)
Utah has the 8th-rated defense with a 6.43 rating, which means that their goaltending has let them down a little, and they could require an upgrade if they want to make sure they make the playoffs. They are outscoring their issues at the moment.
Karel Vejmelka has a record of 14-9-2, a save percentage of 89.3 and a GSAx of 2.07 with a rating of 6.16, just slightly below average.
Vitek Vanecek has a record of 2-6-1, a save percentage of 87.8, a GSAx of negative 3.04 and a rating of 5.76.
11th – Vegas Golden Knights (22nd/6.08)
Vegas usually has a stronger defense, but in 2025-26, their defense is 19th overall with a 6.4 rating at the moment.
Their goaltending is currently without Adin Hill, who had a record of 1-0-2, a save percentage of 88.8 and a rating of 5.98.
Akira Schmid has done well in his absence with a record of 11-2-4, a save percentage of 90.3, a GSAx of 0.76 and a rating of 6.33.
Carter Hart was signed as a free agent and has temporarily taken over the starting role with a record of 3-0-1, a save percentage of 89.9 and a GSAx of negative 1.41.
10th – Anaheim Ducks (20th/6.12)
The Ducks currently have the 5th-best defense in the NHL with a rating of 6.46.
They will be glad to have Lukas Dostal back in the net as he has a record of 11-6-1, a save percentage of 90.2, a GSAx of 3.33 and a rating of 6.46.
Without Dostal in goal, they relied on Ville Husso, Petr Mrazek, and Vyacheslav Buyeyets, who had a collective record of 8-6-0, a save percentage around 88.2, and a rating around 5.8.
The defense deserves better goaltending from everyone outside of Dostal.
9th – Seattle Kraken (15th/6.26)
The Kraken have the 16th-rated defense in the NHL with a 6.4 rating, which is right on pace with their goaltending.
Joey Daccord has a record of 8-7-4 with a save percentage of 89.2, a GSAx of negative 5.85, and a rating of 6.10. He’s struggled a little after an impressive 2024-25 campaign.
Grubauer has done well in a backup role with a record of 4-2-1, a save percentage of 90.0, a GSAx of 2.61 and a rating of 6.24 (right around league average). We could see Grubauer take some starts away from Daccord if they both continue playing at their current level.
8th – Winnipeg Jets (14th /6.26)
Winnipeg is sitting as the 7th-rated defense in the NHL with a rating of 6.44.
We aren’t used to seeing the Jets not at the top of goalie lists, but Connor Hellebuyck was out for almost a month, and the team struggled under Eric Comrie and Thomas Milic in goal.
Hellebuyck is back and played on Saturday, allowing just one goal on 26 shots against Washington. He has a record of 9-6-0, a save percentage of 91.6, a GSAx of 5.09 and a rating of 6.71. He’s still one of the best goalies in the NHL, but is a little down the list at the moment.
Comrie has a record of 6-8-1 with a save percentage of 88.5, a GSAx of negative 0.7 and a rating of 5.92.
7th – Calgary Flames (13th/6.38)
Calgary has the 24th-rated defense in the NHL with a 6.38 rating.
Their goaltending is better than their defense with Dustin Wolf and Devin Cooley.
Wolf had a tough start to the 2025-26 season, but has settled in and is playing near the top of his game again. He has a record of 10-12-2, a save percentage of 89.9, a GSAx of negative 9.37 and a rating of 6.22.
Cooley has taken some starts away from Wolf with a record of 3-4-2, a save percentage of 91.3, a GSAx of 8.19 and a rating of 6.58.
6th – San Jose Sharks (12th/6.42)
The Sharks have the 30th-rated defense at the moment in the NHL, with a rating of 6.35.
Their goaltending sits at #12 in the NHL right now.
Yaroslav Askarov has a record of 11-8-1, a save percentage of 90.2, a GSAx of 5.23 and a rating of 6.43. He is finally a starter in the NHL and should be for the foreseeable future, barring injury.
Alex Nedeljkovic has a record of 5-6-2, a save percentage of 90.1, a GSAx of negative 4.6 and a rating of 6.35.
The split favored Nedeljkovic early on, went to a 50/50 split and is now a 60/40 split for Askarov.
5th – Chicago Blackhawks (10th/6.47)
Chicago has the 32nd-rated defense in the NHL at the moment, with a rating of 6.3, while their goaltending is currently 10th in the NHL.
Spencer Knight has been fantastic in 2025-26 with a record of 10-7-5, a save percentage of 91.5, a GSAx of 13.02 and a rating of 6.83 (which is second in the NHL behind Logan Thompson on Washington for starters with more than 20 games). The issue in Chicago might be that if Knight struggles a little, the defense might not be good enough to carry him for any length of time.
Arvid Soderblom has a record of 3-6-1, with a save percentage of 87.6, a GSAx of negative 6.63 and a rating of 5.62.
4th – Los Angeles Kings (9th/6.52)
The Kings come in with the 25th-rated defense in the NHL at this point, with a rating of 6.38.
Their goaltending ranks 9th in the league, with a rating of 6.52.
Darcy Kuemper has a record of 10-6-6, with a save percentage of 91.6, a GSAx of 9.39 and a rating of 6.65.
Backup Anton Forsberg has a record of 4-2-3, a save percentage of 89.6, a GSAx of negative 3.11 and a rating of 6.21.
The Kings could be in trouble if Kuemper loses form or goes down with an injury.
3rd – Dallas Stars (6th/6.65)
The Stars have the 6th-rated defense in the NHL with a rating of 6.45.
They have been getting good goaltending, but also have a fantastic blue line.
Jake Oettinger has a record of 14-6-2, with a save percentage of 90.7, a GSAx of 4.72 and a rating of 6.53.
Casey DeSmith has been great as a backup, allowing him to get a few more starts and keep Oettinger a little fresher when the playoffs begin. DeSmith has a record of 7-1-3, with a save percentage of 92.0, a GSAx of 9.63 and a rating of 6.87.
2nd – Colorado Avalanche (3rd/6.79)
Colorado has the second-rated defense in the NHL with a 6.51 (behind the Washington Capitals with a 6.52 rating).
It used to be enough in Colorado to get average goaltending, and they would contend for a Stanley Cup. Now they are getting outstanding goaltending and dominating the NHL to date.
Scott Wedgewood has a record of 14-1-4, with a save percentage of 91.9, a GSAx of 6.14 and a rating of 6.73. He has never played more than 37 games in an NHL season, so something to be wary of is fatigue.
Mackenzie Blackwood has been just as good as Wedgewood with a record of 9-1-1, a save percentage of 92.0, a GSAx of 7.02 and a rating of 6.82. He played 56 games in 2025-26, so he should be more prepared to play 60 percent of the games than Wedgewood.
1st – Minnesota Wild (1st/6.85)
Before the trade involving Quinn Hughes coming to Minnesota, I had the Wild with the 28th-rated defense in the NHL. The addition of Hughes puts them into the top ten.
Filip Gustavsson has a record of 10-8-3, with a save percentage of 90.8, a GSAx of 0.87 and a rating of 6.52. He has lost some starts to Jesper Wallstedt, who has been outstanding.
Wallstedt has a record of 9-1-2, a save percentage of 93.7, a GSAx of 9.63 and a rating of 7.45, which is first in the NHL for any goalie appearing in more than 10 games.
This split, which started 2025-26 at 65/35, is likely to be 50/50 as the season progresses.
Thanks very much for reading. If you have any comments or suggestions, please let me know in the comments or on Twitter @gampbler15.
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