The goaltending carousel spun in the Pacific division this off-season with many teams making changes in goal. Where does the Knights tandem of Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov rank in the Pacific division heading into this season?
As typical of every off-season in the NHL the goaltending carousel was spinning in full force this summer. One team in particular that were busy making changes to the crease were the Vegas Golden Knights.
After spending the first 5 seasons of his NHL career in Vegas, the Knights traded Logan Thompson to the Washington Capitals and acquired 24 year-old Akira Schmid from the New Jersey Devils in a draft day trade. GM Kelly McCrimmon didn’t stop there making changes in goal as he signed Ilya Samsonov as well. The Knights are returning Adin Hill as their starter while Samsonov and Schmid will battle it out for back-up duties with Samsonov, as of right now having the inside track on that role.
While the Knights were busy making changes in goal, they weren’t the only Pacific division team to do so. The Flames traded their #1 goalie in Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils, the Kings watched starting goalie from last season in Cam Talbot sign with Detroit and replaced him by acquiring Darcy Kuemper from the Washington Capitals.
While the Pacific division may not have the names or star power in goal compared to the Metropolitan Division or Central Division, the Pacific does boast Vezina finalist from this past season in Thatcher Demko and three Stanley Cup winners in Darcy Kuemper, Adin Hill and Phillip Grubauer.
With that said, let’s take a look at where the duo of Hill/Samsonov rank amongst the rest of the division.
1. Thatcher Demko/Arturs Silovs- Vancover Canucks- No Surprise but Thatcher Demko will once again be the class of the Pacific. Demko, 28, really established himself as one of the leagues top goaltenders this past season with earning a Vezina finalist nomination. Demko finished the regular season with 35 wins and a stellar .918 SV%. Demko unfortunately got injured after the first game of the playoffs last season opening the door for rookie Arturs Silovs after back-up Casey DeSmith, now with Dallas, got hurt himself. The 23 year-old Silovs only had 9 games of NHL experience prior to appearing in the playoffs last season. Silovs did an admirable job for the Canucks in the 10 playoff games he appeared in. Fresh off signing a new 2 year contract this summer Silovs will be returning to Vancouver as the back-up to Demko.
2. Adin Hill/Ilya Samsonov- Vegas Golden Knights- Despite the changes the Knights made in goal this off-season with Adin Hill returning as the starting goalie the Knights come in at #2 in the division. After leaving the Sharks in 2022 to come to Vegas in a trade, Hill has established himself as a reliable starting goaltender in the NHL. While he hasn’t yet to appear in over 35 games in a season that could change this coming year. With the departure of Logan Thompson, Hill should earn more starts. Backing him up will be Ilya Samsonov. After a rough stretch that saw him get demoted to the AHL last season, when the Maple Leafs re-called him the 27 year-old found his game, showing glimpses of the goaltender that the Washington Capitals thought he could be when he was drafted in the 1st round back in 2015. If Samsonov can provide that level of play this coming season the Knights will have a rock-solid tandem in goal.
3. John Gibson/Lukas Dostal- Anaheim Ducks- The Ducks being ranked 3rd in this exercise may draw criticism from some but when you are talking about natural ability and skill, the Ducks starter John Gibson has a ton. When you look at Gibson’s stats from the last few seasons they don’t jump off the page at you but Gibson doesn’t get much help. Prior to the Ducks rebuild starting around 2019, Gibson had back-to-back seasons where he posted save percentages of .924 and .926. GM Pat Verbeek has decided to hold onto Gibson amid all the trade speculation the last couple of years due to the level of play he’s able to provide when there is a strong team in front of him. Backing up Gibson is one of the better young goaltender prospects in the NHL in Lukas Dostal. Dostal spent his 1st full year in the NHL as a back-up last season playing in 44 games for Anaheim.
4. Stuart Skinner/Calvin Pickard- Edmonton Oilers- Skinner followed up being a Calder Trophy finalist in 2023 by leading the Edmonton Oilers to their first Stanley Cup finals appearance since 2006. While Skinner was briefly replaced by Calvin Pickard during the playoffs, he took the net back and came just one win shy of winning a Stanley Cup. Skinner will look to build off last season where he went 36-16-5 with a 2.62 GAA and .905 SV%. Journeyman back-up Calvin Pickard will be returning to back up Skinner. As long as Skinner just provides the Oilers with good goaltending, the duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are capable of dragging the Oilers back to the finals.
5. Darcy Kuemper/David Rittich- Los Angeles Kings- Truthfully the Seattle Kraken could have come in here at 5th with Darcy Kuemper and Phillip Grubauer both having off years last season. Both goaltenders had sub .900 save percentages last season. The deciding factor to place the Kings 5th was David Rittich having a very good save percentage of .921 last season, although it is expected that Kuemper will start the year as the leading man in goal for Los Angeles. Kuemper was acquired in a surprise trade from the Washington Capitals this past June that saw Pierre-Luc Dubois go back the other way to Washington. The Kings are hoping that Kuemper can replicate his 2021-2022 season when he won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, winning 37 games and posting a .921 SV%.
6. Phillip Grubauer/Joey Daccord- Seattle Kraken- As mentioned above, Grubauer struggled last season for the Kraken, going 14-16-12 with a 2.85 GAA and a .899 SV%. On top of the subpar statistics, Grubauer also missed a lot of time due to injury. If the Kraken are going to get back into the post season, the Kraken are going to need Grubauer to return to form. Grubauer earned the 6 year $5.9M AAV contract he’s currently playing on from the year he had during his last season in Colorado. That year Grubauer had a career high 30 wins and had a very impressive .922 SV%. Backing up Grubauer will be Joey Daccord. Daccord started a career high 50 games last season after only appearing in a total of 19 games over the prior four seasons. Daccord was solid filling in for the injured Grubauer with career highs in wins(19), goals against average(2.46) and save percentage(.916)
7. Dustin Wolf/Dan Vladar- Calgary Flames- Part of the reason the Flames decided to move former Vezina finalist Jacob Markstrom to the New Jersey Devils was top goaltending prospect Dustin Wolf being ready for the NHL. The 23 year-old Wolf won back-to-back Baz Bastien Memorial Awards in 2022 and 2023, given to the best goaltender in the AHL. With nothing left to prove at the AHL level, Wolf played in 17 games for the Flames last season. With Wolf taking over the Flames cage, Dan Vladar will be returning to Calgary as the backup. While Wolf has the potential to be a very good goalie at the NHL level, the Flames come in at #7 due to Wolf only having 18 games of NHL experience.
8. Vitek Vanecek/Mackenzie Blackwood- San Jose Sharks- While Sharks fans were ecstatic to draft Macklin Celebrini 1st overall this past June, this coming season in San Jose is expected to be another bottom finish. The Sharks goaltending duo this coming season will likely be a pair of former New Jersey Devil goaltenders in Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek. Blackwood appeared in 44 games last season for San Jose and will likely have the edge to be the starter again. Vanecek was traded to San Jose from New Jersey in exchange for goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen last March but did not appear in a game for the Sharks after the deal. He will look to prove in training camp come September that he can be the guy for San Jose in goal.
