Overated Goalie

R. Luongo is the best goalie in the league and M. Brodeur is the best goalie of all time. They are in the top 10. My others in the top 10 vary on which way the wind is blowing. They are, in alphabetical order:

N. Backstrom...Very solid and is constantly under pressure because of his teams lack of scoring. If he gives up 3 goals, the Wild lose.

M.A. Fleury...  After his play in this series vs the Flyers and last years post season performance, MAF is in. He does need more consistency in the regular season to be considered top 5.

H. Lundqvist...overrated by the NY media? Perhaps, but he is definitely one of the top 10 goalies in the NHL. Like Backstrom, he can't have an off night and win because his team has no scoring. Only 2 teams made the playoffs this year that were in the bottom 3rd in scoring. The BJ's at 21st and the Rags at 28th! Only the Isles and the Avs scored fewer goals than NYR. You can't tell me any goalie could have helped his team to the playoffs when they average less than 2.5 goals per game. You think the Rags would have made the playoffs with Osgood in goal? Please....More on him later. I don't care if NY loses this series to the Caps..he is a top goalie. Put him on the Flyers or Sharks and they have great teams.

R. Miller...Still waiting for a monster year from him and I know Sean doesn't like him that much (grass is always greener on the other side?), but I guarantee you 20+ teams would take him in a heartbeat. Talented and competitive.

E. Nabokov...He can easily be replaced in the top 10 by someone else even though he puts up good regular season numbers. He has failed along with his mates in multiple postseasons to put together a run. There are other goalies on this list that would have at least gotten the Sharks to the finals at least once before. If the Sharks lose to the Ducks, I would replace him with Thomas.

M. Turco...Yeah, he had a terrible 1st quarter of the year, but I look at his track record and I would take him on my team in a heartbeat. A full summers rest will do him wonders and I expect him to have a big year in 09-10. He will be in his contact year also. Don't overlook this guy.

T. Vokoun...Very solid goalie on an up and coming young team. He has been around the block a few times. He does seem to be a boom or bust type of goalie where he is either very dialed in and gives up only 1 goal or gets a shutout, but when he is off his game the flood gates are wide open.

C. Ward...He has been only OK the last few years after his cup run, but this year he was very good. He is at the point of his career where bad years should be few and far between.

My list doesn't include S. Mason because I feel you have to have at least 2-3 years of good play to be considerd a top goalie. Remember P. Leclaire? Mason could be the next great goalie in the NHL, but let's wait and see.

I want to mention a handful of other goalies that didn't make the list.

C. Osgood has had a very interesting career. Statistically, he is a Hall of Famer. I haven't checked, but I would suspect he is in the top 3 all time as far as winning percentage goes (Dryden and Brodeur?). However, I guarantee you if you ask GM's around the league if he is one of the top 10 goalies in the NHL, they would laugh. Osgood did have a great playoff last year and has the 2 cups which many consider when ranking players, but what hasn't been brought up is the fact that he played on 1 poor team (NYI) and 1 decent team (STL) and was quickly discarded by those teams.

The teams he has played on in Detroit have had incredible talent. As I mentioned earlier, do you think he can carry a mediocre team to playoff success? Hell no is the answer. The Wings are a perfect situation for him. Few shots against and goal production out the ass. He just needs to be solid without allowing the shitty goals that have plagued him throughout his career. I give him great credit for last year, but I still think he should blow Ken Holland every day he sees him. Not to rip on the guy, but he is nowhere near a top 10 goalie. Guys like Luongo, Lundqvist, and Miller would also have multiple rings on their fingers if they played in Detroit.

A name that I keep seeing is N. Khabibulin. Another interesting guy. Cup winner in TB then he lays eggs for 3 straight years in Chi town until this year, when coincidently, he is in the final year of his contract. If you were a GM, would you sign him this summer at his age and the fact that he did nothing the first 3 years of his deal? Fuck no. He has the talent, but is too flighty and inconsistent to be considered a top 10 goalie. I guess an argument can be made that he is as good as the talent around him, but I would look somewhere else.

R. DiPietro... I should probably have him on this list even though he was hurt this year. He is the NY Islanders. The Isles only scored 2.41 goals per game this year, but went over the total 45 times. Last year, when DP played, the Isles games went over only 29 times. He has room for improvement, but put him on a talented team and watch out.

I can't argue T. Thomas' numbers the last few years, but for some reason (age)? I still remain skeptical of him. He probably belongs, especially if the B's come out of the East.

M. Kiprusoff...at one time I had him in the top 3, but his play and numbers (save% and GAA) have steadily declined for the last 4 years. He is incredibly durable, but his days as a difference maker seem behind him.

The last guy I'll mention has the pedigree (playoff and regular season success) to be on the list, but had a terrible year professionally and personally. That guy is J.S. Giguere. He is easily forgotten since J. Hiller has been outstanding in his place. Is Giguere on the slide or can he bring his game back up to the level he once was? He is still young enough and has a couple years left on his contract. If Hiller continues his run, do the Ducks move him?