Canada’s goaltending was supposed to be a weak point heading into last season’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
Of course, St. Louis Blues netminder and former Stanley Cup winner Jordan Binnington proved that wrong when he outdueled eventual Vezina/Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck to beat the USA in the final.
But Canada’s goaltending lineup from that tournament is off to a slow start this season. Binnington has an .873 save percentage, Samuel Montembeault is at .861 and Vegas’ Adin Hill is injured.
Canada didn’t name a goaltender among its first six players, so there is time to sort things out.
Here is a look at goaltending candidates at the Olympics before rosters are finalized on Dec. 31 (statistics through Nov. 12):
USA
No goalie has been named. Hellebuyck is a given because he has won back-to-back Vezina trophies and three overall. Dallas’ Jake Oettinger, who has reached the conference finals the last three seasons and went to the 4 Nations, is another given.
That leaves a third goalie to be determined. Boston’s Jeremy Swayman served that role at the 4 Nations and could get it again with the Bruins riding a seven-game winning streak. He also helped the USA win a rare gold medal at the world championships. But he’ll have competition from Chicago’s Spencer Knight, who leads all U.S. No. 1 goalies with a .923 save percentage and is tied for the NHL lead in MoneyPuck’s goals saved above expected. Seattle’s Joey Daccord is on the injured list, and Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko left Tuesday’s game with an injury.
Canada
Binnington’s numbers improved after he beat the Calgary Flames on Nov. 11. His save percentage was .859 after he was pulled from a game against the Washington Capitals in which he gave up Alex Ovechkin’s 900th goal and tried to hide the puck.
Binnington will make the Olympic team based on his 4 Nations championship and 2019 Stanley Cup title. Plus, Canada’s general manager is Blues GM Doug Armstrong. But is he Canada’s No. 1 goalie?
The best Canadian goaltender this season has been the Capitals’ Logan Thompson, who didn’t make the 4 Nations team. But he has assumed a traditional No. 1 goalie role than the split role he had with Charlie Lindgren last season. Thompson has a 1.56 goals-against average and .935 save percentage.
Los Angeles’ Darcy Kuemper, a 2024-25 Vezina Trophy finalist and 2022 Stanley Cup winner who’s off to a good start this season, should be in the mix. Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood has 10 wins this season.
Finland
Nashville’s Juuse Saros already has been named, and he has a 3.11 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. Every Finnish NHL goalie has a save percentage below .900, a group that includes Boston’s Joonas Korpisalo, Vancouver’s Kevin Lankinen and Buffalo’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who recently returned from an injury.
Sweden
No goalie was named in the first six. The 4 Nations goalies were New Jersey’s Jacob Markstrom, Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson. Markstrom missed the tournament with an injury and was replaced by Philadelphia’s Samuel Ersson, who beat Team USA in the preliminary round.
The goaltending mix could be Markstrom, Ullmark and Gustavsson, especially with Ersson injured. All four goalies have sub-.900 save percentages. Ullmark is at .870 and is last in goals saved above expected. The Swedish NHL goalies with better save percentages are all backups.
Czechia
Anaheim’s Lukas Dostal was already named and is a big reason for the Ducks’ surprising start. He and Utah’s Karel Vejmelka are tied for second in the league with eight wins. Jakub Dobes has outplayed Montembeault in Montreal and Dan Vladar has looked good in Philadelphia.
Latvia
Columbus’ Elvis Merzlikins and Pittsburgh’s Arturs Silovs already were named and are playing well. There are no other Latvian goalies in the NHL, so the third goalie would be from outside the league.
Other countries
Denmark: Carolina’s Frederik Andersen was named and will be the country’s workhorse. There are no other Danish goalies in the NHL. Frederik Dichow, who plays in Sweden, was in net when Denmark upset Canada in the world championships.
Germany: Seattle’s Philipp Grubauer was named. He’s the lone German NHL goalie this season and has started two games.
Switzerland: The Swiss have not named a goalie yet. Vegas’ Akira Schmid is the lone Swiss goalie in the NHL.
France, Italy and, surprisingly, Slovakia have no goalies in the NHL this season. Only Italy has named a goalie: Damian Clara, who plays in Sweden. Patrik Rybar, who plays in the Kontinental Hockey League, helped Slovakia win bronze in the 2022 Olympics.