Who will become the best goalkeeper in the Central Division?
While it could have been argued that Antti Niemi wasn’t the best goaltender in the Central Division of the Western Conference last season, it’s only fair to give the title to the net-minder who played a huge role in the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victory. With Niemi now gone, it’s time to see which keeper will replace him as the best in the Central.
Chicago Blackhawks: Marty Turco, Corey Crawford, Cristobal Huet:
Huet and his meddlesome contract should be buried deep within the confines of the American Hockey League before the start of the season, so he is not realistically in the conversation for any NHL accolades.
Turco, on the other hand, has some interesting possibilities ahead of him with Chicago in tandem with Crawford. Turco will be shielded by one of the League’s best blue-lines in Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson. Last year, Turco managed .a 913 save percentage and 22 wins behind the Dallas Stars’ awful defence so he might be able to pull out a very solid performance this season.
Crawford has been strong in the AHL, and given Turco’s age, should be getting plenty of starts this season in order to prepare for becoming the number one goalie for the Blackhawks in the near future. If he can develop further, Blackhawks fans might forget all about Niemi.
St. Louis Blues: Jaroslav Halak, Ty Conklin:
The Blues finally rid themselves of painfully mediocre goaltender Chris Mason. St. Louis made one of the first off-season moves in acquiring Halak from the Montreal Canadiens. Halak put up a dominating play-off performance and was the main reason behind the eighth-seeded Canadiens’ Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
Will Halak be able to translate this post-season success to regular season play with the Blues? His regular season numbers with Montreal were solid and he had 26 wins with a .924 save percentage. That and his age make Halak a very potential franchise goalkeeper who could develop even further within the next few seasons. Blues fans should be excited as the tandem of Halak and Conklin is the first sign of stability in the net the Blues franchise has seen in a long time.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Steve Mason, Mathieu Garon:
Mason experienced some serious sophomore slump following his dominant rookie year of 33 wins, including ten shut-outs. When Mason struggles, the Blue Jackets do as well, and his poor second year led to Columbus missing the play-offs.
Mason needs to regain his outstanding rookie form if the Blue Jackets are to make any attempts at a post-season run. In his first year he showed signs of downright brilliance and could be a top goalie if he returns to that form. Garon is an able backup but all eyes are essentially on Mason.
Detroit Red Wings: Jimmy Howard, Chris Osgood:
The Red Wings started out poorly last season but managed to snag a fifth-seed for the play-offs. Veteran goalie Osgood seems to be past his best days, and Howard was the main net-minder for the Red Wings last year.
With 37 wins over 63 starts and a .924 save percentage, as well as a 2.26 goals-against average, Howard is one of the most promising goalies in the entire League, let alone the Central Division.
Nashville Predator: Pekka Rinne:
The Predators have a strong young goalie in Rinne, but are throwing him to the wolves by letting go of one of the team’s most capable defenders: Dan Hamhuis. Rinne's best protection will be Shea Weber and Ryan Sute, and Nashville’s defensive depth ends right around there.
If given a talented blue-line Rinne could be a very dominant goalkeeper, but he is primed to get overwhelmed with shots next season. There should be some drop-off from his previous season numbers of 32 wins, 7 shut-outs, and .911 save percentage over 58 total starts. However, the 28-year-old still has at least five strong seasons left in the League and could be very productive in that span.
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