Vasilevskiy, Shesterkin among NHL Network’s top 10 goalies
Hellebuyck, Sorokin, Oettinger also named in preseason list
ByNHL.com
August 17, 2026
From Stanley Cup champions to Vezina Trophy winners to All-Stars, the NHL has many great goalies. NHL Network producers and analysts on Sunday revealed their list of the top 10 goalies in the League right now in the third of a nine-part series. Here is the list:
10. Jakub Dobes, Montreal Canadiens
Dobes had an impressive rookie season, leading first-year goalies with 29 wins (29-10-4) in 43 games (42 starts) to go along with a 2.78 goals-against average and .901 save percentage. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he helped Montreal advance to the Eastern Conference Final, starting all 19 playoff games. Dobes’ 28 saves helped the Canadiens eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2-1 win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference First Round. He became the fifth goalie in team history to win a Game 7 (Carey Price, Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, Jacques Plante). Dobes signed a three-year, $16.05 million contract ($5.35 million average annual value) with Montreal on July 2.
9. Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild
In his first full season, Wallstedt was fourth in wins (18), first in save percentage (.916) and second in GAA (2.61) among rookie goalies to play at least 10 games. His best stretch came from Nov. 7-Dec. 18 when he led all goalies with a 1.48 GAA, .954 save percentage and four shutouts, and was 9-1-0 with 10 starts. The 23-year-old also helped the Wild advance to the Western Conference Second Round of the playoffs for the first time since 2015, and had a 2.77 GAA and .909 save percentage in 10 postseason games.
Top 10 Goalies: #9 Jesper Wallstedt
8. Dan Vladar, Philadelphia Flyers
Vladar had a breakout season with the Flyers, going 29-14-7 with a 2.42 GAA and .906 save percentage in 52 games (51 starts) to help Philadelphia advance to the playoffs for the first time since 2020. In the playoffs, he had the highest save percentage (.922) and tied for the second lowest GAA (2.18) among goalies to play at least five games. The 28-year-old was rewarded with a five-year, $27.5 million contract ($5.5 million AAV) with the Flyers on July 1, which begins for the 2027-28 season
Top 10 Goalies: #8 Dan Vladar
7. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars
Over the past five seasons, Oettinger’s 173 wins trail only Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning (180) and Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets (173). He’s had at least 30 wins in each of them, including going 35-12-6 with a 2.59 GAA, .899 save percentage and four shutouts in 54 games last season. The 27-year-old also helped the Stars advance to the Western Conference Final in three straight seasons from 2023-25; his 29 wins over that span are second in the postseason behind Sergei Bobrovsky (44) of the Florida Panthers.
Top 10 Goalies: #7 Jake Oettinger
6. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
Thompson has had 31 wins each of the past two seasons, including going 31-6-6 in 43 games in 2024-25. Last season, he was 31-21-6 with a 2.44 GAA, .912 save percentage and four shutouts in 58 games. The 29-year-old has had a save percentage of .908 or better and a GAA of 2.70 or lower in each of his five full NHL seasons. Thompson has also been solid in the playoffs, where he owns a lifetime GAA of 2.40 and a save percentage of .918 in 14 games
Top 10 Goalies: #6 Logan Thompson
5. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins
Swayman was 31-18-4 with a 2.71 GAA and .908 save percentage in 55 games (54 starts) last season, and had a career-high in wins. The 27-year-old allowed two or fewer goals in 31 games and helped Boston (45-27-10) clinch the first wild card in the Eastern Conference after missing the playoffs last season. His 1,426 total saves ranked fifth in the NHL and his 38 starts with at least a .900 save percentage ranked first in the NHL. A finalist for the Vezina this season, he has had at least 20 wins each of the past five seasons.
Top 10 Goalies: #5 Jeremy Swayman
4. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders
Sorokin was 29-24-2 with a 2.68 GAA, .906 save percentage and led the NHL with seven shutouts in 55 games last season. The 31-year-old allowed two or fewer goals 21 times and had 16 games with at least 30 saves. Sorokin led the NHL in high-danger saves (452) and high-danger save percentage (.864) last season, according to NHL EDGE Stats. The runner-up for the Vezina last season, he has been a top-six finalist in four of the past five seasons. Sorokin’s 26 shutouts are the most in the NHL since the 2021-22 season and his .915 save percentage since then is tied for second.
Top 10 Goalies: #4 Ilya Sorokin
3. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers
The 30-year-old was excellent last season, going 25-19-6 with a 2.50 GAA, .912 save percentage and one shutout in 51 games for a Rangers team that had trouble scoring (2.87, 23rd in NHL). Over the past five seasons among goalies to play at least 100 games, Shesterkin ranks first in save percentage (.916), fifth in GAA (2.51), third in shutouts (20) and fourth in wins (161). That included a 2021-22 season in which he won the Vezina and was a Hart Trophy finalist for League MVP, leading the NHL in GAA (2.07) and save percentage (.935; minimum 20 games). Shesterkin also leads the NHL in postseason save percentage since 2021-22 (.929, minimum 15 games played).
Top 10 Goalies: #3 Igor Shesterkin
2. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Although he had a down year by his standards, going 23-23-11 with a 2.86 GAA and .895 save percentage in 57 games, Hellebuyck is still among the elite goalies in the game. In 2024-25, he won the Vezina for the second straight season and third overall while also claiming the Hart Trophy. That season, the 33-year-old went 47-12-3 and tied Vasilevskiy for the NHL lead with 63 games played (62 starts). He led all goalies in wins, GAA (2.00; minimum 25 games) and shutouts (eight), and was second in save percentage (.925) behind Anthony Stolarz of the Toronto Maple Leafs (.926). Hellebuyck also won the William M. Jennings Trophy for helping the Jets allow an NHL-low 191 goals during the regular season. Winnipeg allowed 2.33 goals per game and won the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record (56-22-4). Hellebuyck has won at least 30 games in six of the past 11 seasons, and his 345 wins since 2015-16 are second behind Vasilevskiy (363).
Top 10 Goalies: #2 Connor Hellebuyck
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy for the second time last season, leading the League with 39 wins and finishing second with a .912 save percentage and a 2.31 GAA among goalies with at least 45 starts. He allowed two goals or fewer in 35 of 58 games and was 17-0-1 with a 1.90 GAA and .925 save percentage from Dec. 20-Feb. 25. The 32-year-old helped the Lightning qualify for the playoffs for the ninth straight season. He is a six-time Vezina finalist and since 2015-16, has the most wins (363) and third-most shutouts (41) in the NHL. Vasilevskiy is a two-time Stanley Cup champion (2020, 2021) with the Lightning and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2021.
Top 10 Goalies: #1 Andrei Vasilevskiy
