One can argue that the hardest position to properly fill in hockey is the role of backup goaltender. Not only do you need an NHL-caliber goalie who is able to perform without having a consistent playing schedule, but he needs to be good enough to step into the starting role for weeks or even months should an injury strike the starter. Also, when a team lacks confidence in their backup, it can create a situation where the starter is overworked, causing play to slip by the end of the season.
When a backup goaltender is able to excel in their role, true magic can happen for a franchise. Suddenly, the starter can take nights off without worry, allowing the team to soldier on with the same confidence in their goaltending no matter who’s in the net.
However, having a backup that is NHL-ready can eventually cause trouble for a franchise, forcing the team to underutilize a player. This can cause a massive asset to be stuck on the bench as the established starter takes on the lion’s share of the nightly work.
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When this happens, the league takes notice, and teams will look to swing a trade for their next franchise goaltender to build around or for a veteran to stabilize goaltending in the short term. So, who may be among the next wave of starting goaltenders in the NHL? Well, look no further than some of the current backups. The only problem for the majority of these masters of the meshed mansions is the man standing in front of their dream, an uber-talented starter.
Joseph Woll or Anthony Stolarz – Toronto Maple Leafs
It wasn’t that long ago when the Toronto Maple Leafs had no good options in net, let alone a tandem of two potential starters. However, while you can argue that either Anthony Stolarz or Joseph Woll is their real starter, you can’t argue with their impressive statistics throughout the 2024-25 season. In fact, as of Dec. 20th, the much-maligned Maple Leafs feature not just one, but two of the top-five goalies in the league in terms of Save Percentage (SV%), with Stolarz ranking first in the league at a .927 SV% and Woll fifth with a .918 SV%.
Really, the only concern the Maple Leafs should have about their goaltending right now is their durability, as Stolarz and Woll have both dealt with injuries that have caused them to miss meaningful time throughout their careers. Due to this, I could see both players trading the net during the regular season, with the hot hand getting the call once we hit the playoffs. It’s hard to tell who be their Game 1 starter as of now, but given their play so far this season, either goalie can make a real case that they should be Toronto’s number one goalie when healthy.
Kevin Lankinen – Vancouver Canucks
Heading into the 2024-25 NHL season, Kevin Lankinen had one job for the Vancouver Canucks… help the team survive until Thatcher Demko returned from a long-term injury. The Canucks signed Lankinen late in the offseason, afterall, and they only did so to shore up their goaltending when it became clear that Demko would not be ready to play for a while. If the team even won half of their games when he was in net that would have been seen as a success, as there really weren’t a lot of expectations placed on the veteran goaltender.
Well if you’ve been keeping up with Vancouver, you can argue that Lankinen has been the best part of their season so far. Through 21 games played, he has posted a monster 14 – 4 – 3 record with a .915 SV%. By comparison, Demko and Arturs Silovs have combined for just 11 games played, two wins, and they both have a SV% well below .900.
Needless to say, there’s no argument that Lankinen should be the main man in Vancouver’s net right now, other than the fact that Demko has been the Canucks starter the last few seasons and he is one of the best goalies in the NHL (when healthy). However, with his health uncertain, the franchise may have to ride their backup goaltender before someone offers him a full-time gig during the 2025 offseason.
Logan Thompson – Washington Capitals
One of the biggest surprises of the 2024-25 NHL Season has been the dominant play of the Washington Capitals, who have looked like the best team in the league at times despite facing major adversity due to serious injuries. Part of their success comes from their perfectly balanced goaltending tandem of Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson, who split the Capitals’ net to great success. While you can argue that either goalie could be a full-time starter, Lindgren is at his best when he is in a tandem, where it feels like Thompson could have more to give in a larger role as a full-time starter.
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With this in mind, I can see Thompson taking over the starting role in Washington throughout the regular season and into the playoffs. If he excels, he could parley this into a big contract, as he is an unrestricted free agent during the 2025 offseason. 27-year-old goaltenders reaching their prime rarely hit the market as UFA’s, so it’s possible the Capitals lock him down before this happens, but either way, I expect him to have a bigger role (and paycheck) by the start of the 2025-26 NHL Season.
Pyotr Kochetkov – Carolina Hurricanes
Every year, the Carolina Hurricanes sport one of the longest goaltending lists as they simply can’t keep a tandem healthy for the entire season. Part of this is due to Frederik Andersen having no luck when it comes to injuries, and part of it is due to the franchise being a goaltending factory that produces or rehabs goaltenders into A-B tandem starters at a truly impressive clip.
Despite this, I can’t help but look at Pyotr Kotchetkov and see him as the future of the franchise in the net. Without a doubt he is one of the best young goaltenders in the world, and at age 25, he is just reaching his prime years when he can dominate the league for the next decade-plus.
However, when Andersen comes back from his injury, it would not surprise me to see Carolina leaning on their veteran goaltender to get through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs. This could be his last shot at a cup with the Hurricanes, after all, as his contract expires during the 2025 offseason. Once he is off the books, I believe they will turn the reigns over to Kochetkov to become their full-time starter. That’s still a ways off, and if injuries continue to be an issue, this may be a moot point either way.
NHL Backups Ready for the Next Step
As the season continues to wrap up, expect to hear more about backup goaltenders if injuries strike during the playoffs. Plus, all it takes is a general manager seeing an answer to their goaltending woes on another team’s bench for one of these players to go from career backup to franchise hero.
*All stats from hockey-reference.com.
