4 NHL Backup Goalies Who Should Be Starters

One can argue that the hardest position to properly fill in hockey is the role of the 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.

Substack Subscribe to the THW Daily and never miss the best of The Hockey Writers Banner

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.

Alexandar Georgiev Colorado Avalanche
Alexandar Georgiev spent years on this list as a backup goaltender before he was given a chance to be a full-time starter with the Colorado Avalanche, where he has thrived in this role. (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

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.

Related: Ranking NHL Teams By Goaltenders

When that situation 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.

Jeremy Swayman – Boston Bruins

After featuring Tuuka Rask as their sure-fire number-one starter for more than a decade, the Boston Bruins started planning for a new future once it became clear that he would not be ready to play for the 2021-22 season. Due to this, they went out and signed Linus Ullmark to a four-year, $20 million contract to lock down their net, while also promoting Alaskan native Jeremy Swayman from their prospect pool to take on the role of backup.

While there were some starts and struggles throughout their first tenure together, the 2022-23 NHL season was exceptional for this tandem. Ullmark won the 2023 Vezina Trophy, where Swayman won 24 games and did far more than just pick up the slack when called upon.

Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins
Despite being only 25 years old, Jeremy Swayman is already showing that he can be a starter for the Boston Bruins far sooner than many expected. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Also, he’s still incredibly young for a goaltender at 25 years old, meaning that Swayman is still growing into his game. When you take this into account, the expectation should be to see him taking over a net full-time in the near future, whether it’s with the Bruins or another franchise.

Joseph Woll – 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, heading into the 2023-24 season, they featured Ilya Samsonov, who was coming off a massive season for Toronto, and Joseph Woll, who put up great numbers in the AHL and looked ready to take that next step in his career.

So far, this goaltending tandem has paid dividends for Toronto. Despite a relatively slow start to the season, both Samsonov and Woll have laid claim to the starter position, and if not for injuries, you would expect to see both splitting the net in a 1A-1B tandem. However, I’m still treating Samsonov as the starter in this situation since he is the veteran who backstopped their first playoff series victory in nearly 20 years.

Joseph Woll Toronto Maple Leafs
Joseph Woll of the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

It’s important to note that Samsonov is only on a one-year contract with Toronto, and Woll is looking like he is ready to be far more than a backup goaltender. Depending on how this season plays out, I wouldn’t be surprised if he claims the starting job before the trade deadline, and if he does, he could be the goalie of the future the Maple Leafs have been desperately searching for.

Logan Thompson – Vegas Golden Knights

When it was announced that the Vegas Golden Knights starting goaltender, Robin Lehner, would miss the entire 2022-23 season due to an injury, many rightfully believed this would spell disaster for the franchise. The Golden Knights struggled mightily with injuries throughout 2021-22, and this loss left them relying upon a trio of untested goalies, including Logan Thompson, the newly acquired Adin Hill, and Laurent Brossoit.

Well, it didn’t take long for this concern to be washed away, as Vegas was one of the best teams in the NHL, and Thompson, their unassuming backup turned tandem starter, become a fantastic nightly backstop. While he is signed to a meager $766,667 cap hit through the 2025 season, he put together the numbers of a Vezina candidate before struggling with injuries in the second half of the season.

Logan Thompson Vegas Golden Knights
Logan Thompson has gone from a fringe American Hockey League player to a potential NHL starter if he can stay healthy. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

However, we know that injuries changed Thompson’s and the Golden Knights’ future. Hill stepped in during the 2023 playoffs, and went on a historic run that ended with a Stanley Cup victory. This led Hill to receive a deserved two-year extension with Vegas which made him the defacto 1-A option.

This leaves Thompson as a backup with big potential. Vegas has no reason to move on from him, of course, but there’s a future where he could be dealt to a team in need of help in the net. If this happens and he stays healthy, he could easily be a starter based on his career so far.

Connor Ingram – Arizona Coyotes

Heading into the 2023-24 NHL season, expectations were a bit muted for the Arizona Coyotes, but trending upwards. They had a roster full of young, developing talent that had all the potential in the world, but still needed time to reach it. After a historic stretch of games, however, they are firmly in the 2024 playoff hunt, with much of this turnaround being thanks to their backup goaltender Connor Ingram.

Connor Ingram Arizona Coyotes
Connor Ingram of the Arizona Coyotes. (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

While Karel Vejmelka became a name hockey fans recognize due to his solid play on bad Coyotes teams in recent years, he may be out of a starting job thanks to Ingram’s dominance. The 26-year-old goaltender is sporting a save percentage of .920 and is giving his team a chance to win every time he steps on the ice. This is an incredible outcome for a player who bounced around the league and had to prove he could even stick in the NHL.

Related: Hockey Documentaries to Watch Right Now

If this play continues, Ingram will claim the starting role in Arizona and Vejmelka might be a trade deadline asset the Coyotes can use to bring in that last piece they need to take a chance at a deep playoff run. Given where they were in the standings the last few seasons, that would make for an exciting deadline in the desert.

NHL Backups Ready for the Next Step

As the season continues, expect to hear more about backup goaltenders as injuries pile up and the playoffs approach. 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.