Top 10 NHL Backup Goaltenders

Backup goalies in the NHL are tragically underappreciated. It’s hard enough for a team to find a starting goaltender that they can rely on game in, game out. It is an outright luxury to have a dependable backup goalie. Top NHL backups need to be able to perform well during their intermittent opportunities, but they also need to be ready to step up for long stretches if their partner goes down to injury. It’s a thankless, tireless, and underpaid position. But the bests are some of the most valuable players in the league.

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Backup goalies get their position in numerous ways. They might be former starters near the end of their career or future starters getting their first shot in the big leagues. The names on this list come from all backgrounds. Some are even among the top goaltending prospects in the NHL. They have different backgrounds and different futures, but they share one thing in common: they can be relied on in a pinch, and their teams are very thankful to have them.

10) Eric Comrie — Buffalo Sabres

Eric Comrie is in many ways the archetype of a backup goalie. He’s a journeyman who has played for four different teams since 2018: from Winnipeg, to Detroit, to New Jersey, and then back to Winnipeg. But since he’s settled down in Buffalo, he’s looked like he’s found a longer-term home. The 28-year-old started 19 games with the Buffalo Sabres in 2022-23, in the first season of a two-year contract he signed. And while his stats weren’t very good, he plays an important role with the Sabres.


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Buffalo needs someone who can endure some beatings while they wait for Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to mature into full-time NHL starters. Comrie will serve that roll well this season, and do it for cheap. That’s enough to earn him the 10th spot on this list. So far this season, he’s started three games, with a .914 save percentage (SV%) and 2.45 goals-against average (GAA). There are some much better goaltenders on this list. But Comrie is doing fine work as Buffalo’s backup for now.

9) Joseph Woll — Toronto Maple Leafs

Joseph Woll is the least experienced goaltender on this least in terms of NHL games played, but he’s also one of the fastest-rising stars. As of this writing, over the last two seasons, he’s started 10 games, winning 9, with a .942 SV% and a 1.87 GAA, along with 13.1 goals saved above-average (GSAA). He also played in four playoff games last postseason, and didn’t look out of place on the biggest stage. In such a short time, Woll has proven enough for some to call for him to become the full-time Toronto Maple Leafs starter.

Related: Joseph Woll is Maple Leafs’ Clear Choice for No. 1 GoaltenderJ

Such high praise for the 25-year-old Dardenne Prairie, Missouri native may say as much about the Maple Leafs’ alternatives in net as it does about Woll himself, but that shouldn’t take away from what the rookie has accomplished over the last two seasons of limited work. All signs point to his having a very bright future in the NHL.

8) Akira Schmid — New Jersey Devils

Akira Schmid might be the feel-good story of the last NHL season. A 2018 fifth-round draft choice, he was still playing exclusively in the USHL as recently as the 2020-21 season. He got a cup of coffee with the New Jersey Devils in 2021-22, but was drafted into action in a serious way during the 2022-23 season. He started 14 games during the regular season, going 9-5-0 with an incredible .922 SV% and a 2.13 GAA. But he didn’t really start to shine until the postseason.

Akira Schmid New Jersey Devils
Akira Schmid, New Jersey Devils (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Beaten twice by the archrival New York Rangers, the Devils were desperate for answers in their first postseason series in five years. They turned to the then-22-year-old Schmid, who proceeded to undeniably outduel the mighty Igor Shesterkin, widely viewed as one of the best goaltenders in the world. At the time of publication, Schmid is now 4-2-0, and leading all playoff goalies with a .935 SV% and two shutouts. Early in the 2023-24 season, though, Schmid has returned to a roll backing up Vítek Vaněček, and while both are struggling right now, it’s too early to undo everything Schmid accomplished just a few months ago.

7) Laurent Brossoit — Winnipeg Jets

Laurent Brossoit is a backup goaltender. At least, that’s what the Winnipeg Jets faithful tried to make clear to him last postseason, as the then-former backup to Connor Hellebuyck in Manitoba helped lead the Vegas Golden Knights past the Jets in the first round of the playoffs. Broissoit entered the postseason as the starter for the Golden Knights before Adin Hill took over and led them to the Stanley Cup. But Brossoit got to stick it in the face of the Jets and their fans, which prompted Winnipeg to re-sign him over the summer. Brossoit has a career .907 SV% and 2.79 GAA. And Winnipeg fans were right: those are backup numbers. But his consistency have made him a very good backup throughout his career, and Jets fans are probably glad to have him back.

6) Marc-Andre Fleury — Minnesota Wild

The only guaranteed future Hockey Hall of Famer on this list, Marc-Andre Fleury has finally become a clear backup in his aged-39 season — his 20th in the NHL. He’s been with the Minnesota Wild for parts of three seasons now, and he’s played an important roll in paving the way for Filip Gustavsson to take the role from him. Fleury does it all with his trademark smile and positive attitude, endearing him to every fan base he’s played for.

Marc-Andre Fleury Minnesota Wild
Marc-Andre Fleury, Minnesota Wild (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

There’s almost no point debating his numbers at this juncture. Sure, they’ve slipped from when he was a younger superstar. That’s no surprise. But the former first-overall pick claimed his first Vezina Trophy as recently as 2021. He’s had a great final few years of his career, and he deserve recognition for 20 years of NHL success, as well as three Stanley Cup victories. He’s one of the greats, and his name will almost certainly be immortalized in Toronto in a few years.

5) Antti Raanta — Carolina Hurricanes

Some goalies become backups for a period; others serve for longer. But few occupy the role as long as Antti Raanta has. No matter where he has gone in his career, he can’t seem to lock up a starting role. And yet, in 257 career games, he has a .917 SV%, a 2.44 GAA, 60.7 percent of his starts have been quality, and he carries 45.3 goals saved above average (GSAA). He even locked up the Jennings Trophy with teammate Frederik Andersen during the 2021-22 campaign. He was a 34-year-old free agent last summer, and while he’s been a journeyman in his career, the Hurricanes chose to lock Raanta up for another season.

4) Pavel Francouz — Colorado Avalanche

In his first full NHL season, Czech Republic import Pavel Francouz was a revelation. Playing in relief of Philipp Grubauer, he won 21 of 30 starts, held a .923 SV%, and carried a 2.41 GAA. On top of that, he managed 13.1 GSAA as a rookie (though he was 29 years old ad had played many seasons of professional hockey in Europe). Since then, he has struggled with several injuries, and even missed the entire 2020-21 season due to double hip surgery.

Pavel Francouz Colorado Avalanche
Pavel Francouz, Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)

But Francouz bounced back during the 2021-22 season. He won six of seven starts in relief of an injured Darcy Kuemper en route to the Stanley Cup in 2022. And backing up Alexandar Georgiev during the 2022-23 season, he had a .915 SV%, a 2.61 GAA, and 5.2 GSAA. He’s been very consistent when healthy, and he’s cheap, with one season left at $2 million — a critical factor for the cap-strapped Avalanche.

3) Semyon Varlamov — New York Islanders

Of the goalies on this list, only Fleury has more experience than Semyon Varlamov, but Varlamov — who signed a four-year contract extension this summer, despite turning 35 at the end of last season — has more job security than anyone else in this article. While New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has become notorious for giving needlessly long contracts to veteran players, it is still a sign of the faith the Islanders have in the Samara, Russia native, and the warm relationship he has with Ilya Sorokin, one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, who got a juicy extension of his own this summer.

Semyon Varlamov New York Islanders
Semyon Varlamov, New York Islanders (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

While the extension might be dubious, there’s no debating that Varlamov has been extremely effective with the Islanders. He’s maintained a .918 SV%, a 2.53 GAA, and 44.1 GSAA in four seasons there so far. Those numbers will likely trail off as he ages, but the calculus here is pretty clear: Varlamov is happy there. Sorokin — the franchise superstar — is happy to have him as his backup. The price of Sorokin’s happiness outweighs the value of signing a younger goaltender. So Varlamov will remain on Long Island for a long time to come. And, currently, at least, he remains one of the best backups in the NHL.

2) Logan Thompson — Vegas Golden Knights

Who is the backup in Vegas? It’s hard to say. But since Logan Thompson is not the goaltender who won Vegas the Stanley Cup last season, and the one who did (Adin Hill) got a big contract extension this summer, we’ll say that Thompson is the backup right now. Either way, the Golden Knights are in good hands. Thompson has played parts of four seasons with Vegas, going 35-18-6, with a .916 SV%, 2.62 GAA, and 17.9 GSAA. He’s still on an entry-level contract, which is a tremendous advantage for the cash-strapped Golden Knights. Thompson might be a starter soon, for either Vegas or another team that lures him away. But for now, he’s one of the best backups in the league.

1) Jeremy Swayman — Boston Bruins

There is no question that the Boston Bruins have the best goaltending tandem in the NHL right now. The 111th overall pick in 2017, Jeremy Swayman made his way to the Boston Bruins fairly quickly for a low-drafted goaltender. He is still just 24 years old, backing up the Vezina Trophy winner, Linus Ullmark. Even as dominant as the Bruins were last season, his stats are still impressive: 24-6-4, with a .920 SV%, 2.27 GAA, and 6.9 GSAA.

Related: Ranking the NHL’s 32 Starting Goalies — 2022-23 Season

Swayman was a restricted free agent (RFA) last summer, and many assumed that the Bruins would move him to another team, presumably making a killing in the process. But they allowed the arbitration process to award him a one-year, $3.475 million contract. It’s a short-term fix that keeps this elite tandem in tact for now, but it’s tough to imagine that the Bruins can sustain the pair for long. The only question is whether they’ll trade the young Swayman or the older (30-year-old) Ullmark. Either way, as longa s both are in Boston, they have the best backup and one of the best starting goaltenders in the entire league.

Who Did We Miss?

Do you think your backup belongs on this list? Do you think we gave someone too much credit? Let us know in the comments below. The role of a backup goaltender in the league is a volatile and ever-changing one. But right now, we believe these are the ten best in the world.

3 thoughts on “Top 10 NHL Backup Goaltenders”

  1. I understand why he isn’t here, but by the end of this season, Jhonas Enroth will be on this list.

    His 9-2-2-1 stretch last season (most of those wins coming in March) was key in the Sabres making the playoffs. Since Biron left, Miller’s major bane (besides a soft D) was a lack of a competent backup.

    Not so anymore!

    • I wouldn’t doubt it! Enroth has showed a lot of promise (which is why I listed him as an honorable mention), and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he started turning a few more heads around the league. I think Buffalo as a whole is one of the most underrated teams in the NHL, goaltending included

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