The NHL’s goaltending landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade.

The 60-start goalie is facing extinction. Teams focus on high-danger shots, reducing save percentage to its lowest since the mid-1990s. Having two, if not three, viable options to play meaningful games at some point is increasingly necessary. Yet, while the role has evolved, the job never does: stop the puck.

This is the third and final instalment of the 2025 High Noon series: the top 30 goaltenders. The approach uses a three-year weighted average of adjusted point shares to systematically rank the league’s best by position — hockey’s answer to the individual world player rankings in golf and tennis.

On today’s menu: Can Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck snag the #1 spot after many near misses? Do any Canadians crack the top 10? How far did Jeremy Swayman drop after a shaky debut as a starter? We’re ranking the top 30 netminders, debating the surprise shifts, and highlighting the biggest rises and falls from last summer.

If you missed Part 1 (forwards) or Part 2 (defensemen) of the series, be sure to catch up.

🕛 High Noon Background

Before we begin, here’s a reminder on the methodology. High Noon originally was a Hall of Fame tool; you can read about its mechanics in this original post. It uses a weighted three-year average: 2024-25 counts 50% of a player’s score; 2023-24 gets one-third (33%); 2022-23 is one-sixth (17%). The split provides a long-range view of performance, a critical ingredient to avoid crowning one-hit wonders.

While the approach to ranking goalies is the same as skaters, the inputs naturally differ:

By leveraging goalie point shares, the High Noon system is driven by box score stats, not advanced data. Think save percentage, shots faced and minutes played. Expected goals models that attempt to measure shot quality are not factored.
The methodology does not project. The rankings cover what a goalie has done, not what they might do. If a 25-year-old and 35-year-old perform similarly over three seasons, they will rank similarly.
Playoffs aren’t factored, as post-season opportunities are too arbitrary and team dependent.
Goalies that haven’t played half the schedule each of the last three seasons are penalized. In last year’s version, a player needed to participate in three seasons to be eligible. That’s since changed. Each season’s divisor is 41 games. Rookies now enter the rankings and build a score over three full seasons. The reason? Goalies that can’t (or have yet to) control a crease or physically handle 50% of the schedule annually aren’t enduring the same level of rigor necessary to hang with the NHL’s elite.

Who’s the ideal goaltender in the High Noon methodology? One that: 1. Has a high save percentage; 2. Faces a high shot count; 3. Played at least 41 games in each of the last three seasons. The fun part about goalie rankings is that they fluctuate a lot more than with skaters. With few reliably dominant performers given the position’s inseparable connection to team defense, plus battles for a limited number of jobs, the goalie hierarchy shifts fast. In just two years, 13 of the top 30 have turned over.

👑 The Top 30

How to Read the Rankings: Igor Shesterkin’s score in the High Noon system below is 10.5, ranking him the NHL’s #6 goaltender in 2025. The Change column (-2) shows his drop from #4 to #6 since last summer. Shesterkin’s career peak — his High Noon — is #2, the highest he’s been ranked previously (2022).

Just Missed: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (#31); Jake Allen (#32)

1️⃣ Who’s #1?

Finally. It took a league MVP and third Vezina for Hellebuyck to officially reach #1. But his rankings over the last six years reveal a tremendous peak: #3, #2, #4, #5, #2, #1. Only two goalies that have played in the salary cap era have had a six-year streak in the top five: Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo (seven years from 2002 to 2009) and unheralded Tomas Vokoun (six years from 2006 to 2011). Both Hellebuyck’s 2024-25 and 2023-24 seasons scored as the NHL’s best, so he’s a good bet to remain in the top five a while longer. His current lead (0.9) is the largest in High Noon by a goalie in 15 years.

For those curious, who has the longest post-expansion run in the top five? Patrick Roy (1988 to 2000) and Tony Esposito (1971 to 1983) at 13 years each. Unfathomable consistency and longevity. To take nothing away from Esposito, Roy’s streak is much more impressive given the the globalization of the sport and goalie count over his iconic career. Incredibly, Hellebuyck isn’t even half way there.

High Noon: Top 3 Goaltenders, Last 15 Years

Year	#1 (# of times)	#2	#3
2011	Thomas (2)	Vokoun	Hiller
2012	Thomas (3)	Lundqvist	Rinne
2013	Anderson	Lundqvist	Schneider
2014	Anderson (2)	Lundqvist	Rask
2015	Price	Varlamov	Rask
2016	Crawford	Varlamov	Mason
2017	Anderson (3)	Crawford	Bobrovsky
2018	Gibson	Bobrovsky	Luongo
2019	Vasilevskiy	Gibson	Andersen
2020	Lehner	Vasilevskiy	Hellebuyck
2021	Vasilevskiy (2)	Hellebuyck	Varlamov
2022	Saros	Shesterkin	Vasilevskiy
2023	Saros (2)	Ullmark	Shesterkin
2024	Ullmark	Hellebuyck	Sorokin
2025	Hellebuyck	Ullmark	Gustavsson

⬆️ Too High?

Linus Ullmark (#2), Ottawa: Last year’s #1 and the 2022-23 Vezina winner never quite gets the respect his play deserves. Why might that be? For one, he just turned 32 and has never topped 48 starts in a season. He’s also never won a playoff series as a starter. But what does Ullmark do? He stops the puck. Over the last three seasons, his save percentage (.921) is narrowly second in the NHL to Hellebuyck’s (.922). The gap is about two goals. As Ottawa’s rebuild now has real expectations, Ullmark maintaining a high level of play may be the difference in staying in neutral or driving forward.

Filip Gustavsson (#3), Minnesota: Gustavsson’s placement here may come as a shock. But he’s quietly reaching his potential. Two of his last three seasons have been sensational, 2023-24’s vanilla effort sandwiching second and sixth-place finishes in save percentage. Minnesota took off his training wheels last season (58 starts) and he picked up a pair of third-place Vezina votes in response. On a Wild team seemingly stuck in the middle for a quarter century, Gustavsson needs to provide elite goaltending.

Sam Montembeault (#9), Montreal: When Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Montembeault were named to Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, the days of Canadian dominance in goal were publicly declared dead. Whether that’s true or not, Montembeault’s quietly offered Montreal strong goaltending for three years. His #9 ranking is well-deserved, trailing only Logan Thompson (#7) in High Noon among Canadians. If Montembeault and the upstart Habs keep progressing, don’t be shocked if he sees Olympic action in Italy.

⬇️ Too Low?

Darcy Kuemper (#14), Los Angeles: A Vezina finalist ranked #14? Kuemper’s sturdy play was a big part of the Kings’ 105-point performance last season. But his middle-of-the-pack ranking stems from a light workload in L.A. and a gnarly 2023-24 season in Washington — an .890 save percentage sent Kuemper packing two years into a five-year deal. Despite the optics of playing for four teams in five years, the 35-year-old has built a fine career with a Stanley Cup in Colorado (2022) and a High Noon of #6 in Arizona (2020).

Anthony Stolarz (#21), Toronto: Stolarz’s .918 save percentage over the last three seasons trails only Hellebuyck’s and Ullmark’s, the two top-ranked goalies on this list. So, why is Stolarz so low? Well, he hasn’t played a lot of hockey. He’s started only 69 games in three years from a combination of injuries and challenges earning the starters’ crease. Stolarz was terrific in Toronto last season, the 2024-25 slice of his High Noon score sixth (11.1) despite being seven games shy of the 41-game minimum. Durability and consistency are what keep most of the goalies out of the top 15.

Thatcher Demko (#37), Vancouver: This is a perfect segue to Demko. He was brilliant for the Canucks in 2023-24 as Vezina runner-up. The year before? 32 starts and mid goaltending. Last year? 23 starts and mid goaltending. Lack of availability has tanked Demko’s ranking from his High Noon of #5 (in 2022) all the way to #37. His year-over-year drop (30 places) is the NHL’s largest. Demko is big and incredibly talented and could very well see the biggest rise in 2026. Until he can perform reliably, however, both he and Vancouver remain in a precarious state.

📈 Trending Up

Three Biggest Jumps Into the Top 20:
- 1. Joey Daccord, Seattle: +33 spots (from #51 to #18)
- T2. Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado: +26 spots (from #41 to #15)
- T2. Lukas Dostal, Anaheim: +26 spots (from #43 to #17)

Three Biggest Jumps Into the Top 40:
- 1. Dustin Wolf, Calgary: +36 spots (from #74 to #38)
- 2. Joseph Woll, Toronto: +33 spots (from #58 to #25)
- 3. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto: +29 spots (from #50 to #21)

📉 Trending Down

Six Biggest Drops Among Last Year’s Top 40:
- T1. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver: -30 spots (from #7 to #37)
- T1. Kaapo Kahkonen, Montreal: -30 spots (from #34 to #64)
- 3. Semyon Varlamov, NY Islanders: -28 spots (from #30 to #58)
- 4. Marc-Andre Fleury, Retired: -18 spots (from #21 to #39)
- T5. Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh: -16 spots (from #12 to #28)
- T5. Alexandar Georgiev, Buffalo: -16 spots (from #25 to #41)

⏳ Young Gun Watch

Players don’t earn a full High Noon score until they play half the schedule in three consecutive seasons. So, recent rookies and sophomores will only have begun their ascents up the ladder. Here’s a check-in on three young goalies that saw their first glimpses of full-time goaltending last season.

Joseph Woll (#25), Toronto In 67 games over the last two seasons, the 27-year-old has provided the Leafs excellent puck stopping when available and called upon. Ranking if based on 2024-25 alone: #7

Dustin Wolf (#38), Calgary: Wolf’s breakout season in isolation was the highest score (11.4) by a goalie aged 23 or less in 15 years, matching Carey Price’s 2010-11. Wolf will quickly move up the rankings in 2026 entering just his second year as a full-time NHL player. Ranking if based on 2024-25 alone: #5

Spencer Knight (#54), Chicago: After taking 2023-24 off entirely, Knight, now signed through 2029, will have full opportunity to establish himself as a legit #1 goalie. Ranking if based on 2024-25 alone: #25

💥 Feature Player

After constant speculation, the domino dropped in June and John Gibson was finally traded. The reason potential goalie moves get a lot of attention is because they’re rare. Among the top 30, only two goalies — Gibson and Petr Mrazek, traded in the same deal — swapped teams this past offseason. GM Steve Yzerman is hoping Gibson (#27 in High Noon) and incumbent Cam Talbot (#16) collectively solve Detroit‘s long-running instability in goal.

What are they getting in Gibson? It’s been hard to separate the goaltender from a struggling Ducks’ team for a while. The High Noon rankings say it’s been six years since Gibson was elite — he ranked #1 and #2 in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Now 32 years old, it’s the classic change of scenery gambit. The Wings are hoping that a motivated veteran fits right in, following the footsteps of Kuemper in Los Angeles last offseason. It would be a welcome development as patience is in short supply for Hockeytown’s rebuild.

Follow @AdjustedHockey on X; visit www.adjustedhockey.com; data from Hockey-Reference

Recently by Paul Pidutti

_____

The Sheet is live! Hosted by Jeff Marek, this brand-new show is your daily deep dive into the biggest hockey stories, trends, and insights across the NHL, PWHL, junior hockey, and beyond. Streaming every weekday at 3 PM ET on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel, The Sheet features exclusive interviews with top hockey figures, from industry executives to Olympic champions. Don’t miss out—subscribe to Daily Faceoff on YouTube and follow @TheSheetHockey on social media to stay up-to-date with all the latest from the world of hockey.