Age is just a number for Marc-Andre Fleury who has been recognized as one of the best goaltenders in the NHL at 34-years-old.
Continuing a nine-part series that will showcase the best players currently plying their trade in the NHL, the NHL Network revealed their Top 10 goalies on Sunday and the Vegas Golden Knights were represented in that list.
After Mark Stone was included in the NHL Network’s Top 20 Wings list, the Golden Knights were given another shoutout after Marc-Andre Fleury was named as the sixth best netminder in the NHL right now.
Was that ranking spot on for a goalie who is still at the peak of his powers? We will delve into that question shortly but, first, let’s look at the list overall…
- Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning
- Sergei Bobrovsky – Florida Panthers
- Ben Bishop – Dallas Stars
- Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens
- Tuukka Rask – Boston Bruins
- Marc-Andre Fleury – Vegas Golden Knights
- Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals
- Jordan Binnington – St. Louis Blues
- Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators
- John Gibson – Anaheim Ducks
ICYMI: Here are our Top 10 Goalies! #NHLTopPlayers pic.twitter.com/FARG4tN8nE
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 26, 2019
That is quite a list and it features a few names who could well find themselves in the Hall of Fame once their respective careers have concluded. There were also some notable players on the bubble who just missed out on making the Top Ten…
- Frederik Andersen – Toronto Maple Leafs
- Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
- Matt Murray – Pittsburgh Penguins
- Robin Lehner – Chicago Blackhawks
- Carter Hart – Philadelphia Flyers
First and foremost, one big issue we have with the NHL Network’s Top 10 list is the inclusion of Jordan Binnington. Hear us out here.
Yes, he was pivotal to the St. Louis Blues turning their season around and evolving from the worst team in the NHL just after Christmas to Stanley Cup champions in a matter of months, but he has only played 33 games in total in the NHL, not including his 26 outings in the postseason last year.
That is a very small sample size and, while he is one of the best goalies in the NHL in 2018-19, it may have been better to have Matt Murray in the Top 10 instead, given that the Pittsburgh Penguins netminder has two Stanley Cups to his name after all. Anyway, that is just our opinion.
Back to Fleury and he certainly deserves to be ranked sixth in the NHL Network’s list given his prestigious career in the majors and the fact that he’s still operating at his prime for the Golden Knights even though he’s very much in the twilight of his career.
But, should he have been higher in that list or was sixth place about right? If we are judging it on the best goalies in the NHL right now, you have to say that the NHL Network got Fleury’s ranking about right.
Firstly, there is no debating Vasilevskiy’s place at the top of the list given that he has led the NHL in wins in each of the past two seasons, going 83-27-7 in 118 games in that span, coupled with the fact that the Vezina Trophy winner had a 2.40 Goals Against Average and a .925 Save Percentage in 2018-19.
Bobrovsky at 2nd also makes sense given that his 115 wins over the past three seasons leads the NHL, and he was also lights out last year with a record of 37-24-1, coupled with a 2.58 GAA and a .913 Save Percentage. He also finally solved his postseason curse, standing on his head at times as the Columbus Blue Jackets stunned the Tampa Bay Lightning after completing a shocking sweep in the First Round of the playoffs.
Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop, who was the runner-up for the Vezina Trophy last year, came in at 3rd after leading the NHL in Save Percentage (.934) and finishing second in Goals Against Average (1.98), while recording seven shutouts. Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask rounded off the Top 5.
Fleury started 61 games in 2018-19, posting a 35-21-5 record with a 2.51 Goals Against Average, a .913 Save Percentage and eight shutouts during the regular season. He also put up a 2.70 GAA and a .909 SV% with one shutout in seven postseason contests.
Fleury’s regular season numbers compare to those above him in the Top 10 list, and his body of work with the Golden Knights in the last two years alone cements his status inside the top six in this list. He has been crucial for Vegas and on his day he is still one of the elite goalies in the entire NHL.
There is no doubt that the three-time Stanley Cup champion will enter the Hall of Fame once his playing days are over, and Fleury came in for high praise from NHL Network analyst and former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Darren Pang:
"“Is there a better poke-checker in the National Hockey League? Is there a guy that reads the play or uses his stick around the crease better? Why be passive and allow a puck to go right through your crease that forces you to do a two-pad slide or stretch out? He’s already there. His anticipation is incredible.”"
Fleury is currently second in the NHL in wins (439) and shutouts (56) among active goalies behind Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers (449 wins, 63 shutouts), and he hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down just yet.
The list itself is attracting a lot of attention on social media, mainly negative, and as we mentioned earlier it does seem a bit bewildering that Matt Murray isn’t included in the Top 10, while you could make the case that Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen should have made the cut too.
However, as far as Vegas Golden Knights fans are concerned, Marc-Andre Fleury is probably where he should be in the Top 10 Goalies list and he has the chance to rank higher next year should he carve out another vintage year in 2019-20 and add a fourth Stanley Cup to his already glittering resume in the process.