Ah, the goaltender debate. It's one that has plagued the Vegas Golden Knights for the past year. It started an all-out war that escalated onto the Las Vegas Strip.
Logan Thompson or Adin Hill?
That was the big debate sweeping Sin City. Imagine a debate about Coke vs. Pepsi, only it involved cannons and trebuchets on social media. That's what the argument entailed for the Golden Knights as well. Who do you choose moving forward?
Ultimately, Vegas stuck with Adin Hill as Logan Thompson was traded to the Washington Capitals. McCrimmon has his goaltender and is ready to roll.
On top of that, Hill got a nice six-year contract extension! He's getting paid $37.5 million to be the starter in Las Vegas, giving him even more responsibility. Add in a goaltender-friendly system from Bruce Cassidy and Hill has everything he needs to thrive.
But the big question regarding the 29-year-old was whether he'd perform well under the bright lights. Was Hill the answer that Vegas needed since Marc-Andre Fleury left? Or would he be like a Pink Floyd song and be just another brick in the wall?
The good, the bad, and the ugly for Adin Hill's 2024-25 season
First, let's start with the good. Adin Hill had a terrific regular season campaign with the Vegas Golden Knights. That included four shutouts in a single season (tied for seventh in the NHL). But that's not the only impressive feat he achieved during the 2024-25 season (stats courtesy of MoneyPuck).
Player | GAA | xGAA | Save Percentage | Shutouts | Goals Saved Above Expected | Save % Above Expected | High Danger Unblocked Shot Attempt Save % | Wins Above Replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adin Hill | 2.47 | 2.77 | .906 | 4 | 14.5 | 0.0050 | .730 | 2.42 |
That's the side that's as beautiful as Sydney Sweeney. Now get ready for the bad part. That consists of a poor postseason showing where he hurt the Golden Knights when needed.
Player | GAA | xGAA | Save Percentage | Shutouts | Goals Saved Above Expected | Save % Above Expected | High Danger Unblocked Shot Attempt Save % | Wins Above Replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adin Hill | 2.93 | 2.55 | .887 | 0 | -4.2 | .800 | -0.71 |
Those stats, sans the high-danger chances, were worse than Hill's regular season stats. The ugly part? He was opposing Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard in the second round.
Kudos to Skinner for holding his own in the last five games. However, it's a testament to the various problems for the Golden Knights in the postseason. When Ivan Barbashev (one goal and one assist during the postseason) and others don't produce much, you need your key players to show up. That didn't happen for Hill, who let in soft goal after soft goal.
Grading Adin Hill's 2024-25 season
I'm going to be honest here. I'm conflicted on what to make of Hill's season. For one, you had a steady regular season performer who carried Vegas to the top of the Pacific Division. On the other, you had a goaltender who was inconsistent during the postseason. Is this a situation where you go down the middle?
Adin Hill probably had one of the better regular seasons you could imagine. For that, he gets an A- for his work. However, the postseason was a time when you needed him to show up.
When Tomas Hertl or Ivan Barbashev don't register a point in the second round, you need your goaltender to outplay the competition. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Therefore, Hill gets a knockdown in the overall grade. But he's trending in the right direction, which is a promising sign at the goalie position. I believe he has a brighter future with Vegas than people realize.