The Blackhawks goaltenders look to rise in the Central Division during the 2026-2027 season

The Central Division was arguably the strongest in the NHL last year, and goaltending was a big strength of these teams. With the success these teams have found in the net, there have been few personnel changes made thus far in the offseason. The Blackhawks seem very comfortable with their young goaltenders going into the next few years and have recently signed Drew Commesso to a new contract.

1. Colorado Avalanche

Scott Wedgewood - 45 GP (games played), +23.1 GSAE (goals saved above expected)
Mackenzie Blackwood - 38 GP, +8.3 GSAE

The Avalanche returned the same goalies that led them to the Western Conference Final before running into the buzzsaw that was the Vegas Golden Knights. Colorado led the NHL in goals-against per game and save percentage. Now these are defensive stats as well; however, the +23.1 and +8.3 goals saved above expected show that Wedgewood and Blackwood had an exceptional year. We can expect to see some regression from these goalies, but not enough to move this duo from the top spot in the division,

2. Dallas Stars

Jake Oettinger - 54 GP, +5.7 GSAE
Casey DeSmith - 30 GP, 10.5 GSAE

Jake Oettinger had somewhat of a down year from his usual standards. He finished with a .899 save percentage, which was the lowest of his career. With a career percentage of .910, we can expect a bounce-back year from Oettinger. DeSmith proved to be one of the better backups in the league last year and finished 4th in the NHL in goals-against average. He has had a very solid career thus far with the Penguins, Canucks, and now Stars. With a projected return to form from Oettinger and another solid year from DeSmith, the Stars land themselves in second on this list.

3. Winnipeg Jets

Connor Hellebuyck - 57 GP, +5.5 GSAE
Stuart Skinner - 50 GP, +8.3 GSAE

The Winnipeg Jets had a very disappointing 2025-2026 season, missing the playoffs after winning the Presidents' Trophy the year prior. They looked to improve in their net by replacing Eric Comrie with Stuart Skinner. Starting goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who is entering his age-33 season, played his best hockey at the Olympics, bringing Team USA a gold medal. However, he did not see much success with the Jets, posting his lowest save percentage of his career. We can expect a boost from Skinner, and a bounce-back year from Hellebuyck will help the Jets rise in the standings.

4. Minnesota Wild

Filip Gustavsson - 50 GP, +1.4 GSAE
Jesper Wallstedt - 35 GP, +6.2 GSAE

23-year-old netminder Jesper Wallstedt came on for Gustavsson towards the end of the year and played exceptionally well. Wallstedt finished the year second in the NHL in save percentage and earned the right to start in the playoffs for the Wild. It is expected that he will be the starting goalie for the team as they enter the 2026-2027 season, and he is one of the best young goaltenders in the NHL.

5. Chicago Blackhawks

Spencer Knight - 54 GP, +10.9 GSAE
Arvid Soderblom - 26 GP, -4.0 GSAE

Spencer Knight completed his first season with the Blackhawks in 2025-2026 and played the most games of his career. Despite playing behind such a suspect defense, Knight played exceptionally well, which is demonstrated by his positive 10.9 goals saved above expected. I suspect we will see a bigger role this year from Drew Commesso as Arvid Soderblom has yet to reach a save percentage over .900 in his career. Commesso played well in his very limited time last year, and after signing his new contract, he will look to prove that he belongs in the NHL.

6. Utah Mammoth

Karel Vejmelka - 64 GP, +6.9 GSAE
Sebastian Cossa

Karel Vejmelka started the most games in the net for any team in the Central Division. Vitek Vanecek was replaced by Sebastian Cossa, who will get his first full-time look in the NHL. These two goalies will be playing behind a solid defense and a talented group of young forwards; however, Vejmelka has been a middle-of-the-road goalie throughout his career, and Cossa remains unproven, landing the Mammoth in 6th place.

7. Nashville Predators

Juuse Saros - 59 GP, -9.3 GSAE
Justus Annunen - 28 GP, +8.3 GSAE

Juuse Saros is now on the wrong side of 30, and he has seen his goals-against average increase in each of his last five seasons. He was once one of the top goaltenders in the league; however, we have seen Saros come back to be average at best over the last couple of seasons. Annunen proved to be a solid backup last season as his +8.3 GSAE was a very solid number. While the Predators were more competitive in 2025-2026, it had little to do with their netminders.

8. St. Louis Blues

Joel Hofer - 46 GP, +11.7 GSAE
Jordan Binnington - 41 GP, -22.4 GSAE

Jordan Binnington began the season as the Blues' starting goaltender and got off to a dreadful start. Binnington clearly had his attention on the Canadian starting job for the Olympics last year, as he looked like a different goalie wearing his national sweater. Binnington finished in last place in the entire NHL in goals-against average per game (hate to see it). Joel Hofer started the majority of the games following the Olympic break and almost played his team back into the playoffs. He will look to be starting for the Blues going into the 2026-2027 season.

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