Montreal Canadiens: Is Carey Price the best goaltender in the league?

Players around the league dubbed Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price as the best in the league, but is that the case anymore?

Of all the things to come out of the 2019-20 NHLPA Player Poll, one thing generated the most discussion on social media. The Montreal Canadiens found themselves represented five times throughout the poll with Carey Price being voted the best goaltender in the league amongst his peers. And it wasn’t by a small margin as the difference between Price – who had 41.55% of the vote – and Andrei Vasilevskiy was significant.

The outrage came from the fact that this season hasn’t been Price’s best. The 32-year-old went into the pause with a 27-25-6 and a .909 save percentage (Sv%) down from the .918 Sv% he finished with last season. That value has Price 13th amongst goaltenders who have played at least 40 games with Tuukka Rask being at the top with a .929 Sv%.

Those are only raw numbers, though despite them being good indicators of goaltender performance. The Montreal Canadiens aren’t the best defensive team and Price has spent a decent portion of his career covering up for those errors. As for the players in front of Price, they haven’t been as porous as in most years.

The Habs are ninth in the league in scoring chances against at 5v5 giving up only 1396 chances (the 23rd fewest). High-Danger chances against haven’t been as bad either as Montreal has 577 against good for 11th (21st fewest). That doesn’t change what you see watching the game, and the opportunities the Canadiens do allow are sometimes beyond saving, but there have been a lot of goals Price would want to have back.

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Going back to his season, 53% of Price’s starts have been quality per Rob Vollman’s metric. According to Vollman, a quality start in any game a goaltender walks away with at least a .917 Sv%. A value of 53% is league average, so Price is covered on that front.

At the same time, he has 11 really bad starts (RBS), which is a game that sees a goaltender have an Sv% below .850. Martin Jones, Brayden Holtby and Pekka Rinne have the same amount, and they’ve been criticized for their poor performance this season as well.

Statistically no, Carey Price has not been the best goaltender in the league. It’s probably been Connor Hellebuyck who’s .922 Sv% is second amongst goalies who have played at least 40 games. Additionally, the Winnipeg Jets have been a lot more porous this season after losing both Jacob Trouba and Dustin Byfuglien. They’ve given up the third most scoring chances against (1636) and the most high-danger scoring chances (756) at 5v5 but managed to grab hold of a playoff spot as the NHL season paused.

Regardless of the numbers, Price does have a reputation of excellence in the crease. His positioning and ability to make ridiculous saves look effort-less is something that hasn’t changed despite being in his 30s.

I’m not sure if players search through stat sheets before making their vote. Price being voted the best goaltender amongst his peers is a sign of respect and acknowledgement for what he can do.

Carey Price isn’t the best goaltender in the league, but getting the recognition from teammates and opponents is still a boost.