The favored overseas side will be aiming for gold in Italy and would easily field two selections from the outfield to land it. However, the goalkeeper’s position causes embarrassment and uncertainty. Not one of the Canadian trio from the 4 Nations Face-Off is shining at the moment.
Of the goaltenders who caught twenty or more games in the regular part of this NHL season, Binnington even has the fewest wins (7), the worst goals-against average (3.49) and the weakest save success rate (86.9 percent).
Vegas’ Adin Hill has been injured for a long time since October, and Montreal’s Sam Montembeault is catching so poorly (3.65 goals-against average; 85.7 percent success rate) that Canadiens fans would rather send him somewhere on the road.
General Manager of Canada for the Olympics and GM St. Louis Doug Armstrong already had to admit that at the Olympics the Canadian trio will be made up of completely different names than at the Tournament of Four. “It’s an open competition between goalkeepers,” he said a few weeks ago.
Washington’s Logan Thompson (2.09; 92.2 percent), Colorado’s Scott Wedgewood (2.11; 92.0) and Los Angeles’ Darcy Kuemper (2.21; 91.6) are currently performing best in it. Could this be Canada’s holy trinity for the Olympics?
“People have to understand that for nine years between the 2016 World Cup and the Tournament of Four, we didn’t have any international competition where the best competed. Being Canada’s goalie is extremely difficult. Once you make a few mistakes, you’re an outcast,” says the legendary Martin Brodeur, gold medalist from the 2002 and 2010 Olympics.
But he would not be surprised if the completely unremarkable Binnington got into the Canadian nomination in the season after all. After all, he also has a campaign for the Stanley Cup in 2019 or excellent saves during key passages of the Tournament of Four. “Sometimes the numbers don’t reflect how you catch, especially when the team around you is struggling and you’re at the mercy of those around you,” says goalkeeping capacity.
The last time NHL players participated in the Olympics in Sochi in 2014, Carey Price of the winning Team Canada had an absurd 0.59 goals per game average in five starts! The Maple Leafs will definitely not have such a clear number one in February.
The Czechs, on the other hand, rely mainly on Anaheim’s Lukáš Dostál in their calculations, the Finns believe in Juuse Saros from Nashville, and the goalkeeping miracle of recent weeks, Jesper Wallstedt from Minnesota, can shake up the Swedish nomination. The USA will then again rely on Connor Hellebuyck, who on the weekend jumped in after a month from injury and performed a masterful performance against Washington (5:1), whose posts were defended by the Canadian Thompson.
“You can have a great team, you’re playing great, and then someone like Dominik Hašek comes up against you,” sighed current Detroit general manager Stevy Yzerman, recalling the 1998 Nagano semifinal loss.
A quality goalkeeper can steal a win for his team in a match, but Hašek stole the entire Olympic tournament there.
