This was far from the most exciting free-agent class in NHL history, especially when it came to the goaltenders.
Most of netminders that hit the open market on Tuesday projected as backups at best, and the top option, Jake Allen, re-signed with New Jersey before the clock struck noon Eastern, further deflating what was already an uninspiring class.
There was still quite a bit of movement in the crease on the first day of free agency. In total, 16 goalies signed contracts on July 1, worth a combined $61.75 million, and three goalies were traded over the last week.
Some teams made sensible moves to improve their depth in net. Some paved the way for younger goalies within the organization to take a leap in 2025-26. Others idly watched goalies fly off the board without improving their own status.
We are here to declare the winners and losers of the offseason goaltending carousel, starting with the victors:
WinnersThatcher Demko
The first goalie signing of the day on Tuesday was by far the biggest, as Vancouver locked up Demko with a three-year extension worth $8.5 million per year.
There was speculation the Canucks could look to trade their 2023 Vezina Trophy runner-up after an injury-riddled season and after signing backup Kevin Lankinen to a five-year, $22.5 million contract in February. They put that notion to bed by signing Demko to an extension that will make him the third-highest-paid goalie in the NHL when it begins in 2026-27.
Demko played only 23 games last season, dealing with a scary knee tear and multiple other injuries. In the limited action he did see, he never found his rhythm or looked like the elite goalie we’ve seen in the past. As a result of that lengthy injury history, the Canucks clearly preferred to sign Demko to more money with less term. The $8.5 million cap hit is the same as two-time defending Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck, which is a lot considering Demko has made 50 starts in a season only twice in his career.
This signing carries risk for Vancouver, which will have $13 million allocated to goaltending when the extension kicks in, but it will be worth it if Demko returns to form. His rare combination of size, athleticism and edge work are nearly impossible to find.
Demko is the clear winner here, though. He got paid like an elite goalie in spite of a forgettable 2024-25 season.
New Jersey Devils
As mentioned, the Devils took the top unrestricted free agent goalie off the board before the market even opened by signing Allen to a five-year extension worth $1.8 million per year.
The term on that contract is sure to raise some eyebrows, considering Allen will be 40 when it expires. As the top goalie of this class, he easily could’ve commanded more than $1.8 million on the open market, but he likes it in New Jersey and got paid while helping general manager Tom Fitzgerald massage the cap hit by spreading it across five years.
It looks like a brilliant move by Fitzgerald to keep one of the better goalie tandems in the league intact. Allen is an elite backup, and while starting 35-year-old Jacob Markstrom, who hasn’t reached 50 starts in either of the last two seasons, keeping Allen was a huge win for the Devils.
Not only is Allen a great insurance policy if Markstrom misses time, he played so well (ranking 14th with 19.07 goals saved above expected in only 29 starts) that New Jersey can play him with confidence and keep Markstrom’s workload down.
Jet Greaves
One of the under-the-radar moves in the crease this week was Columbus’ trade that sent Daniil Tarasov to Florida for a fifth-round pick. Tarasov was a third-round pick in 2017, but he has struggled in the NHL with a .898 save percentage and minus-5.24 GSAx in three seasons with the Blue Jackets.
I like this move for Tarasov, who gets a fresh start behind a strong Panthers team and the chance to learn from Sergei Bobrovsky. Oddly enough, Bobrovsky grew up watching Tarasov’s father, Vadim Tarasov, who goaltended for Bobrovsky’s hometown KHL team in Novokuznetsk, Russia. Now he has the opportunity to mentor his son.
The real winner in this trade is Greaves, who has looked impressive in limited opportunities for Columbus but has been stuck behind Tarasov on the depth chart. Undrafted and undersized, Greaves has quickly risen up the ranks of talented young goalies ready to make their mark in the NHL. He has been dominant for the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL over the last two seasons, and put up a .939 save percentage and two shutouts in only 11 starts for the Blue Jackets last season.
Greaves reads the game well and has incredibly quick feet and great lateral movement. With a clear path to being a full-time NHL goalie in 2025-26, he is one of the early favorites to have a breakout season. It wouldn’t be that surprising if he usurped Elvis Merzlikins as Columbus’ starter by the end of it.
LosersEdmonton Oilers
After back-to-back losses in the Stanley Cup Final, with goaltending being the clear and obvious need, the Oilers shocked many by standing pat in the crease – at least for now. Edmonton still has Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard under contract for one more season, and GM Stan Bowman chose not to add a goalie on Tuesday.
In Bowman’s defense, it’s not as if there was a bounty of options available to upgrade his goaltending. Still, he passed on John Gibson, who Anaheim traded to Detroit for Petr Mrazek and two draft picks. He also passed on signing one of the veteran backups on the open market.
There are still a few options out there. Ilya Samsonov, who started 29 games as the Golden Knights’ backup this past season, and Alexandar Georgiev, who had a disastrous 2024-25 season with Colorado and San Jose, both remain unsigned. They’ve both been starters on playoff teams in the past, but neither is an obvious upgrade over what Edmonton already has.
Unless the Oilers can find an unexpected trade partner – such as prying Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen away from Buffalo – they’ll enter the season with question marks in the crease yet again.
Sebastian Cossa
Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman upgraded his starting goalie with the aforementioned trade to bring in Gibson. For a Detroit team fighting to break out of the rebuild stage and back into the playoffs, the potential of Gibson is enticing.
The acquisition also creates another hurdle for 2021 first-round pick Sebastian Cossa to break through with the NHL club. Taken with the No. 15 overall selection, Cossa is the third-highest drafted goalie in the last 15 years, but with Gibson and Cam Talbot in Detroit, it appears he’s destined for a fourth season in the minor leagues.
It’s not the end of the world for a 22-year-old goalie to get more seasoning, but Cossa has already played more games in the minors than every first-round pick since Jack Campbell in 2010.
1st round goalies since 2010
Sebastian Cossa
2021
95
53
148
Jesper Wallstedt
2021
112
0
112
Yaroslav Askarov
2020
137
0
137
Spencer Knight
2019
60
0
60
Jake Oettinger
2017
54
0
54
Ilya Samsonov
2015
41
0
41
Andrei Vasilevskiy
2012
37
0
37
Malcolm Subban
2012
138
0
138
Jack Campbell
2010
215
20
235
In speaking with a few goalie coaches around the league, 100 games in the minors is considered a good amount for a young goalie prospect. Considering Cossa’s pedigree one would expect fewer for him, especially when you add in the fact that Detroit hasn’t exactly been settled in net.
Trey Augustine, whom Detroit drafted in the second round in 2023, has looked great at Michigan State and with Team USA at the World Junior Championship. He’ll soon be nipping at Cossa’s heels. The big, athletic Hamilton, Ont. native needs an impressive camp, and an even more impressive season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, to maintain his place as Detroit’s goalie of the future.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers didn’t just have the worst goaltending in the NHL in 2024-25 — they were in their own universe entirely. Philadelphia had three of the bottom five goalies in the league in GSAx, and their combined minus-45.21 goals saved above expected were 30 below the the next-worst team.
Similarly to Edmonton, the permanent answer to the Flyers’ goaltending troubles wasn’t available in this free agency period, but it feels like Philadelphia could’ve done better than signing Dan Vladar to a two-year contract worth $3.35 million per year. Vladar has spent the last four seasons as Calgary’s backup. He’s a big, rangy goalie but he has also produced a save percentage below the league average and negative GSAx in all five of his NHL seasons.
In the midst of a rebuild, the Flyers aren’t desperate to find their franchise goalie at this moment, but better goaltending could accelerate the rebuild process. Philadelphia allowed the ninth-fewest shots and the fourth-fewest high-danger chances in the NHL last year but was completely undone by subpar goaltending.
Perhaps the last two “losers” on this list could help each other. If Detroit has any doubts that Cossa is its goalie of the future, the Flyers would be wise to inquire. There’s no indication Yzerman has any interest in dealing Cossa, but with Augustine developing the way he has been, it could be worth a call.
(Photo of Thatcher Demko: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)