Seven superb goalies that came out of nowhere
Few saw this narrative coming: James Reimer as the undisputed No. 1 goalie in the Leaf net, Jonathan Bernier down and out, and Garret Sparks as the feel-good story of the day.
It happens. A goalie comes out of nowhere, and a team’s fate changes. Sometimes, folks are so down on a goalie, you can’t see the good fortune that follows. Who knows how the drama that is playing out right now in the Leaf net will end? But similar narratives have played out before.
Ken Dryden, Montreal, 1971
Since he played college instead of junior, few thought Dryden would ever play in the NHL. The hockey world was shocked when the Canadiens played him ahead of starter Rogie Vachon in Game 1 of the 1970 NHL playoffs, after Dryden had just played six regular-season games. But he was the backbone of the Habs’ Stanley Cup that year, plus four more in the 1970s.
Felix Potvin, Toronto, 1992
The Leafs were high on Potvin as a prospect, but they had Grant Fuhr in net. Then Potvin stole the No. 1 job, allowing Fuhr to be traded for Dave Andreychuk and Daren Puppa, and Potvin became the backbone of a Leafs renaissance in the 1990s, when the team got to the conference final twice.
Tim Thomas, Boston, 2006
Folks were so down on Thomas, he had to go to Finland to play. He returned to North America as a backup, became a starter at age 32 and a few years later won the Stanley Cup. The former journeyman added two Vezinas and a Conn Smythe Trophy.
Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus, 2013
Bobrovsky was a disappointment for two years in Philadelphia. Then he went to Columbus in the lockoutshortened season and won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top netminder. Columbus even went to the playoffs. After a start this season that rivals that of Jonathan Bernier — six straight losses — Bobrovsky has strung together a few wins.
Andrew Hammond, Ottawa, 2015
The Hamburglar, he’s called. He only got to play because Ottawa had run out of healthy goalies and they were so far out of a playoff spot, it didn’t matter if he was the backup for their minor-league team. But Hammond went 20-1-2 down the stretch and the Senators defied the odds by making the playoffs.
Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota, 2015
The Oilers were so down on Dubnyk, they replaced him with a former Flyers goalie (the spacey Ilya Bryzgalov) and traded Dubnyk to Nashville in 2014. He bounced from the Predators to Hamilton (AHL) to Arizona and, finally, to Minnesota, where he had an astounding 38 straight starts, a 27-9-2 record, a 1.78 GAA, a .936 save percentage and five shutouts.
Mike Condon, Montreal, 2015
The Habs have a lot of goaltending pedigree in their system: Zach Fucale, the backbone of Canada’s world junior triumph in 2015; Dustin Tokarski, who was in net for Tampa through part of its playoff run two years ago. So the surprise of training camp was the decision that Condon, in the ECHL just two years ago, should back up Carey Price. Condon is 8-2-2 with a 2.19 GAA and .916 save percentage.