NHL's most interesting goalie situations a month into the season

The Connor Hellebuyck saga ended last week with a trade to New Jersey. As the Devils set off on a three-game road trip, we now know Hellebuyck will get his first start right away on Tuesday night.

But how will that go, given Hellebuyck's Monday practice was his first time being with an NHL team since last April?

"The closest comparison I have is Jeremy Swayman," said Jason Demers on a Monday appearance on Kyper and Bourne. Swayman missed camp in 2024, signing a deal in October, and went on to have the statistically worst season of his career.

"Working with Cory Schneider (at NHL Network), I asked him, 'When you get these contract negotiations as a goalie stalled, how does it work for you?'" Demers said. "He was like, honestly, it's worse for a goalie than any other player because the timing, the reps, taking so many shots, and understanding positionally where you need to be I think it's more important for a goalie. And now you're getting dropped into this important part of the season after 10 games, everybody's got their game back offensively.

"I do think there's going to be a little bit of a feeling-out process, there's going to be some hiccups along the way."

So New Jersey suddenly becomes one of the more intriguing goalie situations in the league as it hopes Hellebuyck can return to Vezina Trophy form — or something close to it — and be the piece that gets it over the top.

But look around the league and we're seeing several interesting goalie situations. Backups are pushing, prospects are coming up and new acquisitions are trying to fit it. This is the most important position to get right, but also the hardest one to project.

As we hit the one-month mark of the new season, here are some goaltending setups we're watching closely. All goals saved above expected numbers come from MoneyPuck.com and contract details from PuckPedia.

Montreal Canadiens

Sam Montembeault's strong pre-season put him back on the Canadiens roster and into the goalie conversation again, but a lower-body injury sidelined him before he was able to play a regular-season game. That injury got Jacob Fowler a call to back up, but it was still Jakub Dobes' net to lose. After a good first game against Toronto, Dobes has allowed 20 goals in his past four starts, leaving Fowler to start three of the past four games, including the marquee Heritage Classic.

So, what happens when Montembeault returns? Fowler is the only waiver-exempt player of the three goalies, but it seems an unlikely move to send him down when he's running so hot and, at this pace, he's a Calder Trophy candidate. Dobes is struggling, but has a three-year extension with a $5.357 million cap hit that doesn't start until next year — a contract he earned after playing so well as Montreal's No. 1 last season and reaching the conference final. So will this result in a trade, a waiver move, or carrying three goalies?

Calgary Flames

There's probably no denying who the long-term No. 1 is. Dustin Wolf is a 25-year-old, drafted in the seventh round by Calgary and developed by the team until he fully took over the crease two years ago. This is Year 1 of a seven-year contract paying $7.5 million against the cap.

But Devin Cooley is making the crease an interesting one to watch, and not just because of his great interviews. Cooley is 29, undrafted, and has just 42 NHL games on his resume — 31 of which came last season. His save percentage and goals-against average were both better than Wolf's in 2025-26, and Cooley also finished seventh league-wide by goals saved above expected last season. This season, Cooley is so far outperforming Wolf again.

It's still early, so early, but Cooley started his fourth straight game Monday night and if Wolf presumably gets back into the crease Wednesday against Edmonton, it will have been about two weeks between appearances.

Carolina Hurricanes

Brandon Bussi was such a great story for the Hurricanes last season. Plucked off waivers from Florida, Bussi started off by becoming the fastest-ever NHL goalie to win his first 20 career games, doing it in just 24 starts. His February, March and April weren't as strong, so Frederik Andersen took back the net and started every Carolina playoff game until Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. Bussi returned to the net in a 2-1 series deficit, then won three in a row and shut out the Golden Knights to clinch the Cup.

Andersen is now out of the picture, but Pyotr Kochetkov is back in it after he sustained an injury last December that ended his season. This season, Kochetkov has statistically been the far better goalie than Bussi.

The contracts of these two goalies are interesting as well. Both are signed through 2028-29, Bussi at $1.9 million and Kochetkov at $2 million this season before a two-year extension begins next season paying $3.95 million against the cap. We know the Canes were in on Hellebuyck, but those types of goalies are rarely available. This is the kind of low-cost tandem an "analytically inclined" GM might be happy to ride with, but Bussi will need to string some good starts together again soon.

Florida Panthers

The decision to move on from Sergei Bobrovsky and replace him with Jacob Markstrom came with questions. Markstrom was statistically one of the weaker goalies last season and was losing his grip on the No. 1 job to Jake Allen. Now 36 years old turning 37 in January, what could the Panthers realistically expect to get out of him?

Adding to this positional uncertainty is that Daniil Tarasov also walked out the door as a free agent and was replaced by Akira Schmid, who had the backup or No. 3 job in New Jersey and Vegas before this stop. The 26-year-old is relatively young and has not flashed much starter potential.

So far, Bobrovsky is hanging in well enough for the Leafs, while Tarasov is one of the better goalies in the NHL by goals saved above expected as a member of the Red Wings. Meantime, Markstrom has been injured for more games than he's played, Schmid has an .872 save percentage and undrafted 25-year-old Cooper Black got the nod for his first NHL action.

The Panthers are a defensively stout team, second in expected goals against per 60 minutes of five-on-five play. And Markstrom has been slightly above league average in the games he has played. But can he hold up for a full season, and do the Panthers need a better fallback option?

Ottawa Senators

Linus Ullmark has been full marks this season, one of the best at the position. He was always the lynchpin of the Senators' post-season hopes: as long as Ullmark could supply even league average netminding (which he's well exceeded), Ottawa will be dangerous.

But health and availability have become a concern around Ullmark, and the lower-body injury he sustained that will keep him out for a week or two exposes Ottawa's general weakness. In the two games Ullmark has missed, backup Samuel Ersson allowed four goals in a 6-2 loss and third-stringer Jonas Johansson also allowed four goals in a 7-4 win. Just last season, Johansson (Tampa) and Ersson (Philadelphia) were 87th and 94th, respectively, out of 98 goalies in goals saved above expected.

It seems like Ullmark will be back before long this time, but what happens if he needs to sit again? Do the Senators need to think about addressing their backup situation after already trading for Johansson and Ersson, or can either one find a groove?

Utah Mammoth

One of the more exciting teams to watch — seriously, if you don't see them much, seek out a game — the Mammoth are fifth in goals per game, first in power-play percentage and they do well enough to keep the puck away from the dangerous areas around their net, fourth in five-on-five expected goals against per 60.

We know they were in on the Hellebuyck trade talks to some degree. Karel Vejmelka had a rather strong season a year ago and helped get the team to the playoffs, but his start this season has been a little rockier, allowing four goals or more in four of his past five starts. Sebastian Cossa, a first-round pick in 2021, was acquired in the summer to push and support Vejmelka, but his numbers are also lacking albeit in just four starts.

Utah's goalie situation is not dire. Again, their starter got them to the playoffs last season and the Mammoth gave Vegas a run for its money in Round 1. But can Vejmelka get them through the playoffs? Given they were in on Hellebuyck, does that mean they might look to address their goaltending from here — seeking an upgrade on either of these netminders — or was that just a unique opportunity to try to get into? The Mammoth are shaping up as a team to beat this season, but the goalies they have are still unproven on this kind of team.