A couple of days back we did an article here on the Forks that discussed the Central Division’s top five goaltenders. When making any list you will find that you will have to pick and choose your players and leave some good ones out. Semyon Varlamov and Ondrej Pavelec did not make our top five list; however, there is no doubt that these two players are some of the division’s best! What makes Varlamov and Pavelec two outstanding goaltenders and what can we expect to see from them this season?
Number Seven: Ondrej Pavelec
Ondrej Pavelec has been with the Winnipeg Jets for an enormous amount of time. Pavelec was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 2nd round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Pavelec would take the reigns of the Jets goal following Kari Lehtonen’s departure in 2009-2010 and has been the Jets’ starting goaltender ever since.
In Pavelec’s career with the Jets/Thrashers he has never put up Vezina numbers, but he has put up some good numbers that one would expect from their starting goaltender. In his career Pavelec has gone 135-141-43 with a 2.86 GAA and .908 save percentage. This past season Pavelec would have the best season of his career going 22-16-8 with 5 shutouts, a 2.28 GAA, and a .920 save percentage.
Winnipeg Jets
The 2014-2015 season was the best season statistically for Pavelec in his career. Despite some rocky numbers with some rather mediocre Jets and Thrashers teams Pavelec has found his best team yet and with one of the best rosters in the Central Division surrounding him it would not be shocking to see him surge again this year.
Number Six: Semyon Varlamov
Semyon Varlamov has spent the majority of his time in Colorado with the Avalanche, but he has also spent some time in Washington with the Capitals. While it seemed early on that Varlamov was being groomed for the starting job in Washington his inability to stay healthy turned the Capitals net over to Michael Neuvirth and resulted in him journeying to Colorado to take on their starting job in 2011-2012.
More from Jets White Out
- How expansion and relocation around the league have affected the Winnipeg Jets
- 5 interesting Winnipeg Jets prospects to check out at the Young Stars Classic
- 3 takeaways from Adam Lowry being named captain
- What to think about Nikolaj Ehlers and his dynamic skill set?
- Winnipeg Jets name Adam Lowry team captain
In Varlamov’s career with the Colorado Avalanche he has put up some amazing numbers. Varlamov has gone 106-79-20 with a 2.59 GAA. Varlamov has had some pretty impressive seasons with the Aves including one in 2013-2014 where he went 41-14-6 with a 2.41 GAA and .927 save percentage. This past season he posted a 28-20-8 record with a 2.56 GAA and .921 save percentage.
While his last season was not as good as Pavelec, Varlamov has shown a greater capacity in past seasons to carry the workload and post Vezina worthy stats with the right team surrounding him. If Varlamov can stay healthy and finds a good team surrounding him this season then you better put that man on the Vezina watch!
Click here for the rest of our list 1-5!
What do you guys think? Are Pavelec and Varlamov worthy of a higher spot on this list? Comment below and join in on the discussion!
More from Jets White Out
- How expansion and relocation around the league have affected the Winnipeg Jets
- 5 interesting Winnipeg Jets prospects to check out at the Young Stars Classic
- 3 takeaways from Adam Lowry being named captain
- What to think about Nikolaj Ehlers and his dynamic skill set?
- Winnipeg Jets name Adam Lowry team captain