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Golden Knights Midseason Grades, Part One: The Goalies

January 7, 2020, 10:51 AM ET [0 Comments]
Jeff Paul
Vegas Golden Knights Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


With a half season complete, now's a good time to check in on the Golden Knights roster and grade out each player. Part One will be the goaltenders, Marc-Andre Fleury and Malcolm Subban.

A loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 27 signaled the midway point of the Golden Knights' 2019-20 campaign, their third season in the National Hockey League. Those 41 games have been quite the roller coaster. Many ups, many downs, and a bunch of in between.

Players have been promoted, others demoted. Lines have been shuffled and reshuffled. Then, of course, the injury bug reared its ugly head.

Ultimately, this has culminated in the Vegas Golden Knights sitting atop the Pacific Division. They show no signs of slowing down, with an active four-game winning streak. Now on the "back nine" of the regular season, here are my first-half player grades for the two primary goaltenders.

Goalies:


Marc-Andre Fleury:


This is the most interesting player to break down on the roster. Goaltenders in general are tough to grade and Fleury individually is hard to grade without bias. Throughout his career, he has been on the cusp of elite. He's a very good goaltender who steals games and also gets shot back down to Earth at inopportune times.

Upon his arrival in Vegas, Fleury was thrust into celebrity status and the designation of "face of the franchise". His numbers are just decent thus far this season (2.79 GAA, .910 Sv %), but he has been great at times. Even in poor performances Fleury battles to keep the Golden Knights in games. Due to unforeseen circumstances this season, I'll give Fleury the benefit of the doubt on his grade.

Grade: B+
ESPN Fantasy Ranking: 12


Fleury is still a great goaltender. He already locked up Save of the Year and he is a good influence on Malcolm Subban. His first-half numbers aren't that of a $7 million per year goalie, but he's obviously solid. Injury and personal matters may have a hand in that.

Malcolm Subban:


When Malcolm Subban is at his best, the T-Mobile Arena erupts in "SUUUUUUUB" chants. He's loved by many and also hated by many. A young goaltender with such sporadic usage will always fight an uphill battle. At the midway point, Subban sits at a respectable 6-6-3 record, 2.90 GAA, and .904 Sv % which isn't far off from his superior's line.

Grade: A-
ESPN Fantasy Ranking: 47


The Golden Knights' backup looked very good when he got consistent usage in late November and December. He's 6-2-1 in his last nine games and has been more than good enough to warrant his organizational position. He is the clear-cut number two in this organization. He has been an A- backup netminder. His grade being higher than Fleury doesn't mean he's the better goalie, it's relative to his role.

Be sure to keep an eye out for Part Two of the midseason grades. Next up are the defensemen!

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