NHL Network has been ranking the top players at each position over the last several weeks. These lists are, without a doubt, completely inconsequential and arbitrary, as evidenced by Mark Stone being ranked the 13th-best forward in the league. But it’s August and there’s nothing to talk about, so suddenly these lists are of the utmost importance to the hockey universe.
Sunday, NHL Network revealed its list of the top 10 goalies in the NHL and, unsurprisingly, Vegas Golden Knights backstop Marc-Andre Fleury was ranked on the list at No. 6 ahead of John Gibson, Pekka Rinne, Jordan Binnington and Braden Holtby.
Fleury was very good last season, earning 35 wins in 61 starts with a 2.51 GAA and .913 save percentage. It wasn’t quite on par with his God Mode 2017-18 season, but he did rank second in the NHL with eight shutouts behind only Sergei Bobrovsky. For the second consecutive year, Fleury represented the Golden Knights in the NHL All-Star Game (although he didn’t win the Save Streak competition like he did in 2018).
Fleury also won Save of the Year honors for his ridiculous stop on Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux early in the season.
At 34 years old, Fleury continues to play arguably the best hockey of his career. However, at his age, Gerard Gallant and the Golden Knights may want to consider giving the three-time Stanley Cup champion a smaller workload. There was a point where Fleury was on pace to play over 70 games last season, but, shockingly, he suffered a mysterious ailment that kept him out of the lineup late in the season.
Nevertheless, Marc-Andre Fleury is one of the NHL’s elite goaltenders and is the unquestioned heart and soul of the Golden Knights. Let’s see if he can keep the momentum going in 2019-20.