An executive of an NHL team was chatting about the additions his team made in the offseason and you could hear the cautious optimism in his voice. This time of year, most teams are excited for the potential success of their franchise. They like their summer moves.



But then there was a pause.



If (our starting goalie) can’t stop the puck, it all doesn’t matter, he concluded.



A bad year from a goalie can derail everything. Or, as was the case in St. Louis, a surprisingly great year can rescue a season and change an entire franchise.



It’s what makes our annual Goalie Tiers exercise so interesting. You can do everything else right but if you have a goalie in the bottom third of the league, good luck.



This is year six of the Goalie Tiers, and for the uninitiated, here’s the concept. I ask a panel of NHL GMs, assistant GMs, head coaches and goalie coaches to rate every starting goalie on a scale of 1 to 5, with a one-rating...