There’s nothing like a good goalie debate. And this is a debate about 30 good goalies, the 30 starting goalies in the NHL.

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But first, a clarification. This is a ranking of the 30 No. 1 goalies in the NHL. Every team is represented once, no more and no less. Which means that there’s a few masked men who are not on this list who would certainly make the grade if it was a straight-up ranking of the NHL’s top 30 goalies. But it isn’t. It’s a ranking of the NHL’s top 30 starting goalies.

For example, perhaps you’ll notice that a certain all-time winningest NHL goalie isn’t listed. That’s right, we believe Cory Schneider will take over as New Jersey’s No. 1, supplanting 41-year-old legend Martin Brodeur. Of course, Martin being Martin, he’ll probably prove us wrong by winning 50 games and signing a new three-year contract. But unless he’s got a Dorian Gray portrait hidden in Lou Lamoriello’s office, Brodeur has to slow down sometime. Right…?

There are other notable omissions and difficult choices. We went with Brian Elliott over Jaroslav Halak (and up-and-coming puckstopper Jake Allen) in St. Louis. Despite his playoff implosion, we’re sticking with Marc-Andre Fleury over Tomas Vokun in Pittsburgh (although Fleury has tumbled down the rankings). Ben Bishop or Anders Lindback in Tampa Bay? (We picked Bishop.) Steve Mason or Ray Emery in Philadelphia? (Mason. Yes, Mason.) Is Jakob Markstrom ready in Florida? (Yes.)

And then there’s Miikka Kiprusoff. He hasn’t officially retired, but all signs indicate the longtime Flames netminder is calling it a career. So, we went with Karri Ramo as Calgary’s starter and the 27-year-old Finnish fill-in comes in at No. 30 on this list. Hey, somebody had to. Remember, it doesn’t mean he’s a bad goalie. Not for a minute. After all, Martin Brodeur, one of the very best goalies in the history of the game, didn’t even make the list.

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And here we go, the NHL's top 30 starting goalies:

1. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles

It’s always a debate, but the Kings goalie has been the NHL’s best puckstopper over the past few seasons.

2. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

Also a ‘King,’ he’s won the Rangers’ team MVP award seven straight seasons and is the standard by which other NHL goalies are measured (taking over from a certain Devils goalie who, we say again, does not appear on this list).

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