A solid goaltender between the pipes can dominate a game single-handedly unlike any other player on the ice, and success in NHL 23 Head-to-Head or Ultimate Team will require an elite goalie on the roster. There aren't as many great goaltenders as there are talented forwards or elite defensemen in NHL 23, but there are a few that stand above all others as the ones any player should seek to build a team around.
Goaltenders like Martin Brodeur, Patrick Roy, Mike Richter, and Henrik Lundqvist have all stolen the show throughout NHL history, with dominant stretches of play that elevated their teams to new levels. In NHL 23, the current crop of elite goaltenders can serve the same purpose, bailing out a player when a poor decision leads to an odd-man rush the other way or helping keep a player competitive when they're still getting better with the skill sticks.
Predicting the Best Goaltenders in NHL 23
There are a lot of good goaltenders in the NHL, but only a few great ones, with a select few goalies truly standing out in 2021-22 as the super elite. Goaltenders like Semyon Varlamov and John Gibson took steps backward in 2021-22 for varying reasons, while other young netminders emerged as top goaltenders in the NHL. While one bad season won't destroy a goaltender who has been elite for his whole career, his ratings when NHL 23 launches might take a bit of a hit because of it and allow some new blood to take the spotlight in the game.
Like in most years, NHL 23 introduces some new features and animations, but the core gameplay remains the same, meaning the same attributes for goaltenders will be extremely important. Attributes that define a goalie's range, motion, reflexes, and angles will play a large role in their performance, and the best goaltenders in NHL 23 will have the highest ratings in these categories. Other netminders, even if they have the same overall rating, might not be equally as good if their attributes are higher in less meaningful categories.
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators, 90 Overall
Taking over full-time as Nashville's starting goaltender, Saros had an amazing season and was a finalist for the Vezina trophy in his age 26 season. Saros played in 67 games, carrying a heavy workload and being the leading strength of the Nashville team. Only the 15th-best goaltender in NHL 22, Juuse Saros looks to make a significant jump in overall rating in NHL 23. Saros is a rare goaltender in today's NHL, as he stands less than six feet tall but makes up for it with some of the quickest reflexes and lateral movement at his position. With that type of quickness, Saros will benefit any player looking for a goaltender that can combat the ever-popular cross-crease pass for the one-timer, and he will make lots of players in NHL 23 look pretty overrated with his abilities in net.
Jacob Markstrom, Calgary Flames, 91 Overall
Markstrom led the NHL with nine shutouts in 2021-22, and went 37-15-9 for the Calgary Flames while posting career bests in wins, save percentage, goals against average, shutouts, and starts. It certainly didn't hurt Markstrom to be playing for the Calgary Flames in 2021-22, as they won the Pacific Division and went on some stretches of completely dominant play, but Markstrom's numbers are still proof of talent.
Unlike Saros, Markstrom towers above opponents in net, standing 6'6" with high-end quickness and great coverage of the lower half of the net. Markstrom probably won't have quite the quickness that Saros does in net, but his size alone will give him solid attribute ratings in categories like glove and stick-side coverage. He should be a good goaltender against deflections because of his size, solid against players who like to use the one-times for most of their offense in NHL 23.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, 92 Overall
Although he wasn't a finalist for the Vezina trophy in 2021-22, Vasilevskiy had a great year and remains one of the best goaltenders of his generation. After injuries in his early career, Vasilevskiy has become more of a workhorse later in his career, carrying the load on a Lightning team that has been to the Stanley Cup Final in three consecutive years and remains one of the very best in EA's yearly NHL series.
The Lightning are a great team to play either Franchise or Head-to-Head with, as they also have one of the best wingers in NHL 23. Aside from a skilled offense, Vasilevskiy's size and range in the net keeps most threats from opposing teams at bay. Vasilevskiy is not only a great option at launch, but Ultimate Team players will benefit from the virtually guaranteed elite special Vasilevskiy cards that will come to NHL 23 later in the game cycle.
Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, 93 Overall
Dedicated fans of the National Hockey League knew Igor Shesterkin before the 2021-22 season, but even the most casual hockey fans likely heard his name by season's end. Skilled with an acrobatic style that creates a lot of highlight reel moments, Shesterkin has always been good, but when the Rangers really started to play well in front of him, he began to shine as the best goaltender in the league. Even with the small changes to gameplay that occur in every EA Sports games yearly, Shesterkin should still be among the best.
The winner of the Vezina trophy for the 2021-22 season, Shesterkin features incredible athleticism ratings in NHL 23 and will be a popular goaltender in Hockey Ultimate Team with his ability to steal games. Not only will his athleticism be elite, but his reaction ratings and ability to react to different kind of shots should be among the best in NHL 23. Shesterkin will enter the 2022-23 NHL season as the favorite to win the Vezina trophy once again, and his card in NHL 23 will be highly sought after by players looking to get an early upper-hand in Ultimate Team that isn't cheating and won't get them banned.
NHL 23 is scheduled to release on October 14th, 2022 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.