The Athletic’s Craig Custance employed an anonymous panel of GM’s, head coaches and goalie coaches to rank the NHL’s starting goaltenders from 1 to 31, and they 1) chose Red Wings goaltender Thomas Greiss as the team’s starter and 2) ranked Greiss far down the list:
27 (tie). Thomas Greiss, Red Wings
Average 2021 tier rating: 3.37
Greiss is going from a very structured, strong defensive team in the Islanders to, well, one that is not. This spot very could be Jonathan Bernier, who was actually pretty good last season in a tough situation. The Red Wings seemed to realize that Bernier does well with a heavy workload, and it’s possible he plays more than Greiss, who has had success as a spot starter. But Greiss got the offseason contract after a solid five seasons with the Islanders. The question is: Can he do that in Detroit?
“I like Greiss a lot. I think he’s underrated. We’ll see how he does now,” said one panelist.
Added a head coach: “Greiss is better than a lot of the goalies on this list.”
This seemed to be a fair summation of the goalie situation in Detroit: “(Greiss is) a good quality backup goalie. I don’t think he’s a No. 1 guy. I don’t see him doing any better than Jonathan Bernier. They’re comparable goalies.”
Continued (paywall)
