Sweeney: Canada 'ideally' would've waited to name 4 Nations goalies
Canada 4 Nations Face-Off general manager Don Sweeney thinks having more time to pick his squad's goalies could have given the country a different look in the crease for next month's tournament.
"Would we have liked to have waited? Yeah, ideally," Sweeney told NHL.com's Nick Cotsonika. "In a perfect world, we probably would have, so you do have the benefit. ... But the rules are the rules."
All participating teams had to submit rosters by Dec. 4. Sweeney and Canada's brain trust selected Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Samuel Montembeault to share duties between the pipes. Here are their respective stats on the season:
| Goalie | Team | Record | Sv% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binnington | STL | 12-16-3 | .900 |
| Hill | VGK | 18-7-2 | .904 |
| Montembeault | MTL | 16-15-3 | .900 |
And here are the country's top performers since rosters were announced:
| Goalie | Team | Record | Sv% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan Thompson | WSH | 10-1-1 | .937 |
| Stuart Skinner | EDM | 10-2-1 | .917 |
| Darcy Kuemper | LAK | 9-1-2 | .941 |
| Mackenzie Blackwood | SJ/COL | 9-4-1 | .930 |
Goaltending was widely expected to be Canada's biggest weakness at the tournament. Binnington and Hill have both won Stanley Cups, but Canada's executives went slightly off the board with Montembeault, who's recently been outperformed in Montreal by rookie Jakub Dobes.
Thompson ranked second among Canadian netminders in save percentage (.913) when rosters were announced, and he's boosted his play even further of late. Blackwood's stats have surged since being traded from the San Jose Sharks to the Colorado Avalanche, and Kuemper was injured in the weeks leading up to the announcement.
Canada opens the tournament with a Feb. 12 matchup against Sweden.