New York Rangers: Top 5 Backup Goalies in the Henrik Lundqvist Era
There have been seven men to back up the man known as ‘The King,’ the man who saved Rangers fans from the Mike Dunham & Jussi Markkanen tandem that they played in the 2003-2004 season. This is a list composed of the 5 best backup goalies in the Henrik Lundqvist era.
Henrik Lundqvist graced the New York Rangers organization with his presence and astonishingly good looks at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season at the age of 23 years old. Since then seven different goalies have backed up to Henrik Lundqvist from his rookie season to this year.
Before you move to the next slide, challenge yourself and see if you could name the seven men that have held that role.
Are you ready? Here is the list of the top 5 backup goalies…(Sorry to the two men that didn’t make the list, no hard feelings.)
Martin Biron –
Martin Biron joined the New York Rangers at the start of the 2010-2011 season. He went on to play 4 seasons with the New York Rangers as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup goaltender. During his stint with the Rangers, Biron played in 46 games and started 41 of them.
The former 16th overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft posted a 22-15-3 record for the New York Rangers. Two of those wins came by way of a shutout. As a Ranger, Biron has a .908 save percentage along with a 2.47 goals against average.
The Lac-St-Charles, Quebec native retired early on during his fourth and final season with the club after a 9-2 onslaught from the San Jose Sharks on October 8, 2013.
Kevin Weekes
Kevin Weekes made his NHL debut during the 1997-1998 season playing for the Florida Panthers. Weekes bounced around the league between 3 teams over the next 4 years until he landed with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2001-2004. After spending 3 years playing in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kevin Weekes joined the New York Rangers at the age of 30.
During his two seasons with the New York Rangers, Weekes played in 46 games and posted an 18-20-5 record. The former 2nd round pick posted a .890 save percentage and a 3.08 goals against average which is nothing to write home about during his two seasons in a New York Rangers sweater.
The Rangers didn’t bring Weekes back after the 2006-2007 season and he went on to play two more seasons in the NHL with the New Jersey Devils before hanging up the skates.
Steve Valiquette –
You can’t have a top 5 backup goaltenders list without the man who you watch on the MSG Network every night during New York Rangers games! Steve Valiquette was selected during the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. It wasn’t until the 2003-2004 season when Valiquette would finally make his New York Rangers debut.
The New York Rangers acquired Valiquette along with forward Dwight Helminen and a 2nd round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft for Petr Nedved and Jussi Markkanen (Markkanen’s second mention in this article).
Over the span of Valiquette’s time with the New York Rangers, he played in 41 games while starting 27 of them. He achieved a record of 14-14-5 with the Rangers. Valiquette maintained a .901 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average during his 5 years in the New York Rangers organization.
Antti Raanta –
The current backup goaltender for the New York Rangers makes this list and has done well as the backup goaltender to Henrik Lundqvist since he was traded to the Rangers.
The Chicago Blackhawk’s traded Raanta to the New York Rangers during the 2015 NHL Draft in exchange for Ryan Haggerty. Raanta went head to head with Magnus Hellberg for the rights to back up Henrik Lundqvist. Raanta eventually won and Hellberg was sent down to the AHL.
Since winning the backup goaltender position, Raanta has played in 44 games for the New York Rangers and has started in 34 of them. Raanta has gone 22-11-2 since joining the Rangers with three of his decisions coming by way of a shutout.
The undrafted Finnish goaltender has faced 1,015 shots as a New York Ranger with a .919 save percentage and 2.29 goals against average.
Cam Talbot –
The ‘GoalBuster’ had to be near the top of this list. The New York Rangers signed Cam Talbot as an undrafted free agent in 2010 after playing college hockey for the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Talbot played his first 3 seasons in the AHL for the Hartford Wolfpack.
Talbot finally found his place in the NHL after Martin Biron was demoted to the AHL and later retired in 2013. Talbot’s first NHL victory came on October 26, 2013, against the Detroit Red Wings. Talbot would make his mark as one of, if not the best Rangers backup goalie during the Lundqvist era in 2015.
After Henrik Lundqvist suffered a ruptured blood vessel in his neck in 2014, Talbot stepped right up to the plate as the temporary starting goaltender. During Lundqvist’s absence, Talbot went 17-4-3 in 2014-15′ and ended the season with a lower goals against average and save percentage than Henrik Lundqvist. Talbot played a significant role in helping the Rangers win the President’s trophy that season, and was rewarded the Steve McDonald Extra Effort Award.
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After the season was over, Talbot was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for three draft picks during the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He has since become more than a solid starter across the border for an up-and-coming Oilers squad.