There is perhaps no position in sports more difficult than an NHL goalie who has to play in front of a bad defense. Frankly, the fact that Tarasov had a .908 save percentage and a GSAx of -1.84 is quite impressive. He did have a slow start to the season, having a save percentage below .900 in 8 of his first 11 games, but he rebounded nicely down the stretch. In his last 13 games, he had only 3 games under .915.
Regardless of how you feel about Tarasov and Elvis, they are your goaltending duo for the 2024-25 season. An experienced coach, along with actual defensive structure, should help both goalies improve their numbers. But if I were a betting man, my money would be on Tarasov coming out on top as at least the 1A. The bigger question will be whether or not he can stay healthy.
2023-24 Stats
Games: 24
Wins: 8
Save %: .908
GAA: 3.18
SO: 0
xGA: 71.16
GA: 73
Contract
Tarasov has one year remaining on his contract, which has a cap hit of $1.05 million. He will be an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.
High Point
A 45-save effort against Colorado on April 1 was his last win of the season. Tarasov let it only 1 goal on 4.38 expected.
Low Point
On January 9th against Winnipeg, he gave up 5 goals on 23 shots. To make matters even worse, he had to watch his teammates add zero goals in support.
Report Card
B-
He had a slow start to the season and had to stand behind another historically bad defense. Despite that, and also having to endure locker room drama, Tarasov managed to play like a bona fide NHL starter to end the season. It’s a small sample size, but the Blue Jackets will be in better shape if Tarasov can carry that level of play into next season.