from Travis Yost of TSN,

Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk led National Hockey League goalies in games played (67) last season, and finished second to Montreal’s Carey Price in usage, playing just 25 fewer minutes.

Dubnyk and Price were absolute workhorses for their respective teams, but that term has certainly become more of a relative one in the NHL over the years. As frequently as we saw both of these netminders in the crease last season, their workload pales in comparison to the burden placed on the position just a decade ago.

For context, consider Dubnyk and Price’s usage relative to their peers in the 2007-08 season. Playing nearly 3,900 minutes in a season is a tremendous amount nowadays, but it would have only been good enough for eighth and ninth 12 seasons ago. Goaltenders like Martin Brodeur (Devils), Evgeni Nabokov (Sharks), and Ryan Miller (Sabres) started nearly every single game for their respective teams, and were pulled only in the most extreme of circumstances.

The position has changed. Teams are still on the hunt for superstar goaltenders, but teams are also becoming increasingly conscious about workload, burnout rates and the heightened risk of injuries for their primary puck stoppers.

continued