The NHL lists 51 goalies that played regular minutes during the 2013-14 season. On that rather lengthy list, Devan Dubnyk finished in a tie for last, with a save percentage of .891.
Suffice to say, it was not a good year for the tall 28-year-old, who started the season in Edmonton, where he struggled badly before being traded to Nashville in January, which was before he was dealt to Montreal in March.
A pending unrestricted free agent, Dubnyk is hoping his stretch of three good seasons with the Oilers -- from 2010-11 to 2012-13, when he posted save percentages of .916. .914, and .920 -- will convince at least one NHL team to give him a shot.
“I still feel I can be a good starting goaltender,” Dubnky told the CBC’s Elliotte Friedman. “I know it will be more difficult.
“To be out of the league [NHL] was tough to swallow ... Even if I had to backup and play 20 games, I’d obviously do that than end up like this year, but I’m trying not to think about it -- it makes me too anxious.
“I’ll see what comes on [July 1].”
Should a team roll the dice?
Tough call. Dubnyk fully admitted he “wasn’t good” in 2013-14.
But for the record, this is what the bottom 10 goalies in terms of save percentage looked like in 2011-12:
The following season, one of them was the starter for the Stanley Cup champs, and another was the Vezina Trophy winner.