Changing the starting goalie can be messy for an NHL team. It’s the most important position on the ice, and a goalie’s success can depend more on mental state than physical ability.
Hockey history is full of mishandled goaltending decisions, many of which ended the seasons of otherwise talented teams. These situations can be fragile, and they require deft handling and proper messaging, and for goalies to buy into their roles.
The 2025-26 Vegas Golden Knights are an example of how it can go well, and there’s plenty of credit to go around — from head coach John Tortorella to goaltending coach Sean Burke, to the goalies themselves. A bold, late-season choice was made to go with Carter Hart over Adin Hill, and now, goaltending is arguably the biggest reason the Golden Knights are set to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Final, which begins Tuesday in Raleigh.
Hart’s .924 save percentage in the playoffs ranks second behind only Carolina’s Frederik Andersen, and is a stark contrast to the Golden Knights’ team save percentage of .884 during the regular season, which ranked 27th in the league. He has drastically outplayed the opposing goalie in all three series to this point, and the Golden Knights have turned one of their biggest weaknesses into an area of strength.
Vegas entered the season seemingly set at the position, with Hill entering the first year of a six-year, $37.5 million contract extension. It took only one week for that plan to go off track. Hill suffered multiple injuries in October, the second of which kept him out until mid-January.
Backup Akira Schmid played admirably in a larger role than he’d ever seen at the NHL level, but still put up below-average numbers. Vegas signed Hart to a two-year contract on Oct. 26, 2025, but he wasn’t eligible to play until Dec. 1, as stipulated by the NHL. Hart hadn’t played in an NHL game since January 2024, shortly before he and four other members of the 2018 Canadian World Juniors team were charged with sexual assault. Hart and four other players were found not guilty in a 2025 trial.
Hart made his debut with Vegas on Dec. 2 and struggled statistically in his first several starts before also suffering an injury. It speaks volumes that four different Vegas netminders played well for stretches but that none succeeded statistically. The Golden Knights have long been known as a goalie-friendly team, and rightfully so, but their zone defense caused more havoc for their goalies this season than usual. Defenders were often caught in their own goalie’s sight lines, leading to more screened shots finding the net than in any season prior.
Upon his return in mid-January, Hill didn’t look as explosive laterally as usual. He had good stretches, particularly just before the Olympic break, but overall looked hesitant and like he was chasing the play at times.
Entering the final stretch of the regular season, the Golden Knights gave Hill every chance to break out of his slump, with 11 starts in 12 games before Bruce Cassidy was fired on March 29. Still, Hill wasn’t particularly sharp over that stretch.
Vegas made the tough choice to move away from 2023 Stanley Cup champion Adin Hill. (Lucas Peltier / Imagn Images)
When Tortorella took over, he immediately turned to Hart as his starter. The two had a history, working together for two years in Philadelphia, and Tortorella declared Hart his No. 1 goalie without hesitation.
“When I came here, he was hurt,” Tortorella said. “I certainly watched him when he came into the organization and played his first couple of games. I watched him play an overtime game (in December), where he played really well. He’s just dialed in. He was growing tremendously in Philly until he had to step out of the league. He’s right back at it.”
At the moment, it wasn’t an easy or obvious decision. For all of Hill’s struggles, he is still the goalie who finished third in voting for the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2023 after he backstopped Vegas to a championship. He also has a career .917 save percentage in the playoffs, and has played his best in the biggest moments.
Still, Tortorella started Hart in six of the last seven regular-season games, and the Golden Knights went 6-0. At that point, it was clear Hart would be the starter entering the postseason, but it was unclear how long the leash would be, with Hill waiting in the wings.
Hart didn’t get off to the smoothest start in the playoffs. Vegas lost two of the first three games to Utah. In Game 3, the Mammoth scored four goals on only 12 shots against Hart, several of which were clean wrist shots from distance.
Tortorella remained steadfast in his decision.
“No,” he replied when asked if he considered putting in Hill. “I know Carter well enough. He wants to work through it. I have full faith in him. There was no thought of taking him out.”
Tortorella was correct, and his decisiveness instilled confidence in Hart. He didn’t cast doubt or create a situation in which Hart was looking over his shoulder, wondering if the next goal allowed could be his last.
Hart rewarded Tortorella with several clutch saves in each of the next two overtime wins over Utah, then began an incredible hot streak that stretched through the second-round series against Anaheim, and a four-game sweep of the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference final.
In his last 11 starts, Hart has gone 9-2 with a .940 save percentage and 6.87 goals saved above expected. His skating and edgework have been exemplary, which has led to picture-perfect positioning. He has been anticipating plays to make saves look easy, and has shown agility and athleticism to make tough saves when needed.
Against multiple high-scoring opponents, Hart has shown a shocking level of statistical consistency. He has recorded a save percentage below .914 only once in the last 11 games. He held Anaheim’s top scorer, Cutter Gauthier, to zero goals in six games, then did the same to Colorado’s Hart Trophy finalist, Nathan MacKinnon.
It’s a credit to Tortorella for making a decision and not wavering. Waffling between the goalies would’ve likely ended in neither playing up to their potential. It’s a story seen too many times over the years.
It’s also a credit to Burke. Not only did he likely play a major factor in the decision, but he also works with the goalies on a daily basis and handles the human element extremely well.
“He’s been great,” Hart said of Burke. “He’s a wicked dude, a super nice guy and easy to get along with. The whole goalie group here — me, him, Hillsy and Schmider. Everybody has been great. It’s a lot of fun.”
Burke has helped nearly every goalie to play for Vegas find another level in their game. They all rave about his ability to instill confidence. He was quite the goalie in his own right, with 820 games over 18 NHL seasons. He has lived with the pressure of the position and knows how to laugh off soft goals rather than harp on them, building confidence and swagger in his goalies.
It’s also a credit to Hill, who has handled what has been a difficult situation with as much professionalism as the team could ask for. Had he responded to the swap by pouting, he certainly wouldn’t be the first. But Hill comes to practice every day with a smile on his face. He battles in drills to make his teammates better. He has been the perfect backup, which isn’t always the case for a highly paid starter, especially one who already has won a championship.
Everyone involved has handled the situation to perfection to this point, which is how the Golden Knights turned a weakness into a major reason why they’re playing for the Stanley Cup.