Forget about trading Thomas Greiss. Rather, the New York Islanders should be printing him a new contract.
Why? Because he's played better than any Islanders goalie in recent history.
No Islanders netminder has posted better numbers than Greiss since Glenn Resch did so in 1976. In other words, Greiss has put on the best performance between the pipes in 40 years. Using a 10-game minimum, here's how the top five stack up, based on save percentage:
| Rank | Goalie | Season | GP | Record | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glenn Resch | 1975-76 | 44 | 23-11-8 | 2.07 | .928 |
| 2 | Thomas Greiss | 2016-17 | 24 | 13-7-3 | 2.31 | .927 |
| 3 | Wade Flaherty | 1997-98 | 16 | 4-4-3 | 1.99 | .926 |
| 4 | Thomas Greiss | 2015-16 | 41 | 23-11-4 | 2.36 | .925 |
| 5 | Kevin Poulin | 2010-11 | 10 | 4-2-1 | 2.44 | .924 |
Since joining New York last season, Greiss has taken hold of the starter's role, playing half of the games a year ago and is on pace for 43 appearances this season.
Overall, Greiss has a .926 save rate through 65 games over the past two campaigns. Take it one step further and here's how he ranks league-wide:
| Rank | Goalie | Games | Record | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juuse Saros | 11 | 5-4-2 | 1.91 | .936 |
| 2 | Thomas Greiss | 65 | 36-18-7 | 2.34 | .926 |
| 3 | Matt Murray | 38 | 26-7-2 | 2.23 | .925 |
| 4 | Braden Holtby | 103 | 71-17-11 | 2.12 | .925 |
| 5 | Devan Dubnyk | 104 | 58-34-9 | 2.18 | .924 |
Only Nashville Predators rookie netminder Juuse Saros has posted a better save percentage (min. 10 games played), owning a .936 mark through 11 games this season.
But stretch that to a bigger workload and Greiss stands above the rest, ahead of both the New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist and New Jersey Devils' Cory Schneider, who get the bulk of the goalie headlines in the metropolitan area.
Goaltending has been hard to come by this season in other markets. The Islanders need to look no further than the likes of Calgary, Dallas, and Winnipeg to see the true value of goaltending and what Greiss provides.
So what's the value in trading Greiss? He's a pending unrestricted free agent, where the team could deal him and then attempt to re-sign him in the summer. That allows the Islanders to cash in on an asset but at some long-term risk.
That's because there's no guarantee Greiss returns to New York, particularly if he's shipped to a Stanley Cup contender. There's no denying the Islanders have recruitment problems. Quite simply, Brooklyn is bad and, save for last spring, the team has been a playoff flop dating back to 1993.
But today, Greiss is in New York, where he has a starter's role. Now he just needs the starter's pay to go with it.
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