St Louis Blues: Top 30 Goaltenders in Franchise History
Feb 19, 2012; Buffalo, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Brent Johnson (1) gets a drink during a stoppage in play during the second period against the Buffalo Sabres at the First Niagara Center. Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
10. Brent Johnson
1999-2004; 143 games, 76-49-12 record, .903 save percentage, 2.26 GAA, 12 shutouts; 12 postseason games, 5-6 record, 3 shutouts
Much like with current Blues netminder Brian Elliott, “Johnny”’s success with the St Louis Blues could sneak up on you because he spent so much of his time as a backup or as part of a timeshare.
Despite his lack of prolonged exposure, however, Johnson managed to be efficient with the playing time that he was given and ranks seventh in franchise history in wins, sixth in goals against average, 10th in save percentage, and fifth in shutouts.
After getting off to a strong start as a rookie in 2000-01, backing up Roman Turek and going 19-9-2 with a 2.17 GAA, a .907 save percentage, and four shutouts, Johnson was given the bulk of the Blues’ starts in 2001-02. He had a relatively strong regular season, going 34-20-4 with five shutouts, a 2.18 GAA, and a .902 save percentage.
He came on strong in the playoffs, though, shutting out the Chicago Blackhawks three times in a five-game first round series victory. He gave the club a solid chance to win in a 4-1 Western Conference Quarterfinals series loss to the Detroit Red Wings, during which he gave up a respectable 13 goals over five games.
Unfortunately for Johnson, a slight drop-off in performance and a troublesome series of injuries limited his reliability during the 2002-03 season, and the St Louis Blues ended up trading for veteran Chris Osgood, who became the new starting goalie in March.
Johnson stayed with the club for one more season, but he was a valuable trade chip as a little-used backup with starting experience, and he ended up getting sent to the Phoenix Coyotes at the deadline in exchange for Mike Sillinger in 2004.
Next: 9. Jaroslav Halak