Add Tim Thomas to that list as another famous example. I definitely remember these elite goalies playing well late into their career, I’m just wondering if there’s a comprehensive study done on all goalies that can peg down a specific peak goalie year.
In any case, it does seem to be a thing. And I don’t think your theory of mindset is silly at all. It does make a lot of sense cause the position can be so mental. So if a younger goalie has a bad game that can snowball into a bad month or worse. Whereas the experienced guys have seen it and been through it, so they can manage the ups and downs better.