The Union and Blue Fantasy Fix 007: Goalie Edition

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Oct 25, 2013; Columbus, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports

A position that is often overlooked in fantasy hockey is goaltending; often because we are too focused on the offensive side of the puck (even offensive defensemen have the upper hand in fantasy hockey). A good goalie tandem can make or break your fantasy season. In a league that scores by categories, goalies are usually good for 4-5 categories, something that can easily sway a weekly outcome. In a points based league, goalies play an even more prominent role; saves, wins, and the occasional shutout can make a goaltender just as valuable as your best forward. The year I won my fun league I have with a few friends, my goalies accounted for nearly a third of my total fantasy points on the season. Goalies can steal match ups. With that, here is the Union and Blue Fantasy Fix: Goalie Edition

How Many Goalies

How many goalies you should carry on your roster is a question that often comes up. Standard leagues usually have you starting only two goalies, but I usually carry three on my roster. This is even more important in a points based league, as you can rotate your goalies in order to get the maximum amount of points. However, some leagues do have a limit on the number of starts for each fantasy position. In the FanSided fantasy league, we are limited to 7 starts for goalies, so even though I am carrying three on my roster, I must be mindful that I do not max out the position early in the week.

Timeshares / Who to Start

A team with a goalie controversy, or one that simply likes riding the hot hand, can be frustrating when it comes to fantasy. What if you used a draft pick to get Jonathan Bernier, only to see James Reimer steal some of his thunder? Another tandem that proved frustrating in previous seasons was Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliot. In these cases, it is sometimes better to borrow some strategy from fantasy football and have both on your roster, especially in situations like Bernier and Reimer, where both goalies are performing well.

But how do you know who to start? You will quickly find that the updates on ESPN and Yahoo are not always accurate, or informative as to who is starting on a particular night. Fortunately, there is a website that gets rid of all of the guesswork, Left Wing Lock’s Starting Goalies Tool. This tool will first show you who is probable to start, and once this information is confirmed, it will provide a link to a tweet or release. The tool also provides some basic stats, as well as a meter that shows if the goalie is a strong or weak start. Left Wing Lock is definitely one for the bookmarks!

Now that we have gone over the basics of fantasy hockey goaltenders, let’s take a look at how some of the goalies have done so far this season. I will split them up into hot and cold.

Nov 6, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Goalies Off to a Hot Fantasy Start

The unfortunate part here is that the majority goaltenders will not be available in your league, so you either already have them in your lineup and are reaping all of the benefits, or you are going to have to make a trade. However, I think it is worth taking a look at who has excelled so far this season. With the Hot list, I will try to look at some of the goaltenders that are often overlooked, as we already know Henrik Lundqvist, Roberto Luongo, and Jonathan Quick are going to be elite.

Mike Smith

Smith and the Phoenix Coyotes had a disappointing season last year, so expectations were somewhat tampered for the goalie this year. A little over one month into the season, and Smith has a 9-3-2 record, a .910 SV%, and 2.58 GAA. He is coming off a rough loss to Anaheim, where he surrendered 4 unanswered goals, but other than that, he has been the Mike Smith of old. Phoenix has always been a good team defensively, and has made stars out of several goaltenders who other teams thought to be average (paging Ilya Bryzgalov). With Keith Yandle and Oliver Eckman-Larsson patrolling the blue line, Smith has all the help he needs in front of him to put up good fantasy numbers.

Josh Harding

Harding is off to an amazing start this year, as he has helped the Wild gain points in seven consecutive match ups and before his recent loss to Washington, was on a 5 gave winning streak. While he is owned in 100% of ESPN standard leagues, I did find him available in my less-deep fun league, so it’s worth checking out the waiver wire. Harding has 8 wins on the season and an outstanding .949% SV% and 1.16 GAA. Harding was a Tier 2/3 goaltender currently putting up Tier 1 type numbers.

Nov 7, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Martin Brodeur

There was a time when Marty was a consensus 1st round pick; hell, just 5 years ago one of my friends took him first overall in our fun league. Those days are long gone and this season may be the final one for Brodeur. When the Devils traded for Cory Schneider everyone (and recently even Brodeur) believed it meant Marty would take on more of a backup role. But the Devils have been awful and Schneider has just one win in seven starts. Brodeur has 3 wins in his last 4 starts, allowing a total of just 2 goals in that time, and is coming off of a shutout against Philadelphia. While Schneider remains the heir to Brodeur’s throne, Marty is showing that he still has some fantasy relevance left in the tank. He is only owned in 43% of ESPN leagues and would make a great fill in for an injured player or a #3 goaltender, especially if you own one of the goalies mentioned on the next page, Goalies Off to a Cold Start.

Goalies Off to a Cold Start

Whether it be due to under performing or injuries, these goaltenders have so far been a disappointment. This doesn’t mean you should drop them, but if you are relying on them as your #1 or 2 goaltender, you have found yourself in a rough spot.

Oct 26, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Ondrej Pavelec

Pavelec is always one of those tempting goaltenders, as he is available in 61.1% of leagues (and rising) and can put together a good game or two, but always seems to blow up at the worst possible time. He honestly wasn’t that bad of an option through the first few games, and I even had him as a #3 goalie in one of my leagues. But the Pavelec of old has returned, and since giving up 4 goals on 10 shots against Chicago on November 2nd, has not seen a start. If you have Pavelec it is time to start looking at other options, especially if you were relying on him as a #2 goaltender. Jean-Sebastien Giguere is still available in 4% of ESPN leagues and has been sharing starts with Varlamov.

Pekka Rinne

When in the lineup Rinne is an elite goaltender, but a hip scope and now an E Coli infection has his owners regretting drafting him early. He is now expected to miss a total of 6-8 weeks, and if you do own Rinne, you are now scrambling to find a temporary replacement #1 goalie. Hopefully Rinne gets better and can return to his elite status. If your league has an IR spot, stash Rinne there and pick someone else up. If you are stuck, hopefully you have two additional goaltenders that can take over as your #1 and #2. Some are already dropping Rinne, but right now I think it is better to hold on to him and just wait it out. Projections have him back by Christmas, so you will have to live with 2 goaltenders for a month and a half. There are some teams who carry two for an entire season successfully, so it is possible to still win without a 3 goalie rotation.

Tim Thomas

Thomas’ return to the NHL has not been a good one in Florida. I don’t think anyone had high expectations for him this year, but some did draft him as a #3 goaltender in a low risk / high reward situation. Unfortunately, there has been little reward for Thomas’ owners as he has spent a lot of time on the IR due to a leg injury. If you still own Thomas, I think it is time to look elsewhere. If it will make you feel better, drop Thomas and throw him on your watch list and monitor his situation. If he is able to turn it around in Florida, pick him back up. I just don’t see that happening though, as there are much better Goalie 3 options out there.

Oct 17, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Sergei Bobrovsky

Flash back to 2008-09’s fantasy season; I was in only one league that year and my goal tending stats were great, thanks to an amazing performance from a Rookie goaltender: Steve Mason. Mason went on to win the Calder trophy and was ranked high in the following year’s fantasy draft. Looking to relieve the success of 2008-09, I took Mason as my #1 goalie again. We all know how that story ended. Flash forward to last year, Sergei Bobrovsky puts together a Vezina winning season seemingly out of nowhere. I did not own Bobrovsky last season, but during this year’s draft I had the choice between Bobrovsky and Jimmy Howard. Remembering the Mason incident, I went with Howard. So far, it seems I chose wisely, as Bobrovsky has not been the elite goaltender we saw last season. He should some flashes of last year in last night’s game against the Rangers, but he’s been average at best in every other game. Not all of this is Bobrovsky’s fault, as the Jackets defense has been terrible. I would not drop Bobrovsky at this time, but I would demote him to goalie 2-3 consideration right now.

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