Below are my 2018-19 Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings. There won’t be much movement from now until puck drop, but the latest can be found on FantasyPros. I’ve touched on my strategy when it comes to drafting goalies, which ones to target and avoid, as well as which ones offer upside late in drafts.
Pekka Rinne finished last season as the number one netminder in fantasy hockey and he won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie. Many are skeptical of drafting him so early this season after another mediocre playoff performance. Make no mistake, Rinne still has Top 5 potential and it’s not a bad strategy to grab him and his backup Juuse Saros who is waiting in the wings. More on him and the duo below.
Fantasy Hockey Rankings: Goalie | Left Wing | Right Wing | Centers | Defensemen
Fantasy Hockey: Goalie Strategy
It’s very important to grab a Top-10 goalie in the first couple rounds of your draft. You should have no problem drafting a goalie in the second round, especially if you’re drafting from the 11 or 12 spot. Drafting at the end and beginning of rounds likely means you’ll miss out on goalie runs. It’s more than OK to start the run, rather than chasing it or missing out on it. As you’ll see in the latest industry mock, goalies flew off the board early and often.
In best ball or roto leagues, you won’t finish with strong results if you don’t have two solid goalies. They are very tough to replace on the waiver wire as they don’t pop up midway through the season as skaters do. There are injuries of course, and some emerge as top contenders at the position, but it’s very rare. If you have two Top 10 or 15 goalies by the end of the season, you’ll go deep in any format. Think of taking two with your first four picks. Carry three-to-four in best ball formats as we seen a ton of injuries at the position last season.
Fantasy Hockey: Goalie Targets
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
After the first three or four goalies come off the board, you’ll be sitting there staring at Jonathan Quick and you should take him. 2016-17 was an injury-filled season for Quick, but he bounced back nicely last year on route to a sixth-place finish at the position. Quick had 33 wins, five shutouts and a .921 save percentage. It was his best SV% since 2011-12. However, it was his worst GAA since 2012-13. Not that 2.40 is anything to worry about, as it was the eighth best mark in the league among goalies who played 30 games last season. The Los Angeles Kings are strong defensively and they improved on offense. If you’re starting a salary cap league on Fantrax, Quick’s much more valuable as he makes $5.8 million for the next five seasons.
Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks
Martin Jones has at least 30 wins in all three of his seasons as the Sharks’ starter and he may just hit the 40 win mark for the first time in his career. San Jose is loaded offensively and the addition of Erik Karlsson makes them legit Stanley Cup contenders. Jones has a respectable .915 save percentage in 224 career games. His goals against average has increased each season (2.27-2.40-2.55), but he should win most of his games if he keeps it on par with last season’s mark of 2.55. Jones can be a number one goalie for your team, but he makes for an even better second goalie if you can make that happen. He’s going just outside the Top 10 on average.
Antti Raanta, Arizona Coyotes
If you decide to take a goalie in the Top 10 who could hurt your goals against average, Antti Raanta is the perfect target in the later rounds to balance things out. Raanta has a .922 save percentage and 2.29 GAA in 141 career games. He was one of the better goalies in the NHL down the stretch and finished the season as the seventh-ranked goalie in fantasy. His 2.24 GAA was third and his .930 save percentage ranked second. It was his first season as a starter in the league and he played a career-high 47 games, winning 21 of them.
Raanta started a bit slow and battled through injuries, but he had a 1.80 GAA and .945 save percentage in his final 19 games of the season. He’s not getting drafted as a Top-10 or Top-15 goalie, but has that kind of upside. What he lacks in wins, he makes up for in saves, save percentage and goals against average. He can really help out your ratios.
Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues
I’ve cooled off on Jake Allen as we get closer to the season, but I’m still intrigued. He’s already one of the riskiest picks at the position, and now he’s dealing with a back injury. A back injury for a goalie can be a red flag. Some good news, though, as Allen will make his preseason debut Tuesday. He’s falling down draft boards and is a great buy-low in keeper formats, due to his injury. Allen has a respectable $4.35M AAV which makes him one of the better upside targets in Fantrax salary cap formats.
Allen was a borderline Top 10 goalie for me after Carter Hutton signed with Buffalo, so he’ll be a target of mine if he continues to fall outside the Top 20. I’m more willing to take the risk now at his current price. If for whatever reason you miss out on a run and find yourself needing a couple upside plays, Allen is your guy. He’s had a very up and down career in the NHL, but his overall numbers are solid: 2.47 GAA & .913 save percentage. He won 33 games in 2016 and 27 last season. With Hutton gone, Allen opens up as the Blues’ starter. St. Louis improved during the offseason and Allen has a clear path to 30 to 40 wins if he can stay healthy.
Others to consider: Braden Holtby, Marc-Andre Fleury
Fantasy Hockey: Goalie Busts
Frederik Andersen, Toronto Maple Leafs
Frederik Andersen is going far too early in drafts to return value. The Maple Leafs’ hype is real and I’m buying into their future, but I have a hard time figuring out how Andersen can improve on last season. Andersen won 38 games with a 2.81 goals against average and .918 save percentage. The wins are legit and he’ll get them again this season, but Andersen played out of his mind in 2017. No goalie faced more shots (2211) last season, and of course, he led the league in saves with 2029. That’s a lot of work (66 games) and rubber in one season and he looked fatigued in the playoffs. Maybe he plays fewer games in 2018, but one thing will remain the same and that’s the fact Toronto did nothing to improve defensively.
Even with as good of a season Andersen had last year, he still finished as the 15th ranked goalie in default settings (wins, GAA, SV% & SO). He gets a major boost in leagues with saves and still has Top-10 potential, but don’t reach for him on draft day. There’s no reason he should go in the second round or as a Top-5 goalie. He just won’t have the same goals against average as those who will finish inside the Top 5-10 goalies at the end of the season.
A friendly reminder of when Cam Talbot had a breakout season with the Oilers after playing heavy minutes. All of the bad defense caught up to him and he suffered an injury. That’s not to say it’ll happen to Andersen, and it’s not to say you shouldn’t draft him. It’s just something to keep an eye on. Should you feel the urge to draft Andersen, pair him up with a guy like Raanta.
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price is still considered by most as the best goalie in the league. Those who follow the sport at a high level will tell you that. Others will poo-poo on the Canadiens and their current situation. It’s also very warranted as Montreal has little to offer Price. Not defensively or offensively. Price is coming off a career-worst 3.11 goals against average and .900 save percentage. He won 16 of his 48 games and only had one shutout. It’s a far cry from his MVP season which consisted of 44 wins, a 1.96 GAA and .933 SV%. Price battled injuries, his team finished 29th in goals scored, and they played most of the season without their top defenseman in Shea Weber.
Don’t expect much to change as the team traded their two best goal scorers and Weber is sidelined until at least December. Price’s save percentage should get back to his career mark (.918), but he’ll be hard-pressed to improve on his 2.46 career goals against average. Wins will also be hard to come by for Price and the Canadiens. He can stay on the waiver wire in Fantrax salary cap settings as his $10.5m contract kicks in this season.
Ben Bishop, Dallas Stars
Ben Bishop has seen his numbers decline over the past couple of seasons and he’s suffered numerous injuries over that time. Bishop had a respectable 2.49 GAA and .916 save percentage in 2017, but his 2.22 GAA and .920 SV% days are over. Bishop is one of the riskiest draft picks heading into the year as he was held to 53 games in 2017 and 39 the season before. He does have the upside to finish as Top 12 goalie, but there are some health concerns.
If you do end up taking Bishop, it’s not a bad idea to rock backup Anton Khudobin who has put up some respectable numbers over his career. It’s not a strategy I always employ, but under the right setting, it could work. You would have the Dallas net for the entire season, which will produce 40-50 wins. Should anything happen to Bishop, you don’t need to go running to the wire. It’s more of a deep league strategy.
Other candidates: Matt Murray, Henrik Lundqvist
Fantasy Hockey: Goalie Breakouts
Philipp Grubauer, Colorado Avalanche
Philipp Grubauer played a career-high 36 games and started 28 of them last season with the Washington Capitals. In fact, he started Game 1 and Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the eventual champs. Braden Holtby struggled and Grubauer took over down the stretch. He went on to win 15 games with a 2.35 GAA and .923 save percentage. It was good enough for the Colorado Avalanche to sign him to a three-year contract.
Semyon Varlamov is likely Colorado’s opening day starter, but he’s on the last year of his deal and has battled a couple different groin injuries over the past few seasons. Grubauer has a .923 save percentage over 101 career games, but he’ll definitely notice a change in defensive styles between his old team and new team. Even still, he finished as a Top 15 fantasy hockey goalie and can do the same splitting the net once again if that happens to be the case.
Carter Hutton, Buffalo Sabres
Carter Hutton took over the starting job in St. Louis last season thanks in part to a 2.09 GAA and .931 save percentage. Hutton finished with a 17-7-3 record and capitalized on Jake Allen’s struggles. Hutton was rewarded with a three-year contract worth $8.25 million from the Buffalo Sabres. It’s the first time in his career that the 32-year-old will be the projected number one starter on his team. Hutton picked up 20 wins in 40 games with the Nashville Predators back in 2013-14 and has a career 2.42 GAA across 138 games.
Hutton has always played with a great defense in front of him, so there will be an adjustment period in Buffalo. He finished as a Top 10 goalie last season which won’t happen again, but don’t be surprised if he finishes as a Top 20. If you’re one to wait it out on goalies, Hutton could be worth the gamble for you.
Fantasy Hockey: Late Round Targets
Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators
With Pekka Rinne on the final year of his deal, Juuse Saros makes for one of the better keeper and dynasty selections. Rinne is still without question, the clear-cut number one goalie in Nashville, but Saros is close to taking over. It feels weird to say that, considering Rinne is fresh of winning goalie of the year honors. Saros finished 11-5-7 with a 2.45 GAA and .925 save percentage in 26 games last season. He’ll get every back-to-back this season and if Rinne struggles or suffers an injury, Saros could finish as a Top-10 goalie. As mentioned above, I have no problem with you rostering both Preds’ goalies in deeper formats. Saros finished as a Top 20 goalie last season despite limited action. Nashville could win 55 games in 2018, and they’ll be among the best defensively.
Aaron Dell, San Jose Sharks
This play is much like the Saros idea. It’s not needed in every format, and mostly just deep leagues, but it’s a strategy that could pay off. It’s almost like handcuffing a running back in fantasy football. The San Jose Sharks are going to be one of the best teams in the league and will likely win 50 games. Aaron Dell is the backup to Martin Jones, but should Jones suffer an injury, Dell would become a Top 10-15 goalie. Dell finished as a Top-15 goalie in his rookie season and he only started 17 games (11-6-1, 2.00 GAA & .931 SV%). He went 15-5-4 with a 2.64 GAA and .924 save percentage last season. He’ll play another 25-30 games this season and almost certainly finish as a top-25 goalie. Think of him in deep keeper leagues and don’t in small redraft formats. Instead of drafting a Robin Lehner or Jimmy Howard who will blow up your ratios from time-to-time, just take Dell and plug him in when he hits the ice.
Others to consider: Carter Hart, Cory Schneider, Corey Crawford – both going late enough where risk is worth it