We’re just over a month into the 2021 season, and between all the injuries and COVID-19 absences, there has been plenty of movement in our fantasy hockey goalie rankings.
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2021 Goalie Rankings: At the Top
Andrei Vasilevskiy retains his place atop the list. He has a 9-2-1 record with a 1.92 GAA and .933 save percentage. The Tampa Bay Lightning keep on rolling, no doubt due in large part to how steady Vasilevskiy is between the pipes. He’s the most valuable goalie in almost any format, and that likely isn’t going to change.
We know how defensively sound the New York Islanders are. They play in arguably the toughest division, so there were some expectations of the team taking a step back. Semyon Varlamov won’t let that happen. He has a 7-2-2 record with a 1.89 GAA, .931 save percentage, and three shutouts. We initially had both Varlamov and teammate Ilya Sorokin in the top 25, thinking they might play a similar amount of games. Varlamov is showing that he’s the clear-cut starter, vaulting him up to second overall.
The Vegas Golden Knights crease hasn’t played out quite as expected. Robin Lehner was thought to be the starter, pushing his stock up to second in our pre-season rankings. However, he’s been limited to five appearances due to an upper-body injury. In those games he’s posted a 2.96 GAA and .890 save percentage. Meanwhile Marc-Andre Fleury has been playing lights out hockey. He boasts a 7-1-0 record with a 1.38 GAA and .944 save percentage, with a pair of shutouts to boot. Fleury skyrockets from unlisted to third in the rankings.
New Additions
Despite being the backup, Jaroslav Halak has posted notable numbers. He has a 4-0-1 record with a 1.38 GAA and .938 save percentage. His most recent affair being a 21-save 1-0 shutout over the Rangers. He finds himself ranked 15 on the list, as he has Tuukka Rask there to limit his ice time. Halak is worth rostering any time he plays, but he’s unlikely to steal too many starts from Rask to put him higher in the rankings.
Jake Allen is proving to be a backup worth having. He’s looked sharp in his first season with Montreal, posting a 2.01 GAA and .933 save percentage. With four wins in six contests, he’s getting the job done when given the chance. Having Carey Price ahead of him makes it difficult to win many more games, putting him in a similar situation as Halak.
Sergei Bobrovsky was in our pre-season list, and while he’s 5-1-1, his 3.33 and .884 save percentage have him just missing these rankings. What’s more fascinating is the play by his teammate Chris Driedger. The 26-year-old became a regular for the first time in 2019-20 and quietly did well. He’s continued this into the current year with a 4-1-1 record, 2.31 GAA, and .926 save percentage. Could he steal more starts from Bobrovsky as the season continues?
2021 Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
Rankings are based on the following categories: Wins, Goals Against Average, Save Percentage, Shutouts.
| Rnk | Player | Team | Prev. Rnk |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrei Vasilevskiy | TBL | 1 |
| 2 | Semyon Varlamov | NYI | 18 |
| 3 | Marc-Andre Fleury | VGK | N/R |
| 4 | Philipp Grubauer | COL | 14 |
| 5 | John Gibson | ANA | 21 |
| 6 | Jacob Markstrom | CGY | 7 |
| 7 | Darcy Kuemper | ARZ | 12 |
| 8 | Connor Hellebuyck | WPG | 4 |
| 9 | Jordan Binnington | STL | 6 |
| 10 | Frederik Andersen | TOR | 9 |
| 11 | Igor Shesterkin | NYR | 8 |
| 12 | Tuukka Rask | BOS | 5 |
| 13 | Carey Price | MTL | 10 |
| 14 | Kevin Lankinen | CHI | N/R |
| 15 | Jaroslav Halak | BOS | N/R |
| 16 | Anton Khudobin | DAL | 15 |
| 17 | Linus Ullmark | BUF | N/R |
| 18 | Carter Hart | PHI | 3 |
| 19 | Robin Lehner | VGK | 2 |
| 20 | Chris Driedger | FLA | N/R |
| 21 | James Reimer | CAR | N/R |
| 22 | Joonas Korpisalo | CBJ | 22 |
| 23 | Cal Petersen | LAK | N/R |
| 24 | Jake Allen | MTL | N/R |
| 25 | Tristan Jarry | PIT | 16 |
Dropped out: Ilya Samsonov (WSH), Elvis Merzlikins (CBJ), Juuse Saros (NSH), Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA), Ilya Sorokin (NYI), Braden Holtby (VAN)
Notable Injuries: Ben Bishop (DAL), Mackenzie Blackwood (NJD), Petr Mrazek (CAR), Cam Talbot (MIN)
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