Time to wrap up this five-part series with a look at the top goaltenders to own in a fantasy hockey keeper league (check out Top 30 Left Wingers, Top 30 Right Wingers, Top 30 Centres and Top 30 Defencemen).
While the other four keeper rankings are for points-only leagues, it’s a little different for goaltenders. Again I focus on the key categories (wins and shutouts), but I also look at expected quality starts in the coming season (which factor in save percentage) as well as in 2016-17. And the team’s system is also taken into consideration (i.e. you’d probably prefer a goalie in Minnesota’s system over Buffalo’s).
These rankings are pulled from the full Top 100 that I post every month on Goalie Post. They find a way to incorporate the potential of a backup goalie to become a starter, as well as prospects who are anywhere from one to five years away. It’s a balancing act to say the least. After all, how does one determine the value of a goalie who splits starts, such as Brian Elliott, versus a goalie who you have to wait five years on, such as Ilya Samsonov?
Different leagues and different rules would obviously juggle the rankings by quite a bit, such as weekly vs. daily vs. full season (no roster set up). You’ll need to use your own judgment on how best to use the below.
| Rank | Goalie | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carey Price | MON | 115.1 |
| 2 | Marc-Andre Fleury | PIT | 107.9 |
| 3 | Ben Bishop | TBL | 107.6 |
| 4 | Braden Holtby | WAS | 107.2 |
| 5 | Pekka Rinne | NSH | 105.6 |
| 6 | Frederik Andersen | ANA | 104.5 |
| 7 | Tuukka Rask | BOS | 103.5 |
| 8 | Devan Dubnyk | MIN | 102.6 |
| 9 | Sergei Bobrovsky | CBJ | 102.4 |
| 10 | Henrik Lundqvist | NYR | 101.8 |
| 11 | Jaroslav Halak | NYI | 100.8 |
| 12 | Corey Crawford | CHI | 100.5 |
| 13 | Cory Schneider | NJD | 98.6 |
| 14 | Jonathan Quick | LAK | 97.4 |
| 15 | Semyon Varlamov | COL | 89.2 |
| 16 | Roberto Luongo | FLA | 89.1 |
| 17 | Steve Mason | PHI | 88.0 |
| 18 | Cam Talbot | EDM | 87.2 |
| 19 | Jimmy Howard | DET | 80.9 |
| 20 | Jake Allen | STL | 80.5 |
| 21 | Karri Ramo | CGY | 79.6 |
| 22 | Ondrej Pavelec | WPG | 79.4 |
| 23 | Antti Niemi | DAL | 79.2 |
| 24 | Kari Lehtonen | DAL | 78.7 |
| 25 | Brian Elliott | STL | 78.6 |
| 26 | Petr Mrazek | DET | 76.9 |
| 27 | Craig Anderson | OTT | 76.9 |
| 28 | Eddie Lack | CAR | 76.1 |
| 29 | Andrei Vasilevski | TBL | 76.1 |
| 30 | Ryan Miller | VAN | 76.0 |
Notes
• Two goalies on this list who are the top candidates to drop in ranking by November are Howard and Ramo. Howard is losing his grip on the top spot as Mrazek (26th) closes in. And Ramo is already behind the eight ball with Jonas Hiller the likely No. 1 to start the season. However, Ramo is 27 years old and is only just entering his prime. Hiller, 33, showed some signs down the stretch last year that he may not be able to hang on to the job. It will be interesting to see how both of these volatile situations play out.
• Two goaltenders who are top candidates to rise in ranking by November are Anderson and Talbot. With Anderson it’s all about health. With Talbot, it’s all about how his team does this year. Expectations are certainly high.
• Just off the list: Michael Hutchinson, the aforementioned Hiller, Jonathan Bernier and Martin Jones.
• You already see a couple of 1A/1B tandems on the list (i.e. Dallas, Detroit and St. Louis). As you can imagine, splitting starts can be a fantasy killer. Here are some other interesting situations:
– Carolina (Lack 28th, Cam Ward 36th)
– San Jose (Jones 34th, Alex Stalock 38th)
– Anaheim (Andersen sixth, John Gibson 40th, Anton Khudobin 42nd)
• To find out the starting goalies for the day’s games, and to sign up for free email notifications about last-minute starting goalie changes, visit GoaliePost.com.
Follow Dobber on Twitter (@DobberHockey), and as the perfect supplement to your Sportsnet Fantasy Guide check out Dobber’s 10th annual Fantasy Guide here.
