Like many of you, I'm a fantasy hockey addict. After all, despite Harvard Law School resting a few miles down the road, the harsh reality is that fantasy hockey's probably the closest I'll ever get to becoming an NHL general manager. Trades, cuts, and free-agent pick-up's are all the rage, but there's just nothing as exciting and nerve-racking as a draft.
And as a champion in various leagues throughout a fantasy career that's lasted just under five years now, I figure it's time to start preparing for my drafts.
Now while I think I'm somewhat crazy for opening up my vault of secrets, here goes nothing..Without further ado, I kick off a four-day fantasy camp with the top 10 goaltenders you should draft.
10. Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh Penguins)
ESPN Rank: 14th among goaltenders, 117th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 11th among goaltenders, 41st overall.
While Pittsburgh's core rests with the big three up front of
Sidney Crosby,
Evgeni Malkin, and
Jordan Staal, the backbone of the teams success starts on the point and rests snugly in the cage. Thankfully for Pens fans, who have seen their club make it to the Stanley Cup Finals in two of the last four seasons, they have 2003 first overall pick
Marc-Andre Fleury in net.
And while for years I tooted the horn that dubbed Fleury to make an overrated goaltender whose gaffes were made up for thanks to a strong offense, last year showed that Fleury
can be the man for the Pens when push comes to shove.
Forced to be the true anchor of Pittsburgh when injuries took both Crosby and Malkin out of action, the 26-year-old responded with a season that saw him post a career-best 2.32 goals-against-average in 65 games played.
But Fleury's biggest detraction from being your ace comes with his notoriously streaky play. Epitomized best by his 1-6 start to the year which was shortly quelled by an 11-game win streak.
9. Corey Crawford (Chicago Blackhawks)
ESPN Rank: 9th among goaltenders, 67th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 10th among goaltenders, 37th overall.
I had a bad feeling about the 2010-11 Blackhawks. In fact, I avoided them like the plague in my drafts. But the avoidance of 'Hawks ultimately backfired on me with the emergence of goaltender
Corey Crawford. Playing back-up to the beyond-washed-up
Marty Turco to begin the year, the 26-year-old rookie (How weird sounding is that?) with just eight games of prior NHL experience wouldn't need long to steal the role of starter away from Turco.
Winning 13 of 19 beginning on Nov. 14, and adding an eight-game winning streak in mid-February through early March, it was a knack for beating the best of the West that made Crawford a valuable asset for owners.
Posting a 15-4-3 record against Western Conference playoff clubs with an absurd .933 save-percentage, Crawford's continued development towards the upper echelon of goaltenders along with a reloaded Chicago club can only mean good things for owners.
That is, of course, if he can avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. Hi,
Tuukka Rask.
8. Antti Niemi (San Jose Sharks)
ESPN Rank: 8th among goaltenders, 61st overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 6th among goaltenders, 21st overall.
Owners -- myself included -- were pretty heartbroken when the
Antti Niemi era in San Jose didn't get off to the start most expected. Winning just eight of his first 19 games in a Sharks uni, the 28-year-old Finnish goaltender seemed to be just a one year wonder. But those worries were negated once the calendar turned to 2011.
Following a four-game losing skid in early Jan., Niemi finally appeared to
get it with an out of this world 26-5-4 finish to the year. Tallying four shutouts and six 35-save or more efforts along the way, a revamped Sharks defense that includes
Brent Burns and
Colin White seems to tell us that Niemi's groove should continue to roll to wins and stellar showings in a Pacific Division that should be San Jose's for the taking.
7. Ilya Bryzgalov (Philadelphia Flyers)
ESPN Rank: 7th among goaltenders, 49th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 4th among goaltenders, 16th overall.
If you can't tell, Philadelphia's already fallen in love with
Ilya Bryzgalov. And those who were unsure have only been sold by the (best described as childishly cute) tweets of the Russian net-minder. Rightfully so.
Finally, the Flyers, a team who shockingly made it to the Finals in '10 and Eastern Conference Semi's in '11 without a legitimate goaltender, have their guy.
Set to make his arrival to the Eastern Conference as the face of a new-look Flyers club, it appears that 'Bryz' could be on the cusp of an absolute monster year in Philly. Playing behind a defense anchored by former Ducks teammate
Chris Pronger, and in a system that's known for a relentless offensive attack, the wins should come in bunches for Ilya and company.
Especially against an Eastern Conference that Bryzgalov managed an impressive .925 save-percentage against despite a lukewarm 5-3-4 record. But can the 31-year-old handle the pressure of playing in Philadelphia after spending his career in the lofty confines of Anaheim and Phoenix?
Either way, it's clear that Bryzgalov will get his chances..even if the wins don't show up right away. Sticking it out with his adaption to the new settings should have big time benefits as the Flyers gel.
6. Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens)
ESPN Rank: 6th among goaltenders, 39th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 8th among goaltenders, 26th overall.
It didn't take long for
Carey Price to be dubbed the sole reason why the Montreal Canadiens were going to suck. The departed
Jaroslav Halak was the heir to the throne, while Price was a mere peasant on numbered days. At least this is what they tried convincing us. That was until the puck dropped on the 2010-11 season.
Price was everything that Montreal thought he would be. And more.
Starting 70 contests and winning 38 games, 14 more than previous career-high, the 24-year-old Price enters the year as Montreal's uncontested starter and gate-keeper between a Montreal run to glory or another close season in the middle of the pack. However, if Price's play last year taught us anything, it's that it's unlikely to be the latter.
Putting together a ridiculously strong season that saw the former 5th overall pick piece together five win-streaks of three or more wins, with just one skid of losing three in a row, Price's ability to keep his team in games despite facing the second most shots in the entire league did all the talking I needed to be sold.
In short, for potential owners, Carey's incredibly consistent play in 2010-11 and development into the true number one of the Habs makes him worth the nod as your number one..especially if he slips down to the lower picks of round two or early stages of round three depending on the size of your league.
5. Roberto Luongo (Vancouver Canucks)
ESPN Rank: 1st among goaltenders, 9th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 2nd among goaltenders, 11th overall.
While it was lost in all the talk of tire pumping and Boston-based blowouts, the fact remains: Vancouver's
Roberto Luongo is still an elite goaltender. The dude's won 193 games in five seasons as a Canuck, has never failed to register a save-percentage lower than .913, and is coming off a year that finished with a Vezina nomination and Jennings Trophy. Not to mention he plays on a Canucks squad that's won the Northwest Division in four of the last five years.
To put it in layman's terms: He's a fantasy hockey godsend. What's to love about Luongo is quite simple. He plays in a best dubbed as mediocre division, taking 11 of 15 in games against the Northwest in 2010-11, and he plays behind one of the best offenses in hockey, giving him a rather large margin of error to play with throughout the regular season.
But what knocks Luongo's value down (at least to me) is the potential of start-stealing by the emerging
Cory Schneider. Something that simply seems inevitable if Schneider continues to build upon a strong rookie campaign.
4. Tomas Vokoun (Washington Capitals)
ESPN Rank: 3rd among goaltenders, 17th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 5th among goaltenders, 18th overall.
For years, it seemed as if
Tomas Vokoun was ranked high among goaltenders, but would always slip towards the middle of your draft. Something easily explained when you glanced at the team he suited up for. Vokoun the Florida Panther was not somebody you chomped at the bit for. Vokoun the Capital? Now that's a different story.
Despite a post-All Star bleak record of 5-12-2 with a 2.61 goals-against-average, Vokoun's arrival to an offensively stacked Washington club has one thing written all over it: Potential 40-win season.
And now playing behind a team that allowed the fourth fewest goals in the entire NHL, Vokoun's ability to put together solid seasons while playing for a terribly underwhelming Panthers squad tells us that there's not much to be wary of when it comes to judging the capabilities of the 35-year-old Czech.
After all, 2010-11 saw Vokoun post a 11-11-3 record against the eight Eastern Conference playoff clubs with a stellar .935 save-percentage.
While it's not crazy to think that
Michal Neuvirth will get his share of starts, there's no doubting that Vokoun's arrival to Washington means big things for owners.
3. Ryan Miller (Buffalo Sabres)
ESPN Rank: 10th among goaltenders, 82nd overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 7th among goaltenders, 22nd overall.
2010 was the year of the Miller. The savior of the Northeast-winning Buffalo Sabres, the American Olympic Hero, the Vezina. It was Miller-Time in the hockey world. But 2011 told a different story. Perhaps gassed by an otherworldly pace of play the year before, the 31-year-old Miller never seemed to find his groove in 2010-11.
Beginning the year on a cold 3-5-2 skid, and allowing 27 goals in his first 10 starts of the season (compared to 18 goals allowed in his first 10 of 2009-10), it was a year that showed a real downside of the Michigan-native. But even at his worst, Miller got the job done on most nights for the Sabres.
Winning 34 games for the 7th seeded Blades, what sells me on Miller in '11 is what's going to be in front of him. The Sabres, in short, got rid of their stupid and replaced it with legitimacy. Not longer donning the blue and gold is turnover king
Steve Montador, who was credited for 61 giveaways in 2010-11, second most among Buffalo skaters.
Instead, the Sabres have added intangible master
Robyn Regehr and former-Canucks blue-liner
Christian Ehrhoff, who combined for a total of 250 blocked shots in 2010-11. Something that Miller will unquestionably see the benefits of following a year that saw him pelted for the sixth most shots in the entire league.
Call it a hunch that Miller returns to form with a new-look defense. Or my pure stupidity. Either or, I suppose.
2. Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators)
ESPN Rank: 5th among goaltenders, 31st overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 3rd among goaltenders, 13th overall.
I can't remember the last time a player was as consistent yet underrated all in the same breath like Nashville's
Pekka Rinne was in 2010-11. Starting for the tight-defensed Preds, the 28-year-old Finnish 'tender was the definition of stone cold killer throughout the year on his way to the first Vezina nomination of his career.
Following a 2009-10 campaign that saw Rinne's output dip as the games played tally increased, Rinne's emergence as one of the leagues elite in perhaps the closest division in the Western Conference didn't go unnoticed to thankful owners.
Winning 17 contests with a 2.11 goals-against-average and three shutouts before the All-Star break, and adding 16 wins with a 2.10 and three shutouts in his post-All Star run to the postseason, Rinne was the true showstopper of the Nashville franchise.
Aided by the relatively untouched defense that boasts
Ryan Suter and
Shea Weber, expect to see the hits continue for Rinne.
1. Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
ESPN Rank: 2nd among goaltenders, 15th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 1st among goaltenders, 7th overall.
It's not easy being the King of New York. But the Rangers'
Henrik Lundqvist sure makes it look it. And finally it appears that Lundqvist, who's needed just six seasons to become the face of the Blueshirts, has a capable offense to give him some much needed help.
Evident when you look at Lundqvist's tame 30-22-5 record against the Eastern Conference despite an out-of-this-world 2.23 goals-against-average and 10 (!) shutouts, New York's addition of
Brad Richards and larger roles for players such as
Ryan Callahan and
Brandon Dubinsky should open up options for Lundqvist owners everywhere.
Now normally, that's not anything to dance around your draft room about when it comes to picking a goaltender, but when you look and see that 20 of Lundqvist's combined 32 losses came in games where the Rangers scored just two goals or less, it's clear that Lundqvist needs some help.
After all, he's no superman, but he's damn close.
JUST MISSED THE CUT
Tim Thomas (Boston Bruins)
ESPN Rank: 4th among goaltenders, 24th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 9th among goaltenders, 34th overall.
It can't get much better for B's goaltender
Tim Thomas than it did in 2010-11. Therein lies the problem. Certainly rewarding lucky bastards like myself who drafted him in the 10th round in one league and picked him up via free-agency in another, it was quite a year to behold for Thomas and his owners. Leading the league with a dazzling 2.00 goals-against-average and record-setting .938 save-percentage, the idea that Thomas can build upon such a year or even match it -- especially after a grueling 32-game run to the Stanley Cup -- is simply not realistic. Nor is it likely that the busy-bodied Thomas starts as many games as he did last year. But, if the 37-year-old can play at 75% of his 10-11 level while the gap between he and Rask's playing time continues to shrink, there's some big time value in a tandem situation for your club.
Then you have your trio of 37-win goaltenders. The Wings'
Jimmy Howard, Calgary's
Miikka Kiprusoff, and Carolina's
Cam Ward. While all of these goaltenders can and do have value -- generated largely by the fact that they start about 70 games a season -- and typically win around 35 contests, I found that their inevitable and numerous duds can absolutely murder your stats. But if you're a league that's strictly about wins and save-percentage, they have their value, I've just relied on them one time too many.
POTENTIAL DARK-HORSES
James Reimer (Toronto Maple Leafs)
ESPN Rank: 21st among goaltenders, 171st overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 23rd among goaltenders, 90th overall.
My belief in the Toronto Maple Leafs as a competitive team in 2011-12 is widely known. I truly think they'll claw their way to the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference, and I honestly think
James Reimer is the sole reason. Winning 20 contests in just 35 starts, and piecing together a strong .921 save-percentage, I think the ole' 'Flash in the Pan' remark finally fades in Toronto, and owners should take note. Reimer could and should be a very reliable second or third goaltender for your club.
Martin Brodeur (New Jersey Devils)
ESPN Rank: 11th among goaltenders, 99th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 16th among goaltenders, 63rd overall.
2010-11 sucked for Brodeur owners. The 39-year-old goaltender, often taken towards the end of the first round or opening pick of round two, was abysmally bad at the beginning of the campaign. So bad in fact, that he finished with the first losing season of his 19-year career. But a 13-7-1 finish to the year that included a 1.84 goals-against-average should give owners faith that Marty still has more than something in the tank.
Jaroslav Halak (St. Louis Blues)
ESPN Rank: 16th among goaltenders, 124th overall.
Yahoo! Rank: 19th among goaltenders, 76th overall.
St. Louis' savior in net started off hot, faded, and then finished strong. Now while the rollercoaster isn't exactly a fun ride for fantasy owners, especially in net, Halak's role as the anchor of a true wild card team in St. Louis makes him an interesting pick as a member of a potential two-headed monster your team could be constructing.
WORTH THE RISK?
Oh,
Jonas Hiller. In a year that saw the Swiss-born net-minder poised to challenge for a Vezina nomination, a bizarre case of vertigo that ended his season has left the Ducks in a considerably odd position. But with the season quickly approaching, it appears that a vertigo-less Hiller could be a reality for the Ducks, but at what level? Given a generous ranking in most leagues despite the injury and uncertainty, keep in mind that the 29-year-old allowed six goals on just 31 shots in his final three appearances of the season. If he's there after you get a stud in the top five, take the risk. But buyer beware.
It seems that every year is the 'breakout year' for Columbus'
Steve Mason. But despite a Columbus overhaul that's brought some offensive life to the club, Mason's failure to register a goals-against-average under three or a save-percentage higher than .901 makes this one an easy 'Thanks, but no thanks.'
Life won't be easy on the defending Stanley Cup champs. That's why it's all the more important for the B's to get the most out of 24-year-old
Tuukka Rask. Following off-season knee surgery, the Finnish-born phenom should get more than 27 starts this season given Thomas' durability issues, and should certainly put together a more impressive campaign than his 11-win and 2.67 goals-against-average showing in 2010-11.
Dallas'
Kari Lehtonen has never started more than 60 games for two seasons in a row. Stay far far away.
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