Antti Niemi/Alex Stalock

Last year's playoffs brought back that Cory Schneider/Roberto Luongo vibe when Schneider was given the start in game six against Chicago in the 2011 playoffs. Considering that Niemi is an unrestricted free agent and the team is likely to let him walk this summer, we'll never witness Vancouver like drama in San Jose. But what should we expect this year. Clearly Niemi should still be seen as the starter but the leash is short.

It's too bad the team has soured on Niemi as he is a reliable option from a fantasy perspective. Last year San Jose's firepower paced Niemi to 39 wins, good enough for second in the league. His 2.39 GAA was also respectable even though it was middle of the road and his 1556 saves were good enough for 12^th. But lowering Niemi's workload does make sense considering the playoff egg that San Jose laid last year. Niemi's 64 starts were tied for the most in the league and considering that Stalock managed a .932 SV% and very impressive 1.87 GAA last year in 24 showings and you can see why the Sharks may even out the starts. Niemi should be a safe bet for 55 starts, but considering that San Jose is looking for a hero after their postseason meltdown, anything is possible.

Ben Scrivens/Viktor Fasth

Last year's crease circus in Edmonton almost rivaled Vancouver's drama. Devan Dubnyk's nightmare start and eventual trade was followed by the very ambitious signing and eventual trade of Ilya Bryzgalov. This led to the current tandem of Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth who the Oilers both acquired in two late season trades.

Let's be honest, it's a crapshoot trying to figure out the starter. Scrivens seems to have the inside track but Fasth has the more expensive contract. This is a classic 1A/1B and has the potential for an even split in starts. The fact that wins have been hard to come by in Edmonton and playing goal for the Oilers is a save percentage and GAA disaster, the only reason poolies might look at one of these two goalies would be to rack up some saves.

Fasth played half of Anaheim's games during the lockout shortened 2012-13 season going 15-6-2 in 25 games. Overall he only has 37 NHL games to his name. Meanwhile Scrivens hasn't played more than 21 games in a season and his highest number of season starts is nine. Avoiding this tandem is common sense unless you need one of them to provide some spot starts to rack up some saves. My feeling is Fasth will win out in the end.

Darcy Kuemper/Niklas Backstrom/Josh Harding

Josh Harding was unbelievable last year when he played but another setback means more Kuemper and Bryzgalov and Backstrom. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I truly believe Martin Brodeur is going to end up on this team before Christmas. Backstrom has been atrocious over the past two seasons and even though Kuemper managed a 12-8-4 record last year, his .915 SV% was average. Meanwhile, Bryzgalov had a nice 7-1-3 stretch as well last year for the Wild but his .909 SV% and 2.68 GAA is nothing to get excited about. The Wild will start the season with Kuemper starting and Backstrom as the number two. It is only a matter of time until Backstrom gets hurt and Bryzgalov is called up (or Brodeur is signed). Harding's injury has him on the shelf for two to three months which is too bad since he had a spectacular 1.65 GAA and .933 SV% last year, but we all know his health makes him an unreliable option unfortunately.

Minnesota is a great team with a bunch or part-timers between the pipes. Kuemper is a huge risk/reward pick who will probably get half of the team's starts. The other 41 games will get split between the other three.  After the Edmonton tandem, this is the next one to be avoided at all costs.