One of many important features of the DobberHockey Fantasy Guide (available for order here) is that for every team Dobber provides a confidence level of one goalie being the starter. This season, Dobber sees ten teams (nine, not counting Dallas where there's an injury situation going into the season) for which there is a 75% or less confidence level in one goalie being the starter.  What that means is in those cases it is more likely to be a 1A/1B situation in net, whereby both goalies end up seeing action in 40-60% of their team's games, assuming they each stay healthy all season and the 2020-21 campaign is neither made more compacted nor does it undergo any other changes that would affect how often goalies might play.

But if history is any indication, not all nine teams will end up having a 1A/1B situation, as instead one of the two will outplay the other to an extent such that he gets the majority of starts.  The magic question is, for which of the nine squads will someone emerge in this manner?  That's up to you to decide.

Your task is to vote for the goalies on these nine teams you think will end up starting 60% or more of their team's games in 2020-21, which, to put into perspective, would equate to 50 starts in a regular 82 game season.  As far as voting rules, you can vote for as many goalies – or as few – as you want, provided you think each netminder for whom you cast a vote will start 60% or more of his team's games this for the 2020-21 campaign. So that means you can vote for as many as nine goalies if indeed you think one from each of the nine tandems will start 60%+ of his team's games.  But if you believe both of the listed goalies from all nine listed teams will start 41-59% of their team's games, you should opt for the "none of the above" choice.  

As always, although these polls are meant to be enjoyable, please vote objectively so that fellow Dobberites can look to the results to help shape decisions they'll be making in terms of keepers, on draft day, or as early free agent grabs for 2020-21. With all that out of the way, here are the actual 18 (i.e., nine pairs of) choices, listed alphabetically by their team and then by their last name.  I won't actually identify their percentages of being the starter – you'll have to buy the Guide for that precious information….

Carolina Hurricanes – Petr Mrazek and James Reimer

Every season is supposed to be the one where Mrazek seizes the reins and becomes the top-flight goalie many felt he'd be after he played so well in 2015-16 at age 24.  But after he started 49 games in 2016-17, he's yet to top 40 starts in a season and in 2019-20 had a lower quality start percentage last season than Reimer.  Carolina would like nothing more than for Mrazek to be "the guy;" but when the dust settles on 2020-21, it could be that yet again neither of them will have ascended to true #1 status.

Chicago Blackhawks – Collin Delia and Malcolm Subban

If there was any doubt that Chicago has embarked upon a full rebuild, look no further than the two netminders jockeying for time in the team's crease, with neither one having yet to play more than 22 games in any season of their careers.  Subban also has seen his GAA rise and SV% drop with each season and Delia didn't even see a minute of NHL action in 2019-20.  The reality is if one of them becomes the full-fledged starter, it might be a case of him being the lesser of two evils more so than having won the job with outstanding play.

Colorado Avalanche – Pavel Francouz and Philipp Grubauer

When the Avs signed Grubauer in 2018, he had been one of the best back-ups in the NHL and much was expected of him.  But after a decent first season in Colorado, his performance faltered in 2019-20, whereas Francouz looked superb, prompting the team to extend him through the 2021-22 season, or a year after Grubauer's deal ends.  But when the Avs needed Francouz the most in the Stanley Cup playoffs, he laid an egg before getting injured.  For sure the team would like nothing more than for one of them to step up in order to have a true #1; however, it might just be that neither one is up to the task.

Columbus Blue Jackets – Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins

No one was hotter for a chunk of last season than Merzlikins.  But once Korpisalo returned, Elvis faltered and the team turned to Korpisalo, who stood on his head in the playoffs.  Both are signed to contracts which, in terms of length and dollars, do not anoint one the surefire starter; and we know Torts is not above giving them both starts if neither one outplays the other.  But he's also someone who will ride a hot hand, so it is possible we see a true starter emerge from what is, on paper, as likely of a 1A/1B situation as there is among these nine teams.

Los Angeles Kings – Cal Petersen and Jonathan Quick

With Quick on the books for $5.8M per season through 2022-23, poolies figured LA had little choice but to keep playing him, hoping he returned to form.  But Quick fared poorly again in 2019-20, enough so that by the end he was essentially splitting starts with Petersen.  If LA was willing to do that, could pushing Quick aside entirely in favor of Peterson be far behind?

Nashville Predators – Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros

With Rinne having turned 39 before the puck drops on 2020-21 and signed only through this coming season, the stage is certainly set for Saros to finally emerge as the true #1 in Nashville.  But who's to say how well he does if thrust into that role?  Maybe the team will keep Rinne in the rotation this season to help further ease Saros into the role of a true #1 for 2021-22?

New Jersey Devils – MacKenzie Blackwood and Corey Crawford

After a season in which he played quite well, Blackwood's reward was his team signing veteran Crawford two a two-year deal, making poolies wonder if Blackwood is more so the goalie of the future for the Devils than the goalie for the here and now.  Then again, Crawford isn't being paid so much as to prevent Blackwood from being a true #1, if everything aligns for that to occur.

San Jose Sharks – Devan Dubnyk and Martin Jones

After being a solid but unspectacular goalie for several seasons, Jones has been playing much worse of late and now has seen his GAA rise in every campaign.  But he was able to hold onto his starting gig, more so due to the team having no other viable alternative than him deserving to retain it.  Enter Dubnyk, who will be looking for a late-career rebirth.  Is it conceivable that one outplays the other to become the true #1?  Yes, but it's not clear either can do so at this point.

Washington Capitals – Henrik Lundqvist and Ilya Samsonov

No question the Caps see Samsonov as their next stud goaltender.  But after he played worse as 2019-20 progressed, and with him having a mere 26 NHL games under his belt, the team wasn't quite ready to throw Samsonov to the wolves. The question is will Lundqvist be a pure mentor and insurance policy, or could he be an equal partner in the crease this season while Samsonov prepares to assuredly shoulder the load of being a true #1?

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Now that you've read the cases for and/or against each goalie, it's time to cast your vote(s).  You should vote for as many goalies as you believe will start 60% of his team's games, or, if you think that none will do so, you should vote for "none of the above." To cast your votes, click here.

Questions for Mailbag column

Next week's Roos Lets Loose column will be my monthly mailbag, which is already full.  But it's never too early to send me a question for the following edition. To get your question to me, you can either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or, instead, send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.