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If you've taken a peek at Frozen Tools, you've probably noticed some goalie stats that you don't see regularly, or may see on other websites in different forms. These stats are quality starts (QS), really bad starts (RBS), and goals saved above average (GSAA). I will hopefully cover GSAA another day, but for today I'll run through noteworthy goalies within the best and worst of quality starts and really bad starts.

At Frozen Tools, a Quality Start (QS) is defined as the following:

• Games with save percentage above the league average
• Games with fewer than 20 shots and a save percentage above .885

Frozen Tools then defines a Really Bad Start (RBS) as a game with a save percentage below .850.

Instead of total quality starts, which are usually earned by the highest-volume goalie, I'll list quality start percentage (min 20 GP) to see if there are any surprises.

Anton Forsberg played in more games than any Senators goalie last season (46 GP) and finished with the team's best ratios (2.82 GAA, .917 SV%). If you exclude his first six games, which included only one quality start and two really bad starts, Forsberg posted a 70 QS% with a 2.64 GAA and .921% from December 1 onward. I certainly didn't know this at the time, and I didn't make it a priority at the time, but Forsberg was worth a roster spot for much of the season. I wouldn't consider him an outstanding goalie, but as a second or third goalie he's not hurting your team. Although I'd still consider Cam Talbot the starter in Ottawa, Forsberg is a worthwhile depth goalie option.

Matt Murray also played for the Ottawa Senators last season, so maybe they were a source of better goaltending than you thought? Murray played in only 20 games, so it's a bit of a small sample size. That being said, Murray had 12 quality starts compared to just three really bad starts. A lack of wins (just five in 20 games) cut into Murray's fantasy value, but he should be able to pick up a lot more wins with the Leafs. The fact that his goals saved above average was -0.48 demonstrates that he was about a league-average goalie when he wasn't injured. 

Next is the lowest percentage of quality starts.

Pavel Francouz's overall season numbers (2.55 GAA, .916 SV%) weren't all that bad. Yet he picked up only seven quality starts in 21 games. That's not great, of course, but his overall numbers were decent because he had only one really bad start. That was a game in which he allowed three goals on 19 shots, which is hardly a major disaster when compared to other really bad starts. In between the quality starts and the really bad start were a lot of average starts. When starting Francouz, your expectation should be average ratios along with a high win probability (15 W in 21 GP). That might be enough to force a timeshare in the Colorado goalie situation (more on the other goalie shortly).

Next, let's look at the highest percentage of really bad starts.

Alexandar Georgiev is moving to a much more goalie-friendly environment in Colorado than he experienced in New York. However, you should be drafting his former tandem mate Igor Shesterkin far, far ahead of him. Compare their 2021-22 numbers while playing for the same team:

That's a difference of nearly a full goal per game allowed, and they're in vastly different tiers when it comes to save percentage. I'd expect that gap to close somewhat this season, mainly because of the team Georgiev plays for. That being said, I would not draft Georgiev nearly as high as Darcy Kuemper was picked last season (within the top 50 players in many leagues).

You may remember Marc-Andre Fleury's rough start in Chicago last season, where he allowed at least four goals in each of his first four games (2 RBS). After he was traded to the Wild, he posted a 9-2-0 record. However, three of those appearances were really bad starts compared to five quality starts (one of the really bad starts turned out to be a win). Fleury's value obviously improves with the move to Minnesota, but be careful not to overrate him.

Finally, here's the lowest percentage of really bad starts.

Sometimes a goalie does everything possible to prevent a team from losing, and it still isn't enough. Scott Wedgewood had the misfortune of spending much of the season with the Devils and Coyotes, where as expected he was tagged with more losses than wins (10-14-3). Yet he posted just ONE really bad start in 37 games, although it was a doozie (seven goals allowed on 27 shots as a Coyote). Wedgewood is expected to backup Jake Oettinger in Dallas this season, but perhaps he deserves a bit more credit in terms of factoring into the Stars goaltending equation. Wedgewood's 43.2 QS% is more in line with a backup goalie, so your expectation for a Wedgewood start should be average results that won't kill your week.

There's Pavel Francouz again. Antti Raanta is in there too with just one really bad start in 28 games. Obviously, there's the lingering worry that he's going to leave a game with an injury. Yet when Frederik Andersen was injured himself, I didn't lose sleep starting his handcuff Raanta. In fact, this goaltending tandem helped me win a league championship. Raanta could also be considered a solid streaming start if he's available in your league.

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