Fantasy Hockey Poll: Possible Goalie Timeshares

Rick Roos

2022-08-31

It's time again for a poll I run every year immediately after the release of the DobberHockey Fantasy Guide. At risk of stating the obvious, the Guide remains the single most indispensible fantasy hockey resource there is, and it can be ordered here.

One of the countless pieces of information in the Fantasy Guide is Dobber's viewpoint on the likelihood – expressed as a percentage – that an individual will end up being the true starting netminder on each squad. For a number of teams, the percentage is 100% or nearly that high; but for others, it's 75% or lower. That's where our poll comes into play.

Listed below are the ten teams where no goalie is denoted in the Guide as having above a 75% chance of being the starter for that team, plus an 11th team in Chicago, where Petr Mrazek likely will be the unquestioned starter if healthy, but that is a big enough if so as to make them also part of this poll. Your job is to vote for however many of the 11 teams you think will indeed have a goalie emerge as the true starter and backstop at least 60% of his team's regular season games, meaning that any goalie on that team will start 50+ contests in 2022-23. For those who are curious, only 16 teams, or exactly half of the NHL squads, saw one of its goalies start 50+ games in 2021-22. Whether that means all 11 of these teams will have timeshares remains to be seen, and will be assessed by your votes.

To clarify – you're voting for a team, not for a particular goalie. What that means is so as long as one of the goalies I listed for the 11 teams, or even a goalie who isn't named, starts 50+ games for one of these 11 teams, that team should get your vote. For each of the listed squads, if you instead believe no single goalie will end up starting 50+ contests, then don't vote for that team. Accordingly, you can vote for as many or as few teams as you want, or even opt for the "None of the above" 12th choice if you believe none of the 11 will have a goalie log 50+ starts in the 2022-23 regular season.

With that all out of the way, here are the teams, listed in alphabetical order plus the presumed two or more goalies – also listed alphabetically – who will be battling for starts. A link to cast your votes will appear at the end of the column. Oh, and I won't actually list the percentages for these 11 teams, or, other than Mrazek, indicate who's the favorite to be the starter for the majority of his team's games – you will need to buy the Guide to get that precious insight!

Boston Bruins (Jeremy Swayman/Linus Ullmark)

You want to talk about goalie splits? It couldn't get any more even than the Bruins in 2021-22, where both Swayman and Ullmark appeared in 41 games, starting 39. When it came time for the all-important playoffs, the Bs turned to Ullmark before switching mid-series to Swayman. With Ullmark carrying a $5M cap hit through 2024-25, that makes him tough to trade but also tough to justify sitting, although Swayman might force Boston's hand if he ends up outplaying the Swedish veteran.

Buffalo Sabres (Craig Anderson, Eric Comrie, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Malcom Subban)

None of these four netminders will earn even $2M, so it's truly anyone's job to claim. With the Sabres, on paper, set to be a much better team than in recent memory, they'll be more inclined to run with the guy who can give them the best chance to sneak into the playoffs. Who that could be is anyone's guess though, as is whether any one of the four will distinguish himself enough to even get the lion's share of starts.

Chicago Blackhawks(Petr Mrazek, Alex Stalock)

On paper, the starting gig is Mrazek's, but Mrazek has only once – seven seasons ago – started 50+ games. This is due in part to inconsistent play but mainly his Band Aid Boy status, which is why Chicago is listed here as a choice. Could Stalock seize the job? Will Chicago scour the waiver wire for someone they can plug in cheaply and then ride whomever that might be? All bets are off.

Colorado Avalanche (Pavel Francouz, Alexander Georgiev)

The brass seemingly wants Georgiev to be "the guy;" yet this is someone who's not only never played more than 34 games in a season but also yet to have better than a 50% Quality Start percentage, and has seen that rate drop in each of his past two seasons. Francouz has shown flashes of talent but hasn't been able to seize the starting job, whether due to ill-timed injuries or being unable to shut the door on his competitors. The opportunity exists for one of them to run with the starting job, although it's not easy to envision that actually occurring.

Detroit Red Wings (Ville Husso, Alex Nedeljokovic)

One would think that Husso would have the inside track, having been signed as a UFA. Yet the gap between their salaries is less than $2M and Husso has never been tasked with being the starter going into a season. Moreover, it was when he was not the presumed starter, back with the Canes, that Neds was at his best; so he might step up again now that he's not supposed to shine, plus due to the fact that he's a UFA to be and thus will want to earn his next paycheck. We might be looking at a timeshare situation brewing.

LA Kings (Cal Petersen, Jonathan Quick)

It seemed like 2021-22 was the season when Peterson was supposed to assume the starting gig. But Quick had his best campaign since 2018-19, while Petersen, who'd never previously sported a SV% under .900, saw his dip to .895 even as he posted his second best Quality Start %. One would think LA is eager to have Petersen assume the starting role, what with Quick being on the last year of his ten year contract; however, Quick might try to step up and keep his NHL career alive. This one also figures to be a dogfight.

Montreal Canadiens (Jake Allen, Sam Montembeault, Cayden Primeau)

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With Carey Price out of the picture, seemingly Allen should be "the guy." However, he's not been a picture of health, nor played so well as to be entrenched. The Habs are clearly rebuilding, so they might be more inclined to turn to the likes of young Primeau to see what he's got to offer.

New Jersey Devils (MacKenzie Blackwood, Vitek Vanecek)

With the Devils having gone out and acquired Vanecek, the presumption is they want him to be their starter. But Blackwood might have something to say about that, plus Vanacek could falter when handed the reins. Will one of the two rise far enough above the other so as to be the true starter? It's difficult to envision that occurring.

San Jose Sharks (Adin Hill, Kaapo Kahkonen, James Reimer)

In a perfect world the Sharks would like to see Kahkonen, whom they just re-signed to a two year deal, step up and be the true starter. Unfortunately, he had his worst quarter in Q4 last season, and Reimer seemed to find the fountain of youth. Fortunately for them both, Adin Hill has been traded to Vegas since the initial poll went live. It might still be that San Jose's goaltending for 2022-23 is indeed a timeshare between the remaining two.

Toronto Maple Leafs (Matt Murray, Ilya Samsonov)

Yes, Murray has seen his games played drop three seasons in a row; however, when he did manage to take the ice in 2021-22 he had a 60% Quality Start %. He likely also has added motivation to succeed after the Sens, who paid handsomely to sign him, basically pawned him off on the Leafs. As for Samsonov, a former first rounder, at one time he was thought to be on a par with both Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Samsonov; however, Samsonov's play thus far has lagged well behind those two, even going back to Samsonov's first season in North America at the AHL level. Although I'd be surprised to see one of these two emerge as a true starter, stranger things definitely have occurred.

Vegas Golden Knights (Laurent Brossoit, Michael Hutchinson, Logan Thompson)

Unlike the Habs, who were going to be rebuilding even if Carey Price had been healthy, Vegas had – and likely still has – designs on making the playoffs despite losing Robin Lehner for the season. Accordingly, they dealt for Adin Hill, who a year ago was supposed to be the starter in San Jose; however, it could still conceivably be any of Hill, Thompson (waivers exempt), or Brossoit (health permitting) who runs with the job. Or it might just be the hottest hand at the moment, with no one anointed a true starter.

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Now that you've read the cases for and/or against each team, it's time to cast your vote(s). You should vote for however many of the 11 teams you believe will ultimately have a goalie start 60% of (i.e., 50+) its games in 2022-23. Or, if you think that none of the listed teams will have a goalie make 50+ starts in 2022-23, then you should not vote for any of the 11 options, choosing instead option 12, which is "None of the above." To cast your votes, click here.

Questions for Mailbag Column

My mailbag column runs next week and the mailbag is full for that edition. But feel free to send me questions for next time. Just be sure not to send keeper questions though, as the next mailbag column won't go live until after the season has already begun. But any other type of question is welcomed. To get question(s) 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.

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