Goaltenders. Likely the hottest topic and hardest position to manage in the fantasy hockey game. Handling goalie rosters with precision, and getting lucky with injuries, likely leads to a team finishing near the top of the table each season – regardless of the format or how many GMs are in the league. Netminders have been a hot topic in fantasy circles over the past number of years, especially in terms of what round you start taking them. However, regardless of your goalie-drafting strategy, knowing which puckstoppers are at the top of their game is the perfect place to start building your list of targets. It's obviously still very early, but here is our current list of the top-10 goalies in fantasy hockey right now.

Honourable mentions: Linus Ullmark, Alexandar Georgiev, Jordan Binnington, Jacob Markstrom.

10. Ilya Sorokin

Much like the player below, Sorokin's inconsistent play at times last season really hurt his fantasy value. It should be noted the Islanders did lose a number of one-goal games that could have easily gone either way and led to a much different set of statistics for Sorokin, but the point remains: a 3.01 goals-against average and .908 save percentage is not going to be good enough for an Isles' team that hangs its hat on playing a defense-first brand of hockey. Sorokin compounded those concerns by looking shaky in his brief postseason outing to the tune of allowing three goals on 14 shots while giving way to perennial backup option Semyon Varlamov. New head coach Patrick Roy was clearly comfortable going to his former netminder from his Colorado Avalanche days and Sorokin's lack of confidence is a concern heading into the upcoming season. However, Sorokin is the real deal, New York should be an improved squad with Roy behind the bench for a full season, and with the Islanders being so heavily invested in Sorkin long-term to the tune of an eight-year $66-million deal, he still falls into the top 10 as a valuable goaltender with all of the tools to be elite.

9. Andrei Vasilevskiy

Prior to last season's major back surgery, late start, and subsequent poor play to begin the 2023-24 campaign that saw Vasilevskiy rock a mediocre 11-9-0 record and subpar .896 save percentage, the steadfast Russian netminder would have been a hands-down top-three selection. Pegging where Vasy will fall this season is tough considering the new-look Lightning that, most notably, lost their captain in Steven Stamkos and arguably most important defenseman in Mikhail Sergachev. Vasilevskiy has earned the right to be called a top-10 fantasy goaltending option and even though Tampa did lose the aforementioned pair in Sergachev and Stammer, they were able to reel in the biggest name on the open market in Jake Guentzel who joins forces with the likes of other elite fantasy options in Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Victor Hedman.

8. Jeremy Swayman

Swayman's time as the number one in Boston is now. A strong regular-season showing and stellar postseason performance cemented the 25-year-old Alaskan product as the goalie of the present and future for the Bruins, allowing Boston to ship out former Vezina winner Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators. Swayman's still awaiting his new contract as a current restricted free agent, but with both sides recently forgoing salary arbitration, it's seemingly only a matter of days before he's locked down with a long-term deal. With the free-agent additions of Elias Lindholm up the middle and Nikita Zadorov on the backend, the Bruins are likely a force to be reckoned with in the Atlantic Division once again, meaning Swayman is in line to catch wins at a high rate and run out solid numbers once again.

7. Stuart Skinner

Based on wins alone, Skinner would likely be much higher on this list, but given his relatively small sample size of regular-season NHL action and tendency to let in a few muffins every few periods, we're still slightly wary of overrating a 25-year-old third-round draft pick. With that said, Skinner is playing behind one of the best teams in the league that will almost assuredly be near the top of the NHL once again next season. Skinner was resilient in his 23 games of postseason action as the Oilers fell just short of the ultimate prize, posting a .901 save percentage and 2.45 goals-against average – a performance that, if anything, proved the Edmonton native can compete at the NHL level as a legit number one option.

6. Thatcher Demko

Aside from the injuries that derailed the end to Demko's year and put a wrench in his ability to perform in the playoffs, the former 36th-overall draft pick was sensational in 51 games of regular-season hockey for the Canucks last campaign. The six-foot-four San Diego, California, product propelled the Canucks to top spot in the Pacific Division on the back of a 35-14-2 record, 2.45 GAA, .918 SV.%, and five shutouts that also led to Demko finishing second in Vezina voting. Due to those numbers, Demko could easily be higher on this list, however, given all the changes in Vancouver and how his season ended with injury concerns, we're somewhat wary of how he starts next season. Regardless, he's an elite goalie with top-five potential any day of the week who will be one of the first handful of puckstoppers off the board.

5. Jake Oettinger

Considering the fact Oettinger was, on average, the second goalie taken in last year's fantasy hockey drafts, his somewhat slow start to the season was likely a touchy subject for many GMs invested heavily into one of the most promising young netminders in the NHL today. Oettinger wasn't terrible over his first 20 starts, but an 11-7-2 record and .904 SV.% wasn't exactly instilling a ton of confidence in those who took him so high. Oettinger rounded out the season by only losing seven games the rest of the way and carrying his Stars team deep into the playoffs before eventually bowing out to the Oilers in six. We're of the mindset that Oettinger is the goalie he showed he can be in the second half of the year and the playoffs instead of the start of the campaign, and given how good Dallas should be once again, he feels like an excellent and relatively safe choice as the fifth goaltender off the board.

4. Sergei Bobrovsky

What is there to say about Bob that hasn't been covered at length over the past three months. The Russian veteran is an unflappable presence in Florida's cage who is destined for the Hall of Fame whenever he decides to hang them up. Back-to-back years propelling his Panthers team to the Cup Final while standing on his head with regularity cements Bobrovsky as a top-five option – even with his age of 36 that he will be once the puck drops on the 2024-25 NHL campaign. The mileage and rubber faced will catch up with Bob sooner-than-later, but for now, he's an elite option on the best team in the league.

3. Juuse Saros

First and foremost, any fantasy hockey GM able to nab either one of the top-three options here is sitting pretty in terms of a number one goalie target. As for Saros, the first intriguing angle to discuss, in terms of assessing his fantasy value for next season, is how good the team in front of him now is following Barry Trotz swinging for the fences in the offseason to add Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and the criminally underrated Brady Skjei to an already pesky team. The Preds should be a much more dangerous, balanced team to play against, allowing for boosted numbers and, likely, more wins for a netminder in Saros who's finished sixth-or-better in Vezina voting four years running. Saros is in line for a massive season, he might even end up being the second goalie off most draft boards come the fall.

2. Igor Shesterkin

The fourth and highest-ranked Russian on our list, Shesterkin falls in at number two as one of the best all-around goalies in the NHL today. He turned around his poor first-half play by posting a 21-10-2 record down the stretch while carrying the New York Rangers all the way to the top spot in the league and 2023-24 Presidents' Trophy. Shesterkin's career numbers and accolades in his short five-year stint in the NHL speak for themselves but so does the quality of the team in front of him, as the Rangers are one of the tougher groups to play against in the Eastern Conference allowing the tenth-least shots-against per game last year at 29.5. Shesterkin and the Rangers will be heard from once again next season. Book it.

1. Connor Hellebuyck

Despite a seriously disappointing playoff performance against the Colorado Avalanche back in April that saw Hellebuyck rock a .864 SV.% while allowing 24 goals in five games, the Jets' goaltender still comes in tops on our fantasy hockey goalie list as one of the most complete netminders the fantasy game has seen in a number of years. Putting aside the postseason stats for a second, especially since his Winnipeg teammates left him out to dry while facing a crooked 177 shots in five games, Hellebuyck was nothing short of a fantasy dynamo during the regular season to the tune of a 37-19-4 record to go along with a 2.39 GAA, .921 SV.%, and five shutouts. On average, Hellebuyck was the sixth goalie off fantasy draft boards last season and that's a slip – if he's still around when goalies start to fly, grab him and thank us later. He literally does it all in terms of categorical coverage and even though there are some question marks surrounding Winnipeg heading into next season, they're still a playoff caliber team who should make some noise in the Central Division. That means Hellebuyck will once again stand in line to be one of the leaders in all major goalie categories.