It's time again for the longest running annual poll of this column, and, just maybe, the most important. That's because it centers around goalies, who, on a per player basis, are nearly always the most impactful to one's fantasy team. That's why it's crucial to guess correctly as to which goalies, among several challengers, will emerge as true starters for their teams.

The basis for the poll are the confidence percentages, listed in the invaluable DobberHockey Fantasy Guide (which is still available for order here) that a goalie will be the true starter for each team. In some cases, there are locks, with percentages at or near 100%. But as you'll see below, there are several where there is no clear-cut #1 guy, meaning there is at most an 80% confidence percentage that a goalie on the team will be the true starter.

Where the poll comes in is I'm going to list all 11 "80% or less" teams and those who figure to make up their goaltending picture, and you vote for any and all teams which will indeed have one goalie – any goalie – play 50+ games for them this season. By any, I mean one of those I've listed, or someone not listed. All a team needs to earn your vote is your belief that someone will play at least 50 games for the team in 2024-25. I said play, not start, meaning they don't have to start 50+ games to earn your vote. In case you believe no goalie on any of the 11 teams will play 50+ games, there's a "None of the above" voting option.

For those who are curious, looking back at the 11 teams who were options in last season's poll, five (Buffalo, Chicago, Edmonton, LA and Ottawa), or nearly half, did ultimately have one goalie play 50+ games. They finished second (Ottawa), fourth (Edmonton), tied for sixth (Buffalo), and tied for eighth (Chicago and LA) in last year's poll., so your predictions were……..okay.

Here are the teams – once again a total of 11 – listed in alphabetical order plus the presumed two or more goalies who will likely be battling for starts. A link to cast your votes for will appear at the end of the column. Am I going to list Dobber's confidence percentage for each team? Nope – you need to buy the Fantasy Guide to find that out!

Anaheim Ducks (John Gibson, Lukas Dostal)

For years, Gibson kept starting because of a big contract plus the team wasn't competitive so it really didn't hurt them to keep trotting him out. But with several young players having entered the NHL in the past few seasons, and even more set to do so, Anaheim might be eager to try to right its ship, and, in so doing, could turn to Dostal. Gibson seemingly is too expensive to sit, but also to trade, so it could indeed be a time-share when all is said and done for 2024-25.

Calgary Flames (Dustin Wolf, Dan Vladar)

With Jacob Markstrom gone, it's a wide-open race for who wins the starting gig. Wolf has done superbly in the AHL, but Vladar is older and more NHL tested. Do the Flames ease Wolf into the NHL, to help ensure he doesn't get thrown to the wolves and lose his confidence? Or do they see him as their Jake Oettinger and hand him the keys to the kingdom at a still young age?

Carolina Hurricanes (Frederick Andersen, Pyotr Kochetkov, Spencer Martin)

If last season is any indication, the Canes might take a page from Boston's playbook and have Andersen and Kochetkov alternate starts, to further ready Kochetkov for grabbing the starter's reins next season, as Andersen is a UFA this coming summer. But maybe Kochetkov's time will be now, especially with Andersen's age and past injury/health issues?

Columbus Blue Jackets (Elvis Merzlikins, Daniil Tarasov, Jet Greaves)

The situation in Columbus was akin to that of Anaheim, where the team continued to turn to an underperforming goalie, in Merzlikins, due to not being competitive anyway, plus his contract. It might just be more of the same this season, with Merzlikins still seemingly making too much to bench and the team not having a whole lot to lose by sticking with him. Still one of Tarasov, who's playing for a new contract. or even Greaves could step up. 

Detroit Red Wings (Cam Talbot, Alex Lyon, Ville Husso, Jack Campbell)

It seems like the Red Wings are covering their bases when it comes to netminders, likely hoping one of them will take the ball and run with it. Talbot looks to have the inside edge, but he's not getting any younger and faltered after a strong start in LA. Then again, the other contenders are not guys who've come close to shining recently. It could well be the hot – or least cool – hand in net, with no one emerging as a true starter.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic)

Go figure – Jarry signs a sizeable deal that kicked in last season, and proceeds to have his worst campaign since becoming a #1. Ned doesn't seem to be the answer, but didn't look out of place when the team turned to him while Jarry was out or struggling. Most likely Jarry will get every chance to stay in the driver's seat given his pedigree and making twice what Ned makes. 

San Jose Sharks (MacKenzie Blackwood, Vitek Vanecek, Yaroslav Askarov)

Talk about an open playing field. Askarov is arguably already a superior of a goalie to the other two; but does San Jose want to put him into a starting role while the team that's in front of him is not poised for success, especially given what happened to Gihson? If it boils down to the others, it seems unlikely for one of them to shine enough to force the other out of the picture.

Seattle Kraken (Philipp Grubauer, Joey Daccord)

I'm sure the Kraken did not envision how well Daccord would play when pressed into duty, nor how bad Grubauer has been thus far despite being on the books for nearly $6M per season for three more years. Unlike Anaheim and Columbus, the Kraken could be competitive, leaving them perhaps more likely to ride Daccord if he continues to outplay the expensive veteran.

Utah Hockey Club (Karel Vejmelka, Connor Ingram)

With neither netminder having a huge deal, it likely will be a case of who outplays the other, if one indeed does. Or Utah, if competitive, could try to trade for a goalie to allow them to be on a par with other playoff-caliber teams.

Vegas Golden Knights (Adin Hill, Ilya Samsonov, Akira Schmid)

With Hill on the books this season for nearly $5M, the job should be his. But he looked nothing like the playoff stud he was in 2023, and that was when he played. Samsonov has been a huge disappointment since coming to North America when he was lumped in with the likes of Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin. The other wrinkle is each is playing for a UFA deal.

Washington Capitals (Charlie Lindgren, Logan Thompson)

Last season Lindgren was solid if unspectacular. The Caps then bringing in Thompson signifies they are not settled upon him as a long term solution. On paper this seems poised to be a true time-share; but between injuries and hot streaks, anything can happen.

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Those are the 11 teams with the cloudiest goalie pictures going into 2024-25. As noted, nearly half of last year's 11 teams did see a goalie emerge to start 50+ games, so chances are several will again. Can you pick the right teams? Here is a link to cast your votes, where you should vote for any and all teams you believe will have a goalie – any goalie, even one not listed – start 50+ games in 2024-25. Or if you're certain all will turn out to be timeshares, then choose the "None of the above" voting option.

Questions for Mailbag Column

The next mailbag won't run until after the season has started so please do not send any keeper questions. But do send other questions, such as draft audits or player assessments, or anything at all……..other than keepers. To get your questions to me, either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or, instead, send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.