Happy Monday y'all! That gold medal game sure was a treat! I'm still not a fan of deciding a gold medal game three on three like that, but it ended up working out! Hehe. I will say, it is the end of the Olympics, they can't let the gold medal game carry into the closing ceremony if it had gone into multiple overtimes so I'm not sure what the solution is? Getting the round robin started earlier so the final game doesn't happen on the final day? Seems like it would be an easy fix, but what do you think? Let me know on Twitter @LAM1926.

This week we'll be covering the top five goalies that played in the Olympics and even before the game yesterday, I think we all know who number one is going to be. It's unfortunate that some of these guys never play because they are stuck behind someone else, but having a goalie like Jake Otteinger not be able to play a game because he is behind Connor Hellebuyck is a sad situation. So, without further ado, here are my top five.

5. Karel Vejmelka (Utah Mammoth)

Even though he did not get into any game action, I have the Czechia goalie at number five. He set a career high in wins before he left for the Olympic games with 27, which has him tied for the league lead in that category. He is also second in the league in saves and is on pace to set a career high in games played. From a fantasy perspective, we love the amount of rubber he sees per game and how many games he gets into. The Mammoth have the sixth best goal differential in the entire NHL so that is a good sign that Vejmelka receives goal support. That also leads to more wins and with Utah in a playoff hunt and a new owner willing to spend money, Karel's value can only go up for the rest of the 2025-26 season.

4. Filip Gustavsson/Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild)

I know there are two goalies here, but for fantasy purposes I like this crease. The Wild will be coming back from the break on a high, with three players on Team USA and their general manager being the GM for the Americans. After a tournament like this and already making one big splash this season (Quinn Hughes), I can see them trying to bolster their forward group for a deep run. And it has been rumored that Wallstedt is available so with a goalie like him out there, teams may give up an impact piece to acquire a future goalie (similar to the Spencer Knight trade last season).

3. Lukas Dostal (Anaheim Ducks)

The second Czechia goalie in this group and the starter for them throughout the tournament, Dostal is third on this list because the Ducks are in a playoff hunt as well and he is the future of their franchise. Another young goalie who is going to set career highs in multiple categories this year, he'll continue to see the crease as Anaheim keeps pushing toward a playoff berth.

2. Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars)

Next is another goalie who didn't see any action for his respective team as he was stuck behind two other stud netminders. Oettinger is having an off season in comparison to his career averages, but he is on pace for another 30-win campaign. He does still come up big for the Stars when they need it and he is only 27 years old so he is truly entering the prime of his career.

1. Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets)

If you only look at Hellebuyck's 2025-26 stats, you would think how is this guy at the top? But an early season injury really derailed the American goalie's season and the Jets were completely lost for the month that he was absent. So much that their season spun out of control and Winnipeg is at the bottom of the league standings. With other injuries to their squad, Hellebuyck does not have the same group in front of him, but that does not take away from what he has accomplished throughout his career. The Jets are a prideful team and after the Olympics he just had, Connor is still obviously at the top of his game. He should finish the year strong and the Jets organization as a whole will come back as a team fighting for the Central title in 2026-27.

I'm not sure I'll be able to watch NHL games after how fast and intense some of those Olympic games were. I'm sure I could fix this by watching some of our beer league highlights before turning on the TV, but either way, I'm happy the NHL and my fantasy teams are back in action! Have a great week everyone!