Some news items trickled in on Thursday:

Jakub Vrana has agreed to a professional tryout with the Washington Capitals, his former team. The chances of a player making a team after a PTO are usually quite low, but the Capitals and coach Spencer Carbery at least have some familiarity with Vrana. If Vrana has put his personal issues behind him (was on the Player Assistance Program) and has an outstanding camp, then perhaps he prevents a prospect like Ivan Miroshnichenko or Hendrix Lapierre from making the team.

According to Frank Seravalli, Milan Lucic has been training in an attempt to continue his NHL career. Lucic would need to be cleared by Gary Bettman to continue his career, as he was arrested in November for assault and battery. Lucic played just four games for the Bruins in 2023-24. I'd have to guess that his NHL days are over, but you never know.  

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The Top 100 Roto Rankings have been updated for August! Use them for your very early draft or for your planning. View the rankings here.

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In Sunday's Ramblings, I listed five skaters who will be bubble keepers on one of my teams. You can read about them here. Today it's all about the goalies. Since I went with quantity over quality for my goalies, there's plenty for me to choose from. Yes, it was Zero G. Full-on Zero G.

Joey Daccord

Daccord was my top goalie on a team in which I went full Zero G… and won the league! I wrote about how it all went down in a Ramblings from May, while Ryan Brudner analyzed this team in the Geek of the Week (go to Case Study #4). In short, Daccord upgraded Seattle's goaltending while filling in for the injured Philipp Grubauer for a considerable portion of 2023-24.

The big question for Daccord is whether he can carry his success into 2023-24. If so, then there's a very good chance he starts more games than Grubauer, who has not lived up to his six-year contract with a cap hit of nearly $6 million per season. Ryan, AKA Fantasy Cheddar, believes in him. Dobber even has him as the slight favorite to be the starter over Grubauer.

Daccord is a nice #zeroG candidate this year. He showed some consistency when plunged into the starting role with the Kraken last season. He may not be flashy picking up Star Weeks (SW), but I'm projecting a consistent season with 19 Quality Weeks (QW) of his 25. #FantasyHockey pic.twitter.com/LbXKEXtxrX

— TopCheddarFantasy (@fantasycheddar) August 6, 2024

This season, it will probably be minimal G instead of Zero G on this team. I'm willing to invest in Daccord for one year, even if the cost is a bit high, which it will be. He's on the final year of his contract, so his situation after this season is up in the air. A good season could make Daccord the starter in Seattle or elsewhere, while the Kraken consider buying out Grubauer. A poor season could make Daccord a backup somewhere next season.

Anthony Stolarz

In contrast to Daccord, who was a waiver-wire add that became my top goalie, Stolarz was a late-season pickup specifically added for the fantasy playoffs. The plan worked, which you can read more about by clicking on the Ramblings link above for Daccord. With Stolarz signing in Toronto this offseason, I now have a goalie that I can keep beyond rental purposes if I wish.

This is a season where we could find out who Stolarz really is. Now 30 years of age, Stolarz has been a career backup heading to a situation where the incumbent (Joseph Woll) isn't on as solid footing as Stolarz's previous goaltending partners (Sergei Bobrovsky, John Gibson, to name the two most recent). As a result, Stolarz has never appeared in more than 28 games in a season. Even though he played behind a strong defense in Florida, Stolarz is deserving of this opportunity. Among goalies with at least as many games played, no goalie had a lower goals-against average (2.03) or save percentage (.925).

Toronto should accrue its share of wins and should be a playoff team again. Woll hasn't proven that he can withstand the rigors of a full season, having made it through just 25 games in 2023-24. In fact, go further back into his AHL career and he hasn't played more than 32 games in a season. Whether Stolarz can handle that workload is another question, but he's in a better position than he has been. At slightly less than the cost of Daccord, Stolarz is also worth betting on for at least a season.  

Nico Daws

Daws has already played in 46 NHL games between 2021-22 and 2023-24, yet he is projected to be the third-string goalie for the Devils because of the acquisitions of Jake Allen at the trade deadline and Jacob Markstrom this offseason. That means he will likely start the season at the AHL, but likely the first callup in the event of an injury.

Daws is a solid goalie to hold onto anyway. He's still only 23 years old, which is still rather young for a goalie entering the NHL. In addition, Allen has just one year left on his contract, while Markstrom has two years left. A strong season in the AHL could result in a full-time NHL roster spot as early as next season.

Daws is also ranked in the Goalie Rankings similarly to Mads Sogaard, who is another prospect goalie on my roster but one that I've already committed to keeping for another season. Like many keeper leagues with deep benches, managers in this league like to get ahead of goalies before they reach the NHL, which is why it makes sense to hold onto both Daws and Sogaard.

Jonathan Quick

Now 38 years old, Quick might be on the final season of what could be a Hall of Fame career. Playing behind the workhorse Igor Shesterkin, Quick likely won't reach 30 games unless Shesterkin is injured or struggles mightily. I wouldn't expect him to play as many games as someone like Stolarz, who would be priced similarly in this particular league. As a result, it's doubtful that I keep him.

However, Quick could become a potential streamer in this league if he passes through free agency. I could see the Shesterkin owner targeting him as a handcuff, though. Quick's overall numbers shouldn't hurt teams, and he should be a strong bet for a win each time he starts, since he plays for the Rangers.

Anton Forsberg

Linus Ullmark should solidify the Senators' goaltending situation, which has been a sore spot since Craig Anderson left after the 2019-20 season. If Ullmark is good for at least 50 games, then Forsberg won't need to play more than 30 games. Forsberg's save percentage has slid over each of the past two seasons, as he was counted on more than expected after Joonas Korpisalo couldn't get the job done.

In a similar price range to Stolarz and Quick, Forsberg simply isn't worth keeping. If Ottawa improves, he could be a spot starter to target similar to what Quick is. The Senators will need to prove they are a better team in order for that to happen, though.

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It's very early and perhaps we should take these numbers with a grain of salt, but I was curious to find out the percentage of leagues that each of these goalies is rostered in Yahoo. I wasn't surprised that Daccord was the most rostered of this group at 51% and Daws was the least rostered at 7%. Yet I was surprised that Quick (34%) was rostered in slightly more leagues than Stolarz (32%) with Forsberg not far behind (28%). My clear preference late in your draft of those three is Stolarz, as his goaltending partner has less of a firm grasp on the top spot than the other two.

Just remember that goaltending is a very inexact science. Aside from my inexpensive prospects in Daws and Sogaard, I'm adopting a season-by-season approach to the position. As well, I plan to leave enough space on my team to hopefully add the next Daccord off waivers during the season.

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