This article is part of our The Goalie Report series.
Let's take a look at goalies who were not among the busiest players that we profiled last week, but who appear to be clear leaders on their team's depth charts to start this season.
These netminders will add plenty of value in your fantasy leagues because we expect them to play a high percentage of their team's games. The large number of goalie starts matters because wins and shutouts are key statistical categories in most season-long fantasy leagues. I would lean strongly in this direction over other goalies who are in situations where their share of starting assignments is projected to be no more than half of their team's games. If you need goalie help, the following names are likely to be your best waiver options at the moment.
In Anaheim, Lukas Dostal almost matched veteran John Gibson in appearances last season (44 to 46), but with Gibson injured to start this season, Dostal is being given a big opportunity to take control of the crease on a regular basis. He's appeared in six of the Ducks first eight games and has looked very sharp, posting a 2.17 GAA along with a stellar .936 Sv%.
The Buffalo Sabres gave Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen the top role last season and it looks like he's got the same assignment this year. Sabres management has clearly put a lot of faith in him, handing him a contract that has an annual $4.75 million cap hit through the 2027-28 regular season. He's appeared in seven of
Let's take a look at goalies who were not among the busiest players that we profiled last week, but who appear to be clear leaders on their team's depth charts to start this season.
These netminders will add plenty of value in your fantasy leagues because we expect them to play a high percentage of their team's games. The large number of goalie starts matters because wins and shutouts are key statistical categories in most season-long fantasy leagues. I would lean strongly in this direction over other goalies who are in situations where their share of starting assignments is projected to be no more than half of their team's games. If you need goalie help, the following names are likely to be your best waiver options at the moment.
In Anaheim, Lukas Dostal almost matched veteran John Gibson in appearances last season (44 to 46), but with Gibson injured to start this season, Dostal is being given a big opportunity to take control of the crease on a regular basis. He's appeared in six of the Ducks first eight games and has looked very sharp, posting a 2.17 GAA along with a stellar .936 Sv%.
The Buffalo Sabres gave Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen the top role last season and it looks like he's got the same assignment this year. Sabres management has clearly put a lot of faith in him, handing him a contract that has an annual $4.75 million cap hit through the 2027-28 regular season. He's appeared in seven of Buffalo's first 10 games, but his numbers aren't great (3.31 GA, .890 Sv%) thus far. He'll be given every opportunity to right himself over the coming weeks.
As Frederik Andersen already has an injury designation again this season, Carolina will be looking at Pyotr Kochetkov to take on the lion's share of starts for a very strong Carolina club. He's proven capable of handling a heavy workload in the past, as he was used in 42 games last year. He's a solid option in fantasy play because of the high win probability that comes with playing goal for the Hurricanes.
While the Blackhawks aren't expected to be a top echelon club this season, Petr Mrazek is locked in as their go-to option again, as he's logged eight of their 10 starting assignments to begin this season. His numbers are respectable so far (3.04 GAA, .896 Sv%) and he'll be expected to play in at least the same number of games (56) that he played last season with Chicago.
In Minnesota, the Wild are counting on Filip Gustavsson continuing to grow into a top goalkeeper and want him to build upon his 84 games played over the last two seasons. He's off to a great start with a 2.17 GAA and .922 Sv% while playing in six of their first eight games. He should also benefit from the mentoring he will continue to receive from his backup, Marc-Andre Fleury, the future Hall of Famer who's already announced that this will be his final season.
The Canadiens rebuild continues to be a work in progress, but it appears that they've identified the goalie who will lead them in guarding their net. Sam Montembeault has been a significant part of their netminding depth chart for three years and he's accounted for six of the Habs first nine starts so far this season. His 2.94 GAA and .914 Sv% are respectable figures to this point.
Jacob Markstrom was signed as a free agent by New Jersey this past summer. In the past seven years, he's often been among the league's workhorses in goal, averaging over 53 games played. He seems to have landed in a great situation as the Devils are expected to be among the top teams in the league this season. He should be poised to benefit from a high win probability on most nights, playing behind this deep roster.
In Tampa, Andrei Vasilevskiy has long been considered among the short list of the best goalies in hockey and is the most decorated netminder over the 11 years he's played in the NHL. He's averaged over 54 game starts per year in the last eight seasons, with a 2.50 GAA in that period and has also been among the win leaders each year, too. The Lightning are showing signs that they're going to remain competitive again this season and that's reflected in his early season stats (2.53 GAA, .905 Sv%) through 8 starts.
Connor Ingram has seen a rapid ascent in his usage over his first three seasons in the NHL, going from three to 27 and then 50 games played last year. He's been busy out of the gate again this season with eight starts out of Utah's 10 games played. His numbers are not as good as the other goalies listed here (3.87 GAA, .868 Sv%), but he already has four wins under his belt.
Similar to Ingram, Adin Hill has the inside lane on the starting role with Vegas, having appeared in six of the first 10 Golden Knights games, but his early returns have been less than stellar to date (3.20 GAA and .878 Sv%). The encouraging note here is that the Vegas club is expected to be a top performer over the regular season, and Ingram's numbers should improve significantly over the rest of the season.
So, to summarize, if you need goalie help, look at the relative usage of available options, factor in the quality of their teams and their likely win probability. These factors will direct you to your best picks to bolster your goalie depth.
Next week, we'll take a look at the goalie tandems that will likely feature a pretty even spilt in assignments over the regular season.
