Kaapo Kahkonen

Kahkonen saw action in a season-high 37 games with the Sharks last year, but he was unable to be a positive between the pipes. His 3.85 GAA and .883 save percentage were both by far the worst marks of his four-year career, though it's fair to blame most of that on the rebuilding team around him. The Finn will have a clearer path to starts in 2023-24 with James Reimer moving on to Detroit, but Mackenzie Blackwood also figures to challenge for playing time as he looks to rebound as well. The Sharks' rebuild still hasn't seemingly bottomed out yet, so Kahkonen will be an unreliable goalie at best in fantasy this year.

Kahkonen split last season between Minnesota and San Jose, playing in a career-high 36 games. His 14-4-4 record and 2.87 GAA were nothing to write home about, although Kahkonen's .912 save percentage was pretty solid. The Sharks inked the Finn to a new two-year, $5.5 million contract in July. Kahkonen should get plenty of playing time in San Jose in 2022-23, but fellow stablemate James Reimer is still going to see his fair share of work, creating a likely platoon situation on a poor team, effectively eliminating both goalies from the fantasy discussion.

Kahkonen acquitted himself fairly well in his first full NHL season in 2020-21, posting a 16-8-0 record to go along with a 2.89 GAA and a .902 save percentage while serving as Cam Talbot's backup. The Finn was the AHL Goaltender of the Year in 2019-20, so the fact he proved he can play at the highest level shouldn't come as a complete surprise. Kahkonen is just 25 years of age so there is theoretical long-term upside here, but Talbot is signed for two more years at a reasonable cap hit of $3.6 million and that leaves Kahkonen in a clear backup role as we head into the 2021-22 campaign.

Kahkonen was originally expected to enter the season as Minnesota's third goaltender behind Cam Talbot and Alex Stalock, but Stalock was deemed out indefinitely in mid-December with an upper-body injury, which opened the door for Kahkonen to at least begin the 2020-21 campaign as Talbot's backup. The 24-year-old Finn spent most of the 2019-20 season in the minors, compiling a 25-6-5 record while posting an impressive 2.07 GAA and .927 save percentage in 34 appearances, but he also made five starts for the big club, going 3-1-1 while registering a respectable .913 save percentage. If Stalock ends up being ruled out long term, Kahkonen will be worth a look in the later rounds of fantasy drafts as a young netminder with legitimate upside.