Fantasy Hockey: Ranking Goalies by Tier

Peter Harling — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 16:35:35 +0000

For most, trying to predict fantasy goalies is a little like trying to predict where lightning is going to strike. If you are like me, you need all the help you can get. One thing you can do to help better prepare for your fantasy draft is to rank goalies by tiers. Depending on your leagues size, format, and scoring mechanism you can have all different kinds of values associated to players. With goalies, there are a few constants which apply to most leagues and situations that you need to take into consideration.

Skill level of the goalie
Situation: is he the sure-fire staring goalie looking at 50 – 60 starts
Strength of the team: Lousy teams usually equals lousy goalie stats

Below I will rank the top 50 goalies and categorize them into groups. Heading into your draft, you should have an idea of how much value you want to place on a goalie. How soon do you draft one, do you want an elite goalie, are you happy with two good goalies. You can put all your eggs in one basket and use a first round pick on a player like Carey Price. You may think that the league elite goalies fluctuates so much each year, and you would be correct, and therefore you wait until mid-draft and pick a goalie who may have a monster year. Once you have an idea of how your draft strategy, you need to look at ranking the goalies into a tier system. I suggest looking at some of the better fantasy hockey predictors such as the McKeens yearbook, and Dobber hockey and then create your own draft tier list like the one I created below.

Tier I: The Elite

These are the best of the best; they play on Stanley Cup contenders and are the undisputed starter, and are Vezina calibre.

1. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens – He won it all last year, Vezina, Hart, Lindsay, and Jennings.

2. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers – King Henrik is arguably the best goalie on the planet.

3. Jonathan Quick, LA Kings – No contest who is the starter with the two time Cup Champion.

4. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals – New addition to the top five after a breakout year.

5. Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Lightning – Big Ben needs to stay healthy, if so he is elite.

Tier II: The very good

Nothing wrong with this group, they are all capable of being elite but have some question.

6. Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators – Re-established himself after an injury lost season.

7. M.A. Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins – Always has strong regular season stats and the Pens have beefed up.

8. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins – Rask is solid, but what direction are the Bruins headed?

9. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks – Crawford struggled at times and temporarily lost the crease in playoffs to Scott Darling. A hiccup or a warning sign?

10. Jaroslav Halak, New York Islanders - Was unable to get job done in St. Louis but has looked good on the Island. The Islanders are a team on the rise, can he do for them what he couldn’t do in St. Louis?

Tier III: Good goalies in bad situations

11. Semyon Varlamov, Colorado Avalanche – The Avs had a huge regression but Varly remained solid.

12. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus – Injuries killed the season last year but Columbus are a team on the rise

13. Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers – Roberto is getting older, will the Panthers improve while he can still make a difference?

14. Corey Schneider, New Jersey Devils – Entering his prime but desperately needs some run support.

15. Steve Mason, Philadelphia Flyers – Flyers may have finally found their starting goalie

16. Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild – This time last year he was a fantasy after thought, then went on to play in over 40 straight games earning a Vezina nomination. Would the real Dubnyk please stand up?

Tier IV: Should be the starting goalie on a good team…should be!

17. Jonas Hiller, Calgary Flames – Rebound season, Flames projected to regress, contract year, a lot of questions with this player.

18. Frederik Andersen, Anaheim Ducks – With the addition of Khudobin and Gibson pushing, Andersen could lose some starts at the first sign of trouble.

19. Craig Anderson, Ottawa Senators – Has elite type stats, but can’t stay healthy. Had the crease burgled late in the season.

20. Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks – Jacob Markstrom will push Miller who struggled at times last year.

Tier V: Split starters on good teams

Tandem situations where the team will ride two goalies, ideal for handcuff situations

21. Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings – Lost the starting job in playoffs, but contract says he is the starter

22. Petr Mrazek, Detroit Red Wings – Is younger and arguably better than Howard.

23. Brian Elliott, St. Louis Blues – Like Howard, lost the starting job in the playoffs.

24. Jake Allen, St. Louis Blues – Is the gaolie of the future, which could begin immediately.

25. Kari Lehtonen, Dallas Stars – Brutal season, may flourish with less pressure.

26. Antti Niemi, Dallas Stars – Couldn’t cut it as a starter in San Jose, may work well in tandem.

Tier VI: The Unknown

Potentially great goalies, potentially getting their first crack as a number one.

27. Martin Jones, San Jose Sharks – Sharks could have a good season and Jones could see the lions share of the starts.

28. Robin Lehner, Buffalo Sabres – Tim Murray believes in Lehner, he drafted him in Ottawa, gave up a first to bring him to Buffalo, but has injury history.

29. Cam Talbot, Edmonton Oilers – Talbot was excellent spelling Henrik Lundqvist when he was injured behind a strong New York Rangers defence.

Tier VII: Split starters on bad teams

30. Jonathan Bernier, Toronto Maple Leafs – The Leafs badly want him to be the answer in goal.

31. James Reimer, Toronto Maple Leafs – Clean slate in Toronto with new management, it’s now or never for Optimus Reim.

32. Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg Jets – The Jets are not a bad team, but Pavelec has proven to be very inconsistent

33. Michael Hutchinson, Winnipeg Jets – Again, Jets are a good team, but Hutchinson struggled later in the season

34. Cam Ward, Carolina Hurricanes – Ward has been in steady decline, but is in a UFA contract year.

35. Eddie Lack, Carolina Hurricanes – Lack is a player on the rise. In a better situation he would rank higher. His time may come next year, or as soon as now.

Tier VIII: Boom or Bust

These players need a break to reach their full potential, but I’m saying there is a chance.

36. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks – If he were not injured last year, he could have been ranked in the top three tiers

37. Andrew Hammond, Ottawa Senators – Count on Anderson being injured, and when that happens, the Sens will look to Hammond. Was his miraculous run an aberration, or is he the next Tim Thomas?

38. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets – As mentioned above, the Jets are a good team and Pavelec and Hutchinson have underwhelmed. Hellebuyck impressed at the World Championship and could steal the show

39. Scott Darling, Chicago Blackhawks – Darling temporarily won the starting job away from Crawford last year and has a slight chance of doing so again and not letting go.

Tier IX: Rookies

These rookies have lots of potential and should be starters one day, maybe not this year…but maybe.

40. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning – A blood clot will keep him out for the first few months otherwise he could push the split with Bishop.

41. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins – The AHL’s best goalie will be the backup to Fleury this year, all it takes is an injury and Murray will be the starter.

42. Malcolm Subban, Boston Bruins – Was shelled and pulled in his first NHL game last year but is the future starter for the Bruins and could be the backup to Rask this year.

43. Anders Nilsson, Edmonton Oilers – Was dominant in the KHL last year and returns to the NHL after 23 games with the Islanders.

Tier X: The long shots

If you are drafting these guys, they better be your third goalie or you only score one and you have a Tier one goalie.

44. Karri Ramo, Calgary Flames

45. Michael Neuvirth, Philadelphia Flyers

46. Alex Stalock, San Jose Sharks

47. Jacob Markstrom, Vancouver Canucks

48. Ben Scrivens, Edmonton Oilers

49. Thomas Greiss, New York Islanders

50. Jhonas Enroth, LA Kings

Waiver Wire: Hot or Not

McKeen's Hockey — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 03:28:05 +0000

Last week the waiver wire focused on players who were ridding hot streaks, and if you were quick to react you probably had a good week from guys like Kris Versteeg and even Ales Hemsky got on the board. While Versteeg looks like he will continue to perform, Hemsky (As I cautioned) probably will not.

This week I will look at players who are the unheralded stars this season; Players who are not super stars, but are having tremendous seasons. These players may be riding hot streaks, but have been steady producers for the first half and can offer good value throughout the balance of the season. Hot or not, these players are worthy of a waiver wire addition.

Matt Beleskey, Anaheim Ducks – 59% Fantrax Owned

Anaheim has tried several different options on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, from Dany Heatley to Rene Bourque. But for the past few games the job has gone to Beleskey who now has 14 points in 27 games but with a whopping 12 goals (12^th overall in NHL) He has proven to be a capable scorer on any line, but if he can stick on the top line look out!

Antti Raanta, Chicago Blackhawks – 55% Fantrax Owned

With the timing of the Hawks heating up, and Corey Crawford going down with an injury, now is the time to add Raanta to your roster. Earlier there was some question if perhaps John Darling could steal the backup role, but Raanta has performed well posting a 4-2-2 record with a 1.77 GAA and a .947 save%

Zemgus Girgensons, Buffalo Sabres – 55% Fantrax Owned

If you are in a roto league, this guys is a beast! In 25 games he has a nice point total of eight goals and six assists. But where it gets really impressive is he is a plus -6 on the Sabres and has a short-handed goal and 57 hits, 24 blocked shots and 161 faceoff wins. Bottom line is he produces in almost every category, has an affordable cap hit, his Coach loves him and he is now the number one centre on his team.

Blake Comeau, Pittsburgh Penguins – 55% Fantrax Owned

Comeau has turned into somewhat of a journeyman in the last few years but there have always been signs of potential with him. Perhaps he has finally found his home in Pittsburgh as he has 15 points in 23 games this season including five points in his last four games with a hat trick against the Leafs back on Nov 26^th. With a few recent injuries in Pittsburgh, Comeau finds himself on the second line with Evgeni Malkin so the immediate future looks even brighter.

Jhonas Enroth, Buffalo Sabres – 53% Fantrax Owned

While his overall stats are not overwhelming at 3.21 GAA and a .914 save% the Sabres have been red hot lately and Enroth is a big reason why. He has established himself as the incumbent in goal with his recent performance winning six of his last seven starts. Hot streak or not, Enroth is Buffalos number one goalie.

Mike Santorelli, Toronto Maple Leafs – 27% Fantrax Owned

Santorelli is red hot right now riding a five game point streak in which he has a goal and eight assists over that span. His role with the Leafs continues to grow as he has the Coach’s confidence and he is seeing time with the like of Nazem Kadri and Joffrey Lupul on the second line. Santorelli may be producing at such a high rate at the moment that he will not be able to maintain, but his entire season has been productive as he has 18 points in 25 games now. Even after he cools off he should still have fantasy value in most leagues.

Jhonas Enroth – McKeen's Hockey

Fantasy Hockey: Ranking Goalies by Tier

Waiver Wire: Hot or Not