The goalie carousel occurred during free agency yet again, so let’s see how their values have shifted by looking at our top 25 fantasy hockey goalie rankings.
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2020-21 Goalie Rankings: At the Top
Andrei Vasilevskiy remains the best just as he did prior to the start of the 2019-20 season. The Lightning will have salary cap casualties, but the team will remain a contender with Vasilevskiy guarding the net. He was phenomenal in the return to play, not missing a single minute of playoff action. He is the unanimous number one choice in nearly every format.
Robin Lehner sees a notable jump, after becoming the starter in Vegas. He won over the job from Marc-Andre Fleury, and while Lehner may not play as much as some goaltenders with less accomplished backups, Lehner has proven to be an excellent choice when relied upon. He only appeared in three regular season games for the Golden Knights, but in the playoffs he showcased a convincing performance with his 1.99 GAA and .917 save percentage in 16 games.
Free Agency Impact
Jacob Markstrom is the first goalie to change teams we find on our list. He’s been with the Canucks since being acquired in the 2013-14 season. It took many years, but he has finally developed into the high end goaltender that expected when he was drafted back in 2008. He now joins the division rival Calgary Flames, where he is expected to take the team to the next level. There are some concerns when a goalie relocates, but the Flames signed a handful of former Canucks in free agency. Adding Chris Tanev in particular should add familiarity and make for a smooth transition.
Meanwhile in Vancouver, Braden Holtby was brought in. Holtby has shown he is capable of being one of the best in the game, but has struggled since winning the Stanley Cup. The change of scenery should do him some good, and he’s a great mentor for Thatcher Demko. Demko is seen as the future, and had a very impressive showing in the playoffs, but adding Holtby prevents him from taking on too much of a workload. Don’t be surprised if the Canucks play their goaltenders fairly evenly. We’re banking on Holtby getting the edge in ice time, and therefore having more fantasy value.
Tandems
The Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders are the two clubs that boast both members of their tandem on this list. In Columbus, they have Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins, proving they are just fine without Sergei Bobrovsky. For the Islanders, it will be Semyon Varlamov and rookie Ilya Sorokin. It may be high expectations for Sorokin having never played an NHL game, but thankfully for his sake he has one of the best defensive systems in front of him. New York and Columbus both play a strong structured defensive game, making life easier on the goaltenders, and likewise easier on whoever selects them in a fantasy draft.
Taking the Reins
Another rookie cracking our ranking is Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers. Not only did he make the list, he placed as high as eighth. Very high expectations of someone with 12 regular season games of NHL experience. It’s no easy task to fill the void left by Henrik Lundqvist, but with a .932 save percentage, Shesterkin sure looks like the real deal.
There are a number of goaltenders have very little experience with being a starting goalie. Aside from those already mentioned, Ilya Samsonov and Tristan Jarry become clear cut starters for the first time. Meanwhile Carter Hart, Juuse Saros, and Mackenzie Blackwood don’t have much experience in that role either, yet all find themselves in our top goalie rankings. The next wave of elite goaltending talent is here.
2020 Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
Rankings are based on the following categories: Wins, Goals Against Average, Save Percentage, Shutouts.
Collaborated by Brandon Altomonte, Victor Nuño, Mike Omelan, and Jesse Severe.
| Rnk | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrei Vasilevskiy | TBL |
| 2 | Robin Lehner | VGK |
| 3 | Carter Hart | PHI |
| 4 | Connor Hellebuyck | WPG |
| 5 | Tuukka Rask | BOS |
| 6 | Jordan Binnington | STL |
| 7 | Jacob Markstrom | CGY |
| 8 | Igor Shesterkin | NYR |
| 9 | Frederik Andersen | TOR |
| 10 | Carey Price | MTL |
| 11 | Ilya Samsonov | WSH |
| 12 | Darcy Kuemper | ARZ |
| 13 | Elvis Merzlikins | CBJ |
| 14 | Philipp Grubauer | COL |
| 15 | Anton Khudobin | DAL |
| 16 | Tristan Jarry | PIT |
| 17 | Juuse Saros | NSH |
| 18 | Semyon Varlamov | NYI |
| 19 | Sergei Bobrovsky | FLA |
| 20 | Ilya Sorokin | NYI |
| 21 | John Gibson | ANA |
| 22 | Joonas Korpisalo | CBJ |
| 23 | MacKenzie Blackwood | NJD |
| 24 | Braden Holtby | VAN |
| 25 | Petr Mrazek | CAR |
Notable Injuries: Ben Bishop (DAL).
Our goalie rankings are just the tip of the iceberg! We’ll be pumping out lots more great Fantasy Hockey content in the coming weeks!
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