Goalies are very important in winning fantasy hockey every season and the top ones typically go fairly early. This forces many owners to make decisions on netminders who aren’t the easiest to predict for the season. These five sleepers should be hits going into 2024-25 and be taken later in the draft to shore up your goaltending.
Fantasy Hockey Sleeper Goalies
Arturs Silovs, Vancouver Canucks
The news around Vancouver is that starter Thatcher Demko could miss the start of the season and may or may not have had surgery this offseason. He has struggled with some injuries over the past couple of seasons, meaning backup Arturs Silovs could be in store for a big upgrade. It is likely the Canucks will add another goalie to the mix, but Silovs is considered the number two right now. He stepped up in a big way in the playoffs, plus the Canucks are a strong team. He will get wins, but his value really depends on his role heading into the season.
Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken
Joey Daccord has far and above had the best season by a Seattle Kraken goalie in their short history and has finally taken over as the number one. Philipp Grubauer is the other goalie, but he has struggled since first signing with the team. Daccord was the go-to man in net once he took the crease last season, even upon the return of Grubauer from injury. The Kraken should arguably be better this season with a couple of strong additions and Daccord put up 2.46 GAA, .916 SV%, and three shutouts to go along with 19 wins in 46 starts. It may be a little tough for him to replicate the GAA and SV%, but I don’t doubt he can come close or prove me wrong. More wins should be in store at the very least.
Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals
Charlie Lindgren had a very strong season for the surprising Washington Capitals. He took over as the starter and the team stayed alive because of his play in net. Darcy Kuemper is gone this season and Logan Thompson came over from the Vegas Golden Knights. Lindgren and Thompson will split time in net and the defense of the Capitals is significantly better than it was last season. Lindgren finished eighth in Vezina Trophy voting last season, winning 25 games, recording six shutouts, and finishing with a 2.67 GAA and .911 SV%. There is no reason to think his numbers can’t even climb a bit higher, even with a little less than 48 starts.
Related: 7 Sleeper Defensemen for 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey
Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes
He will be the highest-ranked sleeper on this list, but there is every reason to grab him this year in fantasy hockey. Frederik Andersen has proven that he cannot stay healthy and Kochetkov was seemingly the starter last season and did very well. The 25-year-old has a .910 career SV% and recorded four shutouts in each of his two seasons. The Carolina Hurricanes did get worse on paper, but are still in a great defensive system and have a lot of talent on the team. Kochetkov will definitely reach 20 wins on the season and could push for 30 depending on how much he starts.
Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs
Anthony Stolarz was incredible for the Florida Panthers last season. He was the clear backup to Sergei Bobrovsky but gets a much better opportunity to earn more starts this season with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He and Joseph Woll will share the net. While Woll is being seen as the starter by the majority, he has had troubles with injuries, which would open the door right up for Stolarz to take the net. He had the best GAA (2.03) and SV% (.925) last season among qualifying goalies and is in the prime of his career. At the very least, the expectation is that he should start half of the games for a playoff-bound Toronto team.
None of these goalies should be your first netminder drafted or you aren’t in a great spot. But later in drafts when you really need a second or third option in goal, these five sleeper goalies are who you should be keeping your eyes open for this year.