We head into another exciting year of fantasy hockey as most teams have signed who they are going to sign and everyone gets ready for training camp to begin. For the most part, teams now have three goalies in their system who have had NHL experience as an injury in net can really derail a season. Injuries and performances will play a big part in how you do as a fantasy owner, whether that be through drafting correctly or picking up netminders down the line. You are here to see who some underrated fantasy goalies to draft in 2024 are, so here they are.
Underrated Fantasy Hockey Goalies for 2024
Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes
Pyotr Kochetkov proved that he can be the starter right now for the Carolina Hurricanes, and history tells us that should be the case. His partner in net, Frederik Andersen, hasn’t been able to stay healthy over the last four seasons, starting over 33 games just once, two years ago. Kochetkov was the go-to man in net for Carolina, starting 40 games while there were four different goalies in the mix. Andersen played just 16 games in 2023-24. Kochetkov went 23-13-4 with a 2.33 GAA, .911 SV%, and four shutouts. That is his second season in a row with four shutouts too. The Hurricanes may decline a little bit, but head coach Rod Brind’Amour will continue to have his team playing hard and great defensively.
Ilya Samsonov, Vegas Golden Knights
Adin Hill dealt with multiple injuries last season that kept him out for extended periods of time. New Vegas Golden Knights goalie Ilya Samsonov has proven he can play very well at times and the Golden Knights are a good team, especially defensively. If there’s a full season of health for Hill and Samsonov, the expectation is that Hill gets more games, but not by much. He and Logan Thompson split time for the most part in the past. Hill also struggled a bit last season after one of his injuries, lowering his stats, so that could play into Samsonov earning more playing time. When he got recalled from the AHL last season after his reset, Samsonov was very good for the Maple Leafs and he still started 40 games. From January 14 and on, Samsonov went 18-5-2 with a .904 SV% and two shutouts. That is respectable for a third goalie at worst.
Petr Mrazek, Chicago Blackhawks
In a tough season for the Chicago Blackhawks, Petr Mrazek had a very good season. Being bombarded every night by shots and pressure in the offensive zone against an inexperienced and depleted team, the veteran goalie managed to finish the season with a .907 SV% and one shutout. Mrazek went 18-31-4 last season, starting 53 games and playing 56. He will have more help with Laurent Brossoit as the backup or 1b, but the trust should be with Mrazek after what he accomplished last season. If healthy, he is a strong option in net, especially now considering all of the positive additions the Blackhawks made to the lineup throughout. The team is going to win more and defend better, so Mrazek’s SV% should go up, his GAA down, and even out the win/loss ratio this season.
Related: Weekly Wrap: Fantasy Hockey Free Agency
Connor Ingram, Utah HC
The Utah HC are expected to at least be better than they were in 2023-24 with Connor Ingram leading the charge in net. It’s his net to lose after a strong showing for the most part last season as Karel Vejmelka slipped into the background. While playing at the top of his game, Ingram would win fantasy teams weeks due to his play. He finished last season tied for the league lead in shutouts with six and had a record of 23-21-3 on a negative Arizona Coyotes (now Utah) team. Ingram started 48 games, playing 50 in total, and had a 2.91 GAA and .907 SV%. With Mikhail Sergachev, John Marino, and Ian Cole added to their defense, Ingram will have a lot more help in front of him and is a great option in net for fantasy this year.
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t going to be great, but they also aren’t going to be bad. This is a team that will hang around the playoff bubble again and did make some additions that remain to be seen if they are positive or not. That being said, Tristan Jarry has been one of the most consistent goalies in the NHL over the past number of seasons, despite some great seasons and some dips. In every season of his career that he has played at least a handful of games, he has recorded over a .900 SV% and has finished seventh in Vezina Trophy voting twice in six seasons. Last season was his lowest in regards to SV% with a .903 SV%, but he also tied for the league lead in shutouts as well with six. Jarry should be the starter in Pittsburgh as he has been the last four seasons. His overall numbers were impacted by a few bad starts considering over 60% of his starts were quality starts. I expect Jarry to bounce back with a win total in the mid-20s like he’s had in three seasons prior to 2023-24.
Goalies in fantasy can make or break your year. Be sure to keep a close eye on these five as you start to get into drafting your teams for the 2024 season.