Holy Moly I Need a Goalie

November 12, 2009 HockeyGod

Let’s face it, quite a few high draft pick goalies aren’t performing well to start the season. (see: Osgood, Price, Ward, Mason, Toskala, Vokoun) You’re probably stuck with one of these guys (or like me, 2 of them) and wondering what to do. You really want to drop them, but you’re afraid that they’re going to inevitably turn their season around.

Some of these goalies will actually do that (I’d keep Ozzie, he’s going to get wins when his team is healthy – but I’d show Toskala the door.)

Here’s some easily attainable (owned in <50% of yahoo leagues) goalies who can get you quality spot starts while you wait out your starters:

Andrew Raycroft is still available in 80% of leagues and has played solidly in replace of Luongo. He got lit up the other night, but should still continue to put up decent numbers in his starts.

Ty Conklin Almost had his 2nd shutout the other day, but is continuing to improve in his limited starts. Sadly, the W’s will be few and far between unless he gets some better goal support.

Antero Niittymaki has 4 wins already and a GAA under 2. He’s also starting tonight against the Wild and makes an excellent play in daily leagues.

Tuukka Rask will also most likely get the Nod for the Bruins next, and also has a good likely hood of getting you some W’s

Dwayne Roloson has been on fire lately, posting 5 wins, but is only owned in about 40% of leagues.

Martin Biron, the other Isles goalie, is an even more interesting case. He’s going to be traded eventually, and he’s probably going to end up somewhere like Detroit or Montreal where he will become an instant upgrade and post much better numbers when he has an actual NHL caliber team playing in front of him. If you’ve got bench room, start thinking about stashing him away.

Jonas Gustavsson is healthy and looking like he’ll soon be the #1 man in Toronto. If he’s still on waivers in your league, I’d consider picking him up.

Rick DiPietro can’t obviously provide instant help, but he’s one I’ve got my eye on. He’s practicing again and will instantly resume the #1 role on the Island as soon as he’s healthy enough to do so. If he ever gets back to game shape he’s one that can steal W’s all by himself – which, he’s going to have to do given the talent in front of him.

Ondrej Pavelec is having a Terrible November, but it’s mostly the fault of lackluster defense not clearing the net and letting him see shots. If ATL ever figures out how to play in their own end, Pavelec will see the benefit.

Nikolai Khabibulin is not having a great year, but he’s still top 12 in wins right now.

Semyon Varlamov, while techincally a backup, is probably one who I’d tier with the starters. He’s 6-1 so far this year and the team in front of him is playing well. He’s a rookie though, so tread carefully. If it were me though, I’d run him out there every game he plays.

Filed under: Weekly Notes