This article is part of our The Goalie Report series.
The NHL will enforce its roster freeze on Dec. 19 at 11:59 p.m. local time, and break from Dec. 24-26. This is important to remember because a few developments last week may force teams into an uncomfortable situation.
There is word from the Kraken that Philipp Grubauer's injury may require more time to recover than previously expected. That's pushed Joey Daccord into the starting role and necessitated a call-up for Chris Driedger, who has yet to play a minute in the NHL this season. This is likely your tandem going forward.
Jake Oettinger pulled himself in a game against the Senators with what seems to be a lower-body injury on Friday. With the second half of their back-to-back on Saturday, the Stars were forced to play Scott Wedgewood in relief on Friday and start him the next day, which required the services of an EBUG. As of Sunday night, the Stars have yet to call up a goalie since their farm team also played back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. The assumption is that 25-year-old Matt Murray will get the call after appearing in three games for the Stars last season.
The Hurricanes waved the white flag and placed veteran Antti Raanta on waivers on Saturday for the purposes of assigning him to the AHL. Two complications: the Canes do not have their own farm team after the Chicago Wolves decided to go independent, and the only other goalie under contract in their system is rookie Yaniv Perets,
The NHL will enforce its roster freeze on Dec. 19 at 11:59 p.m. local time, and break from Dec. 24-26. This is important to remember because a few developments last week may force teams into an uncomfortable situation.
There is word from the Kraken that Philipp Grubauer's injury may require more time to recover than previously expected. That's pushed Joey Daccord into the starting role and necessitated a call-up for Chris Driedger, who has yet to play a minute in the NHL this season. This is likely your tandem going forward.
Jake Oettinger pulled himself in a game against the Senators with what seems to be a lower-body injury on Friday. With the second half of their back-to-back on Saturday, the Stars were forced to play Scott Wedgewood in relief on Friday and start him the next day, which required the services of an EBUG. As of Sunday night, the Stars have yet to call up a goalie since their farm team also played back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. The assumption is that 25-year-old Matt Murray will get the call after appearing in three games for the Stars last season.
The Hurricanes waved the white flag and placed veteran Antti Raanta on waivers on Saturday for the purposes of assigning him to the AHL. Two complications: the Canes do not have their own farm team after the Chicago Wolves decided to go independent, and the only other goalie under contract in their system is rookie Yaniv Perets, a Quebec-born undrafted prospect who won the national title with Quinnipiac University last season but has been playing in the ECHL this season, a step below the AHL.
It never gets old across the goalie landscape in the NHL. Here's this week's Goalie Report.
Trending Up
Joey Daccord, Kraken (5-5-7, 2.57 GAA, .908 Sv%)
For the second straight week, Daccord appears in this space, but things have changed and his fantasy value has further increased. He's been excellent lately, allowing just five goals in four starts, including a 24-save shutout against the Panthers, and he's got a firm hold on the starting job. Chris Driedger has yet to play, and it's hard to envision him taking over the starting job unless he's lights-out and Daccord falters. If you need a starter, Daccord is available for goalie starts, saves and some wins.
Martin Jones, Maple Leafs (3-0-0, 1.85 GAA, .949 Sv%)
Jones earned his first victory of the season in a relief appearance for Joseph Woll, and after Ilya Samsonov allowed five goals against the Blue Jackets, Jones was thrust in net Saturday against the Penguins and promptly shut them out with 38 saves. Jones has been consistently mediocre over the past few seasons, and despite a winning record with the Kraken last season, he ceded the starting job in the playoffs to Philipp Grubauer and was only able to latch on with the Leafs as their third-string option. That's not saying Jones doesn't have any fantasy value; Ilya Samsonov is clearly struggling (and therefore trending down) and Jones certainly has the ability to get hot and earn consecutive wins in the right situation. Jones is worth streaming, perhaps even worth stashing, while the Leafs sort out their goaltending.
Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes (6-6-1, 2.77 GAA, .890 Sv%)
With Raanta on waivers and headed to the minors, Kochetkov is clearly the Canes' No. 1 option. Frederik Andersen (illness) should return in a month, but the emphasis is on "should." Regardless, Kochetkov has been solid over the past few games, and while the Canes have struggled to meet expectations this season, they're still a very good team. Kochetkov should be rostered in all leagues as the Canes attempt to turn their season around.
Scott Wedgewood, Stars (6-1-2, 3.24 GAA, .904 Sv%)
Oettinger's injury puts Wedgewood at the forefront. He's been an excellent streaming option since joining the Stars, but the fear is that he's not ready for a starter's workload. The Central Division race is heating up, and the Stars cannot afford to lose any ground; finishing first ensures a first-round matchup with a wild-card team and avoids either the Avs or Jets, both of whom are difficult matchups. Wedgewood is worth rostering for goalie starts and wins, but it's a question mark if he can put up good peripheral stats.
Filip Gustavsson, Wild (8-7-2, 2.84 GAA, .908 Sv%)
I was premature in proclaiming that Gustavsson's season was lost; after the Wild made the coaching change, Gustavsson has been excellent. He went 2-0-0 last week with a .959 save percentage and is no longer in a timeshare with Marc-Andre Fleury at all. The Wild are 7-2-0 since John Hynes took over, and Gustavsson has a chance to be one of the top goalies in the second half of the season, continuing where he left off last season.
Trending Down
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning (5-5-0, 3.02 GAA, .897 Sv%)
The wins are there but aren't quite what they used to be, and the same goes for the peripherals. We need to be prepared to accept that Vasilevskiy may not even be a top-10 fantasy goalie this season, and adjust accordingly. Fantasy managers counting on Vasilevskiy to save their goaltending might want to consider bolstering their goalie depth since Vasilevskiy may not be a must-start option the rest of the season.
Igor Shesterkin, Rangers (11-7-0, 2.91 GAA, .904 Sv%)
It hasn't been a great season for Russian goalies so far. Shesterkin continues to struggle, posting an .863 save percentage last week, and continues to cede playing time to Jonathan Quick, who has surprisingly been much, much better. When elite goalies go through tough stretches, it's best to just ride it out. If you can afford to do so, benching them against tougher opponents isn't such a bad idea, and at least the Rangers can provide ample goal support to help earn wins.
Alex Lyon and James Reimer, Red Wings (Combined: 6-6-2, 2.38 GAA, .921 Sv%)
Lyon was injured in a 1-0 loss to the Flyers and Reimer allowed five goals in his only start this past week. This development once again puts Ville Husso at the forefront and, for now, the Red Wings' rotation is settled once again. We shall see if Lyon's injury is serious, but it's probably safe to drop both goalies for now.
Adin Hill, Golden Knights (10-2-2, 1.93 GAA, .933 Sv%)
Hill was injured Sunday night and Logan Thompson had to come in to finish the game. This is not good for Hill; he had just returned from injury, and this likely means that Jiri Patera will be the backup again. Again, we shall have to see how serious Hill's injury is to really forecast the Knights' goaltending situation, but consider Thompson back at the top of the depth chart again with the workload of a traditional No. 1.
