The Goalie Report: Risers & Fallers

The NHL will take a break starting Thursday, Feb. 1 for the annual All-Star Game. Jake Oettinger, Cam Talbot, Igor Shesterkin and Connor Hellebuyck were picked by the league to represent their teams while Jeremy Swayman, Alexandar Georgiev, Sergei Bobrovsky and Thatcher Demko were all voted in by the fans.

We could nitpick who should be in — Joey Daccord or Connor Ingram, perhaps — and who should be out — definitely Cam Talbot — but such arguments are also a microcosm of the world we live in where goaltending is more precarious than over.

Here's this week's Goalie Report before the All-Star Weekend.

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Ilya Samsonov, Maple Leafs (Since Jan. 14: 3-1-0, .939 Sv%, 1.48 GAA)

Samsonov has breathed new life into his young career and the Leafs since his return, so much so that you wonder if Joseph Woll (ankle) will really be handed the No. 1 job upon his return. The Leafs leaned on Samsonov at the beginning of the season because he was the more experienced of the two, and that has not changed.

Samsonov has fantasy value for the remainder of the season even as the Leafs' backup/1B option since it's unknown how Woll will respond after recovering from a high ankle sprain, and there's even an outside chance Samsonov regains the starting job. Samsonov is at least worth stashing.

Jeremy Swayman, Bruins (16-3-7, .924 Sv%, 2.30 GAA)

Swayman is in a contract year and based on his own words, it doesn't sound like he was too happy with the arbitration process in the summer (as with all players, it seems). Regardless, though the Bruins continue to work in their rotation, it's pretty clear that Swayman has been the better goalie this season. One of the drawbacks with a tandem is knowing who to go with in a key, must-win game, and you wonder if the Bruins will start giving Swayman a few more starts down the stretch. After starting 2024 with a 0-1-3 record, he's now on a streak of five straight wins.

Alex Lyon, Red Wings (13-6-1, .924 Sv%, 2.49 GAA)

Asides from a poor start against the Stars, Lyon has been excellent, and it's a big reason why the Wings have surged to a five-point lead over their nearest competitor for the final wild-card spot. Just as Lyon helped the Panthers make the playoffs last season, it looks like he's doing the same for the Wings this season, and even with a healthy Ville Husso, you'd have to think the Wings will stick with Lyon for as long as they can. I think Lyon can be rostered for the rest of the season. Worst-case scenario, he's a very effective 1B option.

Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov, Hurricanes (Since Dec. 27: 10-2-1, .906 Sv%, 2.18 GAA)

Starting from the Hurricanes' five-game winning streak that began on Dec. 27, they're 11-2-1 with no goalie having a GAA above 2.19. Raanta has the poorest save percentage at .897, but he's also won six of eight starts and it's also a massive improvement from where he was earlier in the season.

It hasn't quite mattered who's in net — including waiver claim Spencer Martin, who allowed just two goals to win his Canes debut, and undrafted signee Yaniv Perets, who made his NHL debut with 12:46 of relief in mid-January — the Canes have taken good care of the puck and played good defense in front of their goalies. With Kochetkov now activated from IR, expect him and Raanta to take the net with Martin serving as the third-string option. Frederik Andersen's future is still uncertain at this point, but we assume there's a possibility that he may not return at all this season. The Canes have used a 50/50 approach previously, but if Kochetkov plays well, the net will likely be his going down the stretch, just as it was prior to Raanta's return. It's not an ideal situation for any fantasy manager, but at least the Canes offer two decent goalies now rather than none at all. If you can, roster both; if you have to pick, I would still lean Kochetkov.

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Samuel Ersson, Flyers (Past four starts: 0-4-0, .819 Sv%, 4.59 GAA)

It's sometimes easy to forget that Ersson's just a rookie, and like any rookie 'tender he's going to go through some ups and downs. The Flyers have punched well above their weight in the first half of the season, and maybe there's some fatigue setting in. Ersson lasted just one period against the Bruins in his most recent start, but John Tortorella was also seen pumping up his young goalie. It's not like Cal Petersen is even a threat to steal the starting job, anyway. For now, bench Ersson to see if he can turn it around, but don't hold your breath.

Cam Talbot, Kings (Since Dec. 23: 1-7-3, .883 Sv%, 3.78 GAA)

Talbot is another goalie where fatigue might've become a factor. True, the Kings aren't playing well and aren't doing Talbot any favors, but Talbot's also had an immense workload so far in his age-36 season, and he's started more than 40 games just once in his past six seasons. He hasn't won a game since Dec. 23, forcing the Kings to turn to third-string David Rittich, who's also worth picking up in the interim. 

To Rittich's credit, he's performed much better (3-1-3, .919 Sv%, 2.23 GAA) during the same span, and it's telling that Rittich got the start Sunday against the Blues after Talbot was pulled against the Avalanche. The Kings don't have another back-to-back until Feb. 17-18, which means we may not see Talbot for quite some time. If you're an aggressive fantasy hockey manager, Talbot is droppable; I don't have much confidence he'll turn it around later this season, and given how aggressive the Kings' front office has been in recent years, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that they trade for a goalie, either.