Kaapo Kahkonen

Kahkonen split last season between Minnesota and San Jose, playing in a career-high 36 games. His 14-4-4 record and 2.87 GAA were nothing to write home about, although Kahkonen's .912 save percentage was pretty solid. The Sharks inked the Finn to a new two-year, $5.5 million contract in July. Kahkonen should get plenty of playing time in San Jose in 2022-23, but fellow stablemate James Reimer is still going to see his fair share of work, creating a likely platoon situation on a poor team, effectively eliminating both goalies from the fantasy discussion.

Kahkonen acquitted himself fairly well in his first full NHL season in 2020-21, posting a 16-8-0 record to go along with a 2.89 GAA and a .902 save percentage while serving as Cam Talbot's backup. The Finn was the AHL Goaltender of the Year in 2019-20, so the fact he proved he can play at the highest level shouldn't come as a complete surprise. Kahkonen is just 25 years of age so there is theoretical long-term upside here, but Talbot is signed for two more years at a reasonable cap hit of $3.6 million and that leaves Kahkonen in a clear backup role as we head into the 2021-22 campaign.

Kahkonen was originally expected to enter the season as Minnesota's third goaltender behind Cam Talbot and Alex Stalock, but Stalock was deemed out indefinitely in mid-December with an upper-body injury, which opened the door for Kahkonen to at least begin the 2020-21 campaign as Talbot's backup. The 24-year-old Finn spent most of the 2019-20 season in the minors, compiling a 25-6-5 record while posting an impressive 2.07 GAA and .927 save percentage in 34 appearances, but he also made five starts for the big club, going 3-1-1 while registering a respectable .913 save percentage. If Stalock ends up being ruled out long term, Kahkonen will be worth a look in the later rounds of fantasy drafts as a young netminder with legitimate upside.