Monday Ramblings

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening readers. We've got some important stuff for all you folks whether you're looking to win your week, or just keep the ship pointed in the right direction. On this lovely Monday we're going to unpack a few guys who have middling owned percentages and who are probably a bit too valuable to leave on the wire. I’d like to take a second to point out that while I've mostly used a few fancy numbers from the early season to check in on how these guys are doing, there are certainly extenuating circumstances surrounding many NHL goaltenders. From injured better halfs, to having three potential starters, to just being considered pre-geriatric (32 is geriatric for NHL goalies in my books) and teams potentially looking towards the future. Lots of possible hitches in these situations that may prevent some of these guys performing early from hanging onto starter jobs for an extended amount of time, so always remember to assess the whole situation.

I'd also like to stress that it is very early on in the season and small sample sizes are less effective when you look at stats being indicative of any trends or things to come. The top goalies in the league usually sit top in some stats regardless but it is quite a bit more difficult to tell who’s good and bad starts are real until we see it unfold. Goalies are a certain level of voodoo as you’ve probably heard before but we will do our best!

Middling percentage owned starters

Justus Annunen/Colorado Avalanche - 47% owned on Yahoo

GO GET THIS GUY NOW!!! Justus Annunen was handed the reins four games ago by Jared Bednar and he has been sprinting with it while Alexandar Georgiev is stapled to the bench. Annunen was written about by my counterpart Mike Ouellete in his first edition article this year and he stayed true to his research to pick him up in our roto keeper league. I am peanut butter jealous because there is a boatload of upside to any goalie who is hanging out behind this Avalanche team who is slowly gaining momentum while they will have a few key players returning from injury this month including, Valeri Nichushkin who is finishing up his second stint with the player assistance program.

Kevin Lankinen/Vancouver Canucks - 53% owned on Yahoo

So there is a bit of a rain cloud hanging over the Canucks goaltending situation. It goes as follows, Thatcher Demko put together a Vezina trophy type season last year, got injured right before the playoffs and in my opinion took a bit long to shut down for the season. It has now come to light that Demko is rather unfortunate and has an uncommon type of knee injury that will force him to completely change the way he knows and plays as a goaltender in order to get any sort of longevity from his career. The injury is essentially the worst case scenario for fantasy owners and Canucks fans but has helped Kevin Lankinen’s emergence immensely. Lankinen has for now surpassed Arturs Silovs who had a bit of a successful run in the playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers. Silovs has been extremely shaky and I don’t have much confidence he’ll turn it around very quickly. Lankinen sits middle of the pack for NHL goaltenders in all of the categories I like to peek at when deciding on pickups . Guys I would pick up ahead of him right now are slim.

Lukas Dostal/Anaheim Ducks - 45% owned on Yahoo

Lukas Dostal is currently a diamond on the rough. Where have we seen this before? John Gibson for the last 10 years has been in the exact same spot. Anaheim is promising as a team but when they finally gel and gain experience to be a feared team in the NHL it is going to be exciting. I caught a few Ducks games this past week and I have to say I have been very impressed by the Do(ugh) boy. I am coining that nickname right here. We will have to see how Dostal holds up while facing a minimum of 30 shots a game while some days nearing the mid 40’s. He has great pedigree in international play and helped Czechia to their first World Championship gold medal since 2008-09. He was named goalie of the tournament and deserved it. This guy has “it”. What he does not have is a winning team in front of him just yet. If your league counts saves however, he will be one of the most valuable goalies available to you. Check him out.

Adios!

I’m really enjoying this time of the year with the World Series and full NHL slates. There is no shortage of double screen time and immersing yourself in the world of sports. I’d like to thank each and every one of you who have read and visited the site. Good luck this week and don’t hate me but GO YANKEES! As always you can find me on Twitter/X @LOGoalz for any questions at all including information on not just goalies, but skaters as well.