Yahoo Fantasy Hockey: Examining the NHL's goalie tandems

(Ed. Note: We’re once again pleased to partner with Dobber Hockey to provide fantasy hockey insight throughout the NHL season. Here’s Steve Laidlaw, the Managing Editor of DobberHockey, as your new fantasy hockey smarty-pants!)

By Steve Laidlaw

There is nothing worse for fantasy owners than a goalie controversy. You drafted what you thought was a tentpole starter and now you’re stuck refreshing GoaliePost all day to make sure that your guy is actually starting. Because there’s a strong backup pushing your starter out hitting the goalie starts minimum has become a challenge. You are forced to toss your goalie out there against a juggernaut just to hit that minimum.

Unfortunately, goalie tandems/controversies are becoming the norm. There is a glut of talent at the position and teams are now figuring out it is unwise to ride their starter for too many games. Gone are the days of Martin Brodeur starting all but a couple of games. Every team’s backup looks set to start at least 15 games.

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Let’s take a spin around the league to look at some of the tandems and their outlook:

Carolina Hurricanes – Cam Ward’s 8 starts vs. Eddie Lack’s 4 starts

It’s been five years since Ward was even an average goalie. That the Hurricanes continue to roll with him as their starter is baffling. It’s also an indictment of Lack that he can’t displace Ward in the Hurricanes crease. Carolina was a popular sleeper under the sentiment that Lack would push Ward out and reach his once-hyped potential. That has not happened. At this point, it’s best to just leave the Hurricanes’ goalies on the waiver wire.

Colorado Avalanche – Semyon Varlamov 8 starts vs. Calvin Pickard 4 starts

The Pickard takeover is looming as Varlamov has been dreadful early on, while Pickard has been stellar. Losing to the Arizona Coyotes for his first loss of the season was not what Pickard needed to continue his takeover effort, however. Varlamov’s massive contract will keep him getting opportunities so Pickard needs to be lights out, especially with how miserable the Avalanche’s offense has been.

We may have to accept that the Avalanche are not a very good team. If Pickard is going to continue stealing starts, Varlamov becomes exceedingly droppable. Meanwhile, Pickard looks like a good spot-starting option.

Dallas Stars – Antti Niemi’s 7 starts vs. Kari Lehtonen’s 6 starts

Does it even matter? We knew coming into the season that both of these goalies were below average. Nothing they have done has dissuaded us of that notion. All the injuries for the Stars have just compounded the issue. Now these guys aren’t even winning games. Run away. Run far, far away.

Detroit Red Wings – Petr Mrazek’s 9 starts vs. Jimmy Howard’s 5 starts

Mrazek is the No. 1 guy even if his numbers don’t indicate that he is. He has been above-average his entire career and is getting the time necessary to find his footing. Howard looms as a backup who can start edging into Mrazek’s margins. He has been exceptional boasting .958 SV% but is three years removed from being above average.

Mrazek owners have to accept that the Wings are a below-average squad so he may not be an elite starter for them. Meanwhile, Howard probably won’t start enough to warrant keeping on your bench but he does make a savvy spot start given what he has done in limited action.

Florida Panthers – Roberto Luongo’s 9 starts vs. James Reimer’s 4 starts

This is pretty well the standards two-thirds split for the No. 1. That sort of breakdown will leave Luongo with 50-55 starts and Reimer with 25-30. Luongo has a losing record but he has played well boasting a .917 SV%. Reimer hasn’t been lights-out so there is minimal threat here. If anything, the fact that the Panthers are floating around .500 bodes well for Luongo since a team is more likely to ride one guy down the stretch if they are fighting for a playoff spot.

Nashville Predators – Pekka Rinne’s 10 starts vs. Juuse Saros’s 1 start

It seems as though many in the fantasy hockey community would like to see the Juuse Saros takeover begin immediately. Hold your horses! While Nashville hasn’t been very good, Rinne has not been the problem. His .922 SV% is above average and he has provided a quality start (a start with a save percentage above league average) in 70% of his outings. He’s playing like the star they are paying him to be. Will this hold up? It remains to be seen but any efforts to crown Saros are premature.

Saros, by the way, is an excellent goalie prospect who has been outstanding at the AHL level and performed similarly in his lone start this season. He was recently called up to the NHL and warrants putting on the watch list. You might even want to scoop him up in deep formats that allow you to stash players.

New York Islanders – Jaroslav Halak’s 8 starts vs. Thomas Greiss’ 5 starts vs. JF Berube’s 0 starts

The dreaded three-headed monster is really just a standard goalie tandem with Berube riding in the back seat as a minor nuisance. He has suited up for some games but hasn’t yet seen a minute of action and may not if things continue at this pace.

Halak continues to be the Islanders’ No. 1 but that may not hold the same distinction it once did. The Islanders haven’t been very good and it has shown in Halak’s numbers. He should get back to average soon and will win about half of his 50 starts (give or take 10 depending on injuries.) Greiss, meanwhile, isn’t playing well enough that you want him as a handcuff or as a spot-starter but be ready to pounce if Halak does get hurt.

Philadelphia Flyers – Steve Mason’s 7 starts vs. Michal Neuvirth’s 7 starts

Given the way the Flyers are trading chances in front of these two, you might be left wondering if you want any part of this goalie tandem. Sure enough, both goalies are struggling with GAA above 3.00 and SV% below .900. They are also in a dead heat for games started.

Neuvirth has a winning record and that gives him a slight advantage but he is always an injury risk. More importantly, Mason has an extensive track record of being average at worst. He should be considered the favourite here, though neither one is all that enticing an option at this point.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Marc-Andre Fleury’s 10 starts vs. Matt Murray’s 3 starts

The start numbers are deceiving as Murray has only recently returned from a broken hand. Fleury’s numbers don’t look great with a .908 SV% and a 3.07 GAA but he has a winning record and has performed better than the numbers seem to indicate. Regardless, Murray has started three of four games since returning and has been excellent. But unless the Penguins are willing to risk alienating one of these two they will both be involved and neither will gain more than a 60-40 split.

My pre-season handicapping gave Fleury the 60-40 edge for time but Murray’s strong return is chipping away at this. Consider this 50-50 now. This is the sort of tandem where it pays to have both members since the Penguins are such a strong team.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Ben Bishop’s 9 starts vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 4 starts

That the Lightning are still rolling with Bishop as their No. 11 for about two thirds of their games despite his slow start is a positive for everyone who invested a high draft pick in him. Bishop has started to find his footing with three straight quality starts.

Vasilevskiy is a legitimate threat to steal the job but odds are against him turning the trick without an injury or an extended slump from Bishop. He looks like a great spot-starting option for about 25 games this season, and will play enough for an elite Lightning team to make him a really good handcuff.

Winnipeg Jets – Connor Hellebuyck’s 8 starts vs. Michael Hutchinson’s 6 starts

The Jets’ leaky defense had this tandem looking a lot like the Stars’ miserable pairing. Jacob Trouba has signed and Tyler Myers is back from injury. No more excuses. It’s production time. Hellebuyck is slowly turning the ship around with a 2.90 GAA and a .905 SV%. These figures are still below average but are trending in the right direction.

We know that Hutchinson can’t take on a starter’s workload for an entire season but he is capable of running with the gig for a month or two. It is imperative that Hellebuyck holds him off and starts earning that 60/40 split in the crease that will get him into the 50-55 -starts range necessary for true fantasy relevance. It appears we are headed that direction.

Steve Laidlaw is the Managing Editor of DobberHockey. Follow him on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw