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Victoria Matiash, Fantasy HockeyDec 20, 2024, 12:00 PM ET
- ESPN.com Fantasy Contributor since 2010
- Part-time anchor at NEWSTALK1010
Avoid hooking up with fantasy goalies on lousy teams, right? Not only are you going to lose out on valuable victories, but that goals-against average is bound to suffer as well. Well, as we approach the mid-way point of the season, that fantasy ship hasn’t only sailed, but is completely out of sight. So whether you could use a little boost, or your goaltending crew is a stumbling mess, its occasion to take a closer look at some figures who happen to play for those who probably won’t be in action late April.
To further punctuate how well some of the following are performing as individuals, I’m also including their Goals-Saved-Above-Average (GSAA) and Goals-Saved-Above-Expected (GSAx) sums, courtesy Evolving Hockey.
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Karel Vejmelka, Utah Hockey Club, 7.38 GSAA/13.75 GSAx (Rostered in 9.1% of ESPN Fantasy leagues): Although the club currently remains outside the playoff-bound picture, Utah is undeniably flirting with the margins. Dylan Guenther is scoring up a storm, Logan Cooley is figuring it out, and the addition of Olli Maatta to the back end via early-season trade is proving to be a wise transaction. But no one deserves more credit for the club’s recent run of success — 7-1-2 since Nov. 26 — than their current No. 1 netminder.
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While Connor Ingram continues to recover from an upper-body injury, Vejmelka is holding down the goaltending gig with aplomb. Starting eight of those aforementioned 10 contests, the fourth-year veteran is 5-1-2 with a 2.44 GAA. More pressing in our circle, he’s earned 30.0 fantasy points in the past month. Which ranks seventh most in the NHL. Tell you what, no one else in that appealing group is available in more than 90% of ESPN Fantasy leagues. And Vejmelka won’t for much longer either.
Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks, 11.76 GSAA/21.46 GSAx (Rostered in 45%): A quick glance at Dostal’s fancier stats should reveal all you need to know about his skill and talent as an individual. While the young lad’s GSAA is fourth best in the league, only Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck boasts a more robust GSAx. Despite his club’s losing record and -18 goal differential, Anaheim’s goalie of now and later is still cobbling together an average of 1.7 fantasy points/game in ESPN’s standard league. John Gibson, on the other hand — more on him in a sec — wallows in the red.
Plus, the Ducks are improving as a more competitive hockey team all the while. The new top line of Ryan Strome, Troy Terry, and Frank Vatrano is producing. The kids — Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish etc. — are on an inevitable upswing. Ex-Ranger Jacob Trouba improves the team defensively. Don’t be too surprised if Anaheim starts to perform as a solid .500 squad in the new year.
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As for Gibson, after years of chatter, it feels like we might finally see him traded out of southern California. Not only in part because of how well Dostal is performing, but based on the need for netminding elsewhere. In which case, the 24-year-old is going to see a lot more starts. Which should please his fantasy managers, as long as the Ducks remain reasonably competitive. If weak between the fantasy pipes, consider becoming one of them.
Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens, 0.42 GSAA, 8.13 GSAx (29.4%): As far as erratic fantasy performers are concerned, the Canadiens No. 1 sits in the upper tier on that maddening, nerve-wracking list. It seems like Montembeault is either stopping all or most shots faced in a bid to empathetically shut down the opposition (Buffalo, the other night), or getting lit up for more than a hefty handful (Pittsburgh, last week). Of course, we’re still treated to the odd pleasantly pedestrian outing — a recent 3-2 win over the Ducks, for instance — but it more often feels like the young netminder is serving up feast or famine fantasy figures for his managers to digest.
Still, as supported by his goals saved above expected figure, Montembeault happens to be a very good netminder. One who harbors a 2.92 GAA and three shutouts for a club that some consider the weakest in the East. That he’s averaging 1.6 fantasy points/game also speaks to his habit of making up for uglier outings on the regular. (For comparison, Montreal’s other netminder Cayden Primeau is pacing out at -2.8.)
So, if in need of goaltending help in your deeper league, and are onboard with riding out the bad with the good, give Montembeault a go. Then only play him against softer competition. The 28-year-old’s last seven victories were earned against the Sabres (twice), Ducks, Predators, Islanders, Oilers, and Blue Jackets. Only Edmonton has a record above .500. The trade sending Justin Barron to the Predators for veteran, right-handed blueliner Alexandre Carrier should also help bolster the team defensively. Which can’t hurt.
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Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken, 8.37 GSAA/13.46 GSAx (65.9%): A little more mediocre of late, Daccord has played well enough for a Kraken team that doesn’t serve as an easy out for anyone else. Averaging 2.7 fantasy points/game, Daccord ranks ninth in the NHL with 58.6 altogether. Plus, you just know that Seattle is going to go on one of their characteristic hot runs again, any moment now. My biggest knock on Daccord is he’s spoken for in two-thirds of ESPN Fantasy leagues.
Yaroslav Askarov, San Jose Sharks (5.4%): With Vitek Vanecek sidelined approximately three weeks, Askarov is earning another potential shot in the NHL. He was better-than-good in two previous outings versus the Kings and Blues, while otherwise rocking out an impressive resume in the minors (9-4-1, 3 SO, 2.00 GAA, .938 SV%). Alexandar Georgiev has won one of three outings since being jettisoned from Colorado, allowing 11 goals total. Why not give the kid a shot? If Ryan Warsofsky feels similarly, I’d stream the 22-year-old. Even against tougher competition.
Arvid Soderblom, Chicago Blackhawks, 4.261 GSAA/2.44 GSAx (1.8%): Stream him while he’s hot. Winner of three straight, Soderblom has 15.4 fantasy points to show for only the last five days. But once this impressive run is over — and, hey, it could be a bit — move on.
