Fantasy Hockey: Goalie Watch

This hockey season so far has consisted of many surprises and dissapointments, especially in the goalie position. Some goalies have surpasses expectations, some have been major let-downs, and some have been stuck in a fantasy owner's worst nightmare: a timeshare in which he only gets limited starts due to splitting time with another goalie. Let's take a closer look at who's caught my eye so far.

Jon Quick, LA Kings.

As I stated in my first blog, rookie phenom would be waiting in the wings to take over for Quick and Quick would have to play fantastic in order to keep Bernier sidelined. He has done just that. being arguably the best fantasy goalie so far, he shows no signs of slowing down on the red-hot Kings and will likely remain at the top of the pack.

Brian Elliot, Ottowa Senators.

Elliot has been a pleasant surprise as of late, boasting a 5-game winning streak and 7 of his last 8. Ottowas has played extremely well lately and Elliot has been exceptional between the pipes. If by chance he's still available in your league, ride him out while the hot streak lasts.

Sergei Bobrovsky, Philadelphia Flyers

This is the year of the rookie goalie. The young netminder has had a strong start for the season and is enjoying the benefits of the dominant Flyers' offense. He might face a time-share when Leighton returns, but if he continues to play well the Flyers will be hard-pressed to sit this guy.

Nikolai Khabibulin, Edmonton Oilers

His low winning percentage is to be expected on a team like the Oilers, but his peripheral stats suggest the "Bulin Wall" has quite a few holes in it. With a 3.97 GAA and .879 SV%, he really shouldn't be owned unless its an extremely deep league.

Antero Nittymaki, San Jose Sharks

Nittymaki has done an excellent job both filling the void the Nabokov left behind and beating out Antti Niemi for the starting job. Posting a 6-2-1 record with a 1.80 GAA .929 SV%, he has been a consistent goalie and the wins will roll in as the Sharks pick up the pace.

Pick-Up of the Week:

Mathieu Garon, Columbus Bluejackets

With the somewhat lackluster play of counterpart Steve Mason, Garon has seen an opportunity to get a fair amount of starts and has put together a 4-1 record with 2 shutouts. Mason is still their franchise goaltender, but while Garon continues to play well and the Bluejackets putting together win, Garon remains a solid option for a spot start here and there as a number 3 goalie.

Email of the Week:

With Andrei Markov about to miss several months due to injury, who should I pick up via free agency? My options are:

Jordan Leopold

Dennis Wideman

Joni Pitkanen

Cody Franson

Any help would be appreciated.

-Mike

Well, those are all solid options there. Wideman has the potential to put up 45+ points but on FLA he has limited offensive options. Pitkanen has always put up solid stats but remains an injury risk. Franson has quietly put together a good year but with Ryan Suter returning, expect his ice time to go down. I'd go with Jordan Leopold. He has the most points of the bunch and has been consistent from the start. At this point, he should be owned in most leagues.

Until next week, keep those emails coming!