This article is part of our The Goalie Report series.
On most of the 32 NHL rosters, we don't see too many workhorse goalies who log more than 55 starts anymore. Therefore, it's important to track the goalie workload on each roster regularly. That's what I'll be doing weekly throughout the hockey season.
If you're in season-long fantasy leagues, you want to pick up one of those workhorses (55-plus game starts), particularly if they play for some of the league's better teams.
The short list of those elite netminders, based on last year's stats, is:
Of these, Korpisalo's stock is certain to drop, as he's now behind Jeremy Swayman on the Boston Bruins depth chart.
I would also discount the impact of Mrazek, as Chicago is expected to be in the bottom third of the NHL standings this season.
Binnington (Joel Hofer) and Sorokin (Semyon Varlamov) are expected to see a decline in game starts based on the quality of the backups (noted in parentheses) on their respective rosters.
So, let's check in on these other incumbents:
Connor Hellebuyck, Jets (5-0, 1.40 GAA, .948 Sv%, 1 shutout)
Hellebuyck has already sent a loud message that he is aiming to be in the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) conversation once again, as he's collected wins in each of his five starts to date, turning aside 120 of 127 shots he's faced so far this season. That's helped
On most of the 32 NHL rosters, we don't see too many workhorse goalies who log more than 55 starts anymore. Therefore, it's important to track the goalie workload on each roster regularly. That's what I'll be doing weekly throughout the hockey season.
If you're in season-long fantasy leagues, you want to pick up one of those workhorses (55-plus game starts), particularly if they play for some of the league's better teams.
The short list of those elite netminders, based on last year's stats, is:
Of these, Korpisalo's stock is certain to drop, as he's now behind Jeremy Swayman on the Boston Bruins depth chart.
I would also discount the impact of Mrazek, as Chicago is expected to be in the bottom third of the NHL standings this season.
Binnington (Joel Hofer) and Sorokin (Semyon Varlamov) are expected to see a decline in game starts based on the quality of the backups (noted in parentheses) on their respective rosters.
So, let's check in on these other incumbents:
Connor Hellebuyck, Jets (5-0, 1.40 GAA, .948 Sv%, 1 shutout)
Hellebuyck has already sent a loud message that he is aiming to be in the Vezina Trophy (top goalie) conversation once again, as he's collected wins in each of his five starts to date, turning aside 120 of 127 shots he's faced so far this season. That's helped the Jets charge out of the gate as one of the league's top teams through the first two weeks of play. He's making a strong bid to register his eighth straight campaign (excluding the shortened 20-21 campaign) among the league's busiest goalies. The 31-year-old should remain among the league's Top 5 goalies in nearly every format.
Juuse Saros, Predators (1-4, 2.89 GAA, .903 Sv%)
Saros has appeared in at least 64 games in each of the last three seasons for the Preds, and he's now locked into an eight-year contract extension with an annual cap hit of $7.74M. He's only 5-11 and 180 pounds, making him the smallest on this list of the league's busiest goalies. His career stats of a 2.63 GAA and .917 save percentage over 355 NHL games played to date, rank him among the elite options at his position. I'm not concerned about Nashville's stumbling start out of the gate. This roster, which was fortified by several elite free agent additions over the summer, will take flight soon.
Alexandar Georgiev, Avalanche (1-3, 4.99 GAA, .810 Sv%)
Georgiev is in his third season with Colorado, and he played in 125 games over his first two seasons with the Avalanche. He played five years with the Rangers to begin his pro career, where he was never able to log more than 34 appearances in a single campaign. As a result, he's relatively new to the clear No. 1 role on a goalie depth chart. While backstopping this elite roster, he's never been highlighted among the team's star performers. His status has not really been called into question previously, but with Colorado's poor start this season, there are slight whispers which suggest that Avs management is looking for help at the goalie position.
Stuart Skinner, Oilers (1-3-1, 3.74 GAA, .866 Sv%)
Over the last two seasons, Skinner has emerged as the lead dog in the Oilers' netminding competition. He cemented that role with a strong 2023-24 season that saw him log 59 appearances with a record of 36-15-5, and he was then able to lead them to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in Edmonton's long playoff run. When you have a roster that boasts several former top draft picks, goaltending sometimes comes across as an afterthought. The importance of the position, and Skinner's performance last year, has elevated his status as part of a club that started this season as the Stanley Cup betting favorite.
Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers (3-2, 3.48 GAA, .875 Sv%)
In his 15th season of NHL play, Bobrovsky finally reached the pinnacle and collected his first Stanley Cup title. He has long been one of the most well-compensated goalies in the NHL (current $10 million cap hit through the 2025-26 season), and yet, it took this long for him to win a championship. In some circles he had been painted as an underachiever, but now his resume, including 400-plus wins along with the Cup win, seems almost Hall of Fame-worthy. He's coming off one of his best statistical years in the NHL, posting a 2.37 GAA and .915 save percentage. At 36 years of age, he's the oldest of these elite goalies. His substandard start to this season deserves close attention at the moment.
Igor Shesterkin, Rangers (4-0-1, 1.97 GAA, .932 Sv%)
This is Shesterkin's 6th season in the NHL, and he's quickly become a fan favorite at Madison Square Garden. A record of 109-43-14 with 13 shutouts and a GAA under 2.50 over the past three seasons will account for that level of reverence. He's arguably also the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy backstopping a New York club that should challenge for the President's Trophy as the top team in the regular season. While he is surrounded by a quality roster, he has clearly established himself as a key cog in the Rangers organization.
Now, let's consider who's making an early bid to step up early this season:
Jake Oettinger, Stars (4-1, 1.81 GAA, .941 Sv%)
Oettinger fell one appearance short of my arbitrary mark of 55 games played last year, down from 62 the prior season. He's the No. 1 backstop for a Dallas team that's expected to once again challenge for the top of the Central Division. Standing at 6-6 and weighing in at 225 pounds, he's another of the new breed of goalies who covers a lot of net with his imposing size. He couples that with an amazing agility that should put him in the Vezina conversation this season. He will also battle Hellebuyck for the starting assignments for the USA roster in the upcoming Four Nations Faceoff in February of 2025.
Jeremy Swayman, Bruins (2-2-1, 2.77 GAA, .911 Sv%)
Swayman had been part of a virtual goalie split with Linus Ullmark (now with the Senators), since his NHL debut in the fall of 2020. That situation has changed as the Bruins, after a lengthy contract debate, locked up the 25-year old Swayman to an eight-year deal with an AAV of $8.25 million. He's coming off a season where he appeared in 44 regular-season games before taking over the reins almost exclusively in the 2024 playoffs. The Bruins clearly like what they've seen so far, and there's now a very real expectation that Swayman can, and will, take on a larger role going forward.
