NHL.com ranks the top 25 goalies for fantasy hockey pools in the 2020-21 season. For more coverage, visit NHL.com/Fantasy and subscribe for free to the NHL Fantasy on Ice podcast.MORE FANTASY COVERAGE: Mock draft
Top 250 overall | 100 forwards | 50 ‘D’
Goalie tandem rankings | Cheat sheet
Lundqvist out for season; Samsonov in top 10
— Henrik Lundqvist won’t play for the Washington Capitals this season because of a heart condition. Lundqvist, who signed a one-year contract as a free agent this offseason, was expected to share time with young goalie Ilya Samsonov, who’s remains among NHL.com’s top 10 fantasy goalie rankings (No. 9) and should now be considered Washington’s clear No. 1 option. Samsonov is coming off a strong regular season as a rookie and gained fantasy appeal earlier this offseason from the departure of longtime starter Braden Holtby, who signed a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent.
Samsonov, one of the top 10 fantasy breakout candidates this season, remains a fringe top 50 overall player (No. 51 in NHL.com’s top 250 rankings) after missing the 2020 postseason with an injury. Samsonov could benefit under new Capitals coach Peter Laviolette, but reaching for him in fantasy any higher than his rank comes with some concern because of not only his recovery from the injury but also the fact that Washington now lacks a proven backup for support.
The goalies ranked in the two spots ahead of Samsonov — Frederik Andersen of the Toronto Maple Leafs (potential 2021 unrestricted free agent) and Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens — are proven workhorse options with strong track records in the wins category; each also has a .917 NHL save percentage.
Minnesota Wild goalie prospect Kaapo Kahkonen joined the top 250 rankings (No. 249), replacing Lundqvist. Kahkonen gained some fantasy appeal after news that goalie Alex Stalock could miss the start of training camp for the Wild because of an upper-body injury. Kahkonen, who was 3-1-1 with a .913 save percentage in five NHL starts last season, could begin this season in the NHL and challenge Cam Talbot (signed three-year contract with Minnesota) for playing time.
GOALIE RANKINGS FOR 2020-21
Standard goalie categories include wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts. Value has been quantified based on factors including but not limited to past production in regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs, team goalie situations, anticipated start volume, projected goal support (or lack thereof), injury history or concern (INJ. – players who could miss the start of this season), sleeper, bounce-back or breakout potential, anticipated regression, age, contract status (potential 2021 unrestricted free agents: *) and overall upside for the 2020-21 season. These rankings are a collaborative effort by Pete Jensen and Rob Reese.
1. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL2. Connor Hellebuyck, WPG3. Tuukka Rask, BOS*4. Robin Lehner, VGK5. Carter Hart, PHI6. Igor Shesterkin, NYR7. Frederik Andersen, G, TOR*8. Carey Price, G, MTL9. Ilya Samsonov, G, WSH10. Philipp Grubauer, G, COL*11. Jordan Binnington, G, STL*12. Braden Holtby, VAN13. Semyon Varlamov, NYI14. Jacob Markstrom, CGY15. Marc-Andre Fleury, VGK16. Anton Khudobin, DAL17. Tristan Jarry, PIT18. Jaroslav Halak, BOS*19. Pavel Francouz, COL20. Joonas Korpisalo, CBJ21. Elvis Merzlikins, CBJ22. Darcy Kuemper, ARI23. Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA24. Thatcher Demko, VAN25. Ilya Sorokin, NYI
Out long term
: Ben Bishop, DAL (INJ.)
Out for season
: Henrik Lundqvist, WSH
Just missed
: Petr Mrazek, CAR*; Juuse Saros, NSH; Cam Talbot, MIN; Alexandar Georgiev, NYR; Devan Dubnyk, SJS*; Matt Murray, OTT; John Gibson, ANA; Jonathan Quick, LAK; Mackenzie Blackwood, NJD (RFA); Jake Allen, MTL; James Reimer, CAR*; Linus Ullmark, BUF*; Kaapo Kahkonen, MIN
—
Listen: NHL Fantasy on Ice podcast