Fantasy Hockey – Who's #2 in Goal?
It is no secret Mikka Kiprusoff is the top fantasy goalie heading into the 2006-2007 season. Kipper will probably be drafted in the middle part of the first round in almost all live drafts and rightfully so, as he has easily been the top goaltender over the past two campaigns. However, it becomes very difficult to rank goalies after Mikka. Teams such as Anaheim and San Jose don’t yet have a clear number one while goalies such as Lehtonen and Huet still have something to prove. Here are my top seven goalie picks after the defending Vezina winner.Tomas Vokoun – Nashville Predators
Posted an exceptional .919 save percentage last year to go along with 36 wins. His health no longer seems to be much of a risk and Nashville will be one of the best teams in the Western Conference as their young defensive core develops. Look for 40 plus wins and a GAA of under 2.40 this year for this skilled Czech.
Martin Brodeur – New Jersey Devils
Although his save percentage and GAA slipped last season, Brodeur picked up a league leading 43 victories and posted a solid 5 shutouts. The Devils are still in serious cap trouble and I doubt their team will be as good as last years. Nevertheless, Martin will still have a successful season and he is a very safe pick as your number one goalie if you can’t snag Kipper, although I think Vokoun has more upside coming into this season.
Ryan Miller – Buffalo Sabres
After missing the first couple months of the 2005/06 season due to injury, Miller posted exceptional numbers during his teams final 55 games with 30 victories and a .914 save percentage. He figures to only get better with age and experience and I fully expect the Sabres to have another 100+ point season in front of Miller, who should pick up 35 wins easily.
Dominik Hasek – Detroit Red Wings
Hasek could possibly be the steal of many drafts, if (and this is a big if) he can stay healthy for a full season. His numbers in Ottawa last year were simply incredible (28 wins in 43 games, 2.09 GAA, .925 save percentage) and one has to be expect Detroit will be near the top of the Western conference again this campaign. However, it’s pretty tough (not to mention risky) to draft a soon-to-be 42 year old to be your number 1 goaltender in most leagues.
Roberto Luongo – Vancouver Canucks
For the Canucks to have any success in the upcoming season, Luongo is going to have to be sensational. Last year with the struggling Panthers, he posted 35 wins and a solid .914 save percentage. The Canucks will certainly at least somewhat better defensively than the cats were last year and as such Luongo rises to my 6th favorite fantasy goalie for 2006/07.
Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
After stealing the starting job away from Kevin Weekes, Lundqvist managed to post sensational numbers in the NHL (2.24 GAA, .922 save percentage) and backstop Sweden to an Olympic Men’s Hockey gold medal. The Rangers are certainly going to be serious playoff contenders in the East again this year and I don’t expect Lundqvist to suffer through a sophmore slump.
Manny Fernandez – Minnesota Wild
I chose him as the 8th goalie over Lehtonen, Turco and Gerber mainly because Fernandez has been a consistent ‘tender for several years and proved he could handle being a true number one last year. He posted a GAA under 2.30 and saved nearly 92% of all shots he faced in 2005/06. Minnesota improved their team quite dramatically over the summer and I would not be surprised at all if Fernandez leads them into the playoffs this season.
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