2021-22 Fantasy Hockey Goalies To Avoid
Soooooo I have a bit of a dilemma with this one. The final position to cover is now the most important one. We have new cracked out rules for goalies this year but most people will likely use the standard rules. As we dive into the fantasy hockey goalies to avoid, I will list goalies that I want no part of regardless of whatever set of rules are being used to make matters easier. If you missed the posts on forwards and defensemen, make sure to give that a read too!
Tristan Jarry (Pittsburgh Penguins) ESPN 27 (G 6)
Why? For what reason? Use your eyeballs. Tristian Jarry sucks, dude. At pick 27, you can get a REALLY good hockey player. Jarry isn’t one of them. I think Casey DeSmith will get plenty of run and I think there is a chance the Penguins really struggle in the early stages of the season. You can’t justify this price tag.
Linus Ullmark (Boston Bruins) ESPN 30 (G 7)
This one isn’t personal. It’s hard to know just how good Linus Ullmark is but the fact that he went 9-6-3 with the Sabres last year is encouraging to put it mildly. Here is the real issue. Tuuka Rask signs a one year deal with the Bruins in January and you’re left sitting there as an Ullmark fantasy owner punching a wall. That’s what you’re signing up for. Why would you want to do that to yourself?
I also do want to bring up that Jeremy Swayman was super impressive as a rookie a year ago. I do think Boston wants to give him a longer look regardless of how well Ullmark plays. Hey, maybe Ullmark gets off to a hot and you can flip him before Rask comes back. That’s a risky game to play. I’ll pass. Especially when he’s ranked 30th.
Mike Smith (Edmonton Oilers) ESPN 39 (G 8)
Mike Smith was really good last year posting a save percentage of .923 which was the highest mark of his career at age 38. A lot of weird shit happened last year. We’re slowly getting back to normal. I don’t even have to wear a mask when I go to the gym. I’m going to bet Smith’s quasi breakout season doesn’t repeat itself at age 39.
Mikko Koskinen isn’t a world beater, but remember we’re back to a full 82 game season again. You want to bet Smith plays 55 games this year? I’m not. I’ll pass.
MacKenzie Blackwood (New Jersey Devils) ESPN 120 (G 17)
I’m not sure what MacKenzie Blackwood has done to warrant any sort of ranking. Blackwood allowed 3.04 goals per game a year ago and posted a save percentage of .902. Blackwood was a negative point scoring machine last year.
What’s changed this year? Good question. I can tell you for a fact what it is.
Want to take a guess?
Any Guesses?
Fine, I’ll tell you.
Blackwood isn’t vaccinated which is essentially begging to miss playing time. 98% of the league is vaccinated and we know for a fact Blackwood isn’t among that percentage. I get a goalie who stinks and won’t get the vaccine? Oh, goody!
Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars) ESPN 136 (G 20)
Jake Oettinger is talented and showed real promise during his rookie campaign. The problem is I’m not sure how much the former first round pick is going to play in 2021-22. There’s no reason to rush him into the rotation.
Say whatever you want about Anton Khudobin but he carried the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final two years ago. He’s going to play.
Then there is the Ben Bishop situation. We got two options here.
A: Bishop is healthy. That means he’s likely the de facto starter in Dallas.
B: Bishop is not healthy. Maybe that opens the door for Oettinger but something doesn’t feel right. When someone tells you something, believe them. Braden Holtby was awful last year in Vancouver but he’s a proven winner and was probably signed for a reason.
That leaves Oettinger as the goalie of the future but the current 4th option. Pick 136 isn’t super high by why pull the trigger when you can take so many more interesting options.
Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) ESPN 164 (G 22)
Carey Price is hurt. We have known this for a while. Now we have confirmation the Canadiens netminder is going to miss a lot of time. Price has already taken a leave from the team and may not play a game this year. If you want to take a flier on Price while stashing him on IR, knock yourself out. I just don’t see the point. There is no waiting around at goalie. You need horses available all the time.
Adin Hill (San Jose Sharks) ESPN 200 (G 26)
The Sharks suck. This goalie situation is going to be a nightmare. A revolving door of sadness awaits. How many Arizona goalies were moved this offseason, my god? This is full blown tandem too. James Reimer will play. Whoever is in net will bleed goals. I can’t have a Sharks goalie on my team. No way, no how.
