The Fantasy Hockey Goalie Conundrum

Goaltending this season has been terribly perplexing, with some starters on the bench and some perennial bench-riders eating up minutes. This situation can best be called the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

Tim Thomas has been spectacular. In fact, he's been so good that he deserves his own column, but this will have to suffice. He is now 3-2-2 with a 1.95 goals-against average, .939 save percentage, and two shutouts.

Before you think those numbers are overly gawdy, his numbers last season were also superb. But don't overpay for him since he may lose a significant number of starts to Manny Fernandez when he hits a rough patch.

Carey Price has been fantastic, as expected. Despite his penchant for allowing the occasional odd goal every game, his numbers are stellar. With a save percentage of .937 and a GAA of 1.91, there literally is nobody better, in fantasy or reality.

The big motivator for Price in his second NHL season is Jaroslav Halak. Halak is a highly talented goalie with loads of potential and is extremely hungry for playing time. The problem is that he lacks experience, so Price will definitely be getting the vast majority of playing time.

Mike Smith has been come out of left field this year and saved the Lightning in the process. With a GAA of 2.11 and a league-leading .942 save percentage, he has definitely changed the minds of many fantasy owners.

With that said, his owners should be looking to sell him immediately. The Bolts simply have a suspect blue line and are unlikely to win enough games to make Smith a No. 1 fantasy netminder this season.

The Bad

Marty Turco is known to be a bit of a slow-starter, but he has taken that habit to another level this season. He is 3-4-2 with a GAA of 4.26 and a save percentage of .842. There is a silver lining in all of this, though—the Stars have no proven back up.

Turco will continue to get starts as long as he shows signs of life. Savvy fantasy owners should look to buy him up now, since even if his GAA and save percentage are not up to snuff this year, he will still end up with plenty of wins.

Chris Osgood is sporting a GAA of 3.38 after seven games and an equally embarrassing save percentage. Osgood's owners should be nervous for several reasons. First of all, Ty Conklin may steal away starts from Osgood right now, and the Red Wings are rumored to be looking at making trades down the line. They're specifically looking at Cristobal Huet and may be able to get him. Ozzie's owners should probably hunker down now and hope for the best.

Evgeni Nabokov has stopped only .877 of shots faced and has a surprisingly human GPA of 2.85 but sports a 6-2 record. San Jose has a superb defensive system in place but is lacking on stay-at-home defensemen this year.

Rob Blake, Christian Ehrhoff, and Dan Boyle are known for their goal-scoring ability, not their goal-stopping ability. Expect Nabby to turn it around, but he will not be having a career year.

The Ugly

Dwayne Roloson is in real trouble in Edmonton as he is nothing more than one member of a trio. Mathieu Garon is apparently getting the most playing time while youngster Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers cannot be sent down without clearing waivers, and the team simply will not risk losing him. Roloson is likely to end up as a back up or possibly a starter once he's traded. However, fantasy owners would be wise to avoid him for now.

Cristobal Huet was supposed to be the real deal in Chicago and potentially lead the Hawks to the promised land; instead, he's stuck on the bench. Huet is merely 1-2 in four starts with a pedestrian .894 save percentage.

The problem is that nobody knows what's going on. Chicago has tried time and again to get rid of Nikolai Khabibulin, but found no takers. Will Huet be traded or eventually emerge as the top netminder in Chi-town? Nobody has any clue at this point, so fantasy owners should avoid him completely, unless he's on the waiver wire.