PITTSBURGH – Fantasy Hockey can be a fun and entertaining way to be a hockey fan. If you found yourself watching an Arizona Coyotes verses Vancouver Canucks game in January of last year, it’s a safe bet you had Matt Duchene on your roster. Throughout the season, Pro Hockey News will be posting content to help manage your fantasy team and also prepare for the upcoming fantasy draft.

Most fantasy leagues are setup in such a way that places more value on goalies than other positions. In standard Yahoo formats, the goalie can represent up to 40% of your possible points for the week. CBS and ESPN are not as dramatic but still have standard formats where the goalie points account for at least 30% of scoring. If you drafted Jonathan Quick early last year, you probably missed the playoffs.

When you get ready to draft your fantasy roster this season, here are the top five goalies to target based on potential production value for the 2017-2018 season. Note that this list does not apply to the keeper league format.

5. Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild

Minnesota had a strange season last year. They lead the division for a while then faded late and exited the playoffs too soon. During their up and down year, Dubnyk was remarkably consistent. He finished the season with 40 wins, a save percentage of .923 and a goals against average of just 2.25. He has also started 65 or more games in the past two seasons. With the numbers he has put up the past couple years, he could have been higher on this list if not for other issues (see below).

4. Matt Murray, Pittsburgh Penguins

Matthew Murray – Photo by Jack Lima

The only rookie goalie to ever have two Stanley Cups should probably be higher on this list, but there are legitimate reasons holding him back. Both GM Jim Rutherford and Coach Mike Sullivan have stated that they don’t expect Murray to be a workhorse. They brought in Antti Niemi hoping he could start 25-30 games during the regular season. Setting aside that he might only start 50 games, the numbers show he is an elite goalie. In only 49 games last season, he finished with 32 wins, .923 save percentage, and four shutouts. His career goals against average is only 2.32. If you do take Murray in the draft, you may want to also grab his backup Niemi in the later rounds as insurance.

3. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

2017-2-2 PHI vs MTL
Goalie Carey Price (#31)

After missing most of the 2015-2016 season, Price dropped down in the ranking for a number of people. During mock drafts at the beginning of last season he was no longer the first goalie taken in many leagues. After playing a full season and putting up great numbers, that trend will not continue. Price is the best goalie in the league but not for fantasy purposes. Last season he manged only 37 wins in 62 tries. Wins are not everything though and he did finish with a .923 save percentage and 2.23 goals against average. With a huge new contract, he has something to prove and he should put up even better numbers this seasons.

2. Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus Blue Jackets

Last season was a breakout year for Bobrovsky. Columbus had one of the best blue lines outside of Smashville and Bobrovsky rewarded their efforts with some elite level performances. He started 63 regular season games and maintained a .931 save percentage. He managed seven shutouts and held opponents to just 2.06 goals on average while facing 1,854 shots. Even if his production dips slightly, though there is no reason to expect that to happen, he is definitely a top five goalie in your fantasy league.

1. Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

2016-4-24 NHL PHI vs WSH Playoff game 6
Goalie Braden Holtby (#70)

Capitals fans may not be as high on Holtby as most fantasy owners due to the recent playoff woes. Set aside those feelings and just look at the numbers. He has started more than 60 games (73 in 2014-2015) each of the last three seasons and averaged 44 wins over that span. He finished last seasons with a league leading nine shutouts and a 2.07 goals against average. Put simply, the Capitals won the Presidents Trophy in back to back years in large part because of Hotlby’s regular season play. He has been the leagues best fantasy goalie the last three seasons and should continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Just Missed the List

John Gibson, Jake Allen, Cam Talbot, Tuukka Rask, and Pekka Rinne

For more Fantasy draft help, check out these articles;

Top 10 Fantasy Hockey Defensemen

Top 10 Fantasy Hockey Forwards

Do you agree with the list? Let me know on twitter @apoptosian

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