LandShark Hockey: DraftStreet Goalies 101

by landsharkhockey Last Updated 2011-02-01 08:39:18

LandShark Hockey

DraftStreet Goalies 101

With fantasy football season at its end, and baseball still two months away, fantasy players should be turning to the NHL in droves! This week, I’ll be breaking down the goaltender position on Draftstreet. Draftstreet opened their doors for hockey leagues last week, and many players are still adjusting to the new system and salary structure. As with other sites, the goalie position is key if you’re going to win, particularly in a larger league.

Know the System

The first thing to note on at Draftstreet is the value of a save. While most other sites award .1 or .2 points per save, Draftstreet awards .3 points per save. This places a higher value on goalies who tend to get peppered with shots each night.

Note: The top four fantasy scorers this season closely mirror the top 4 in saves:

Top FP:

• 1) Hiller
• 2) Thomas
• 3) Price
• 4) Ward

Top Saves:

• 1) Hiller
• 2) Ward
• 3) Price
• 4) Thomas

Best Value

If you’re looking to save some dollars under the cap, here are some players who give excellent value for their price. I’m calculating a player’s “value ratio” as:

Fantasy point per game (PPG) / Salary

I then multiply that by 100 for readability. For comparison, Hiller’s ratio is 4.12 and Thomas has 4.03.

• Mikka Kiprusoff (CGY – $11.9k) – 6.26 fppg —> 5.26
• Antero Niittymaki (SJ – $12.5k) – 6.03 fppg —> 4.82
• Cam Ward (CAR – $16.8k) – 7.84 fppg —> 4.68
• Jonathan Quick (LA – $15.5k) – 7.11 fppg —> 4.58

Worst Value

On the other end of the spectrum, these guys have not given the value that their current salary dictates.

• Martin Brodeur (NJ – $13.7k) – 5.01 fppg —> 3.67
• Rick DiPietro (NYI – $16.0k) – 5.90 fppg —> 3.70
• Craig Anderson (COL – $17.6k) – 6.57 fppg —> 3.72

Who’s Hot

While those numbers account for the season to date, it’s probably more important to look at what they’ve done lately. Over the next week or so, keep these goalies in mind, as they’ve been the hottest options in the month of January:

• Pekka Rinne (NAS ) – 9 wins in 12 games. He went on a terrific run.
• Dwayne Roloson (TB) – since arriving in Tampa, Roloson has exceeded expectations. He has 8 wins and 3 shutouts in his last 12 games.
• Jonas Hiller (ANA) – Hiller earned his All-Star berth with a fine January. He won 8 games, including 2 shutouts.
• Ryan Miller (BUF) – Miller had a rough start to the season, but is back to his Vezina form of last year. He also has 8 wins in January, and 1 shutout

Target Picks

Here are my target picks at the other four positions, based on current salaries:

My Roster

After a five day hiatus for the All-Star break, hockey returns tonight. Here’s my lineup:

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About the Writer: ‘Chewy’ aka Gary Wilson, operates LandShark Hockey, and has been helping others dominate Fantasy Hockey Leagues for almost 20 years now. Landshark Hockey provides fantasy hockey fans with daily news, updates, and draft strategy including the LandShark Hockey War Room for Daily Fantasy Hockey Lineup Help.