Goaltending Battles
When it comes to depth chart battles, the most interesting ones tend to revolve around goaltending. They aren’t the only ones that matter by any stretch of the imagination, but they’re easily defined because while you could have a lot of different line combinations, you can only have one starting goalie and typically only carry one backup on your roster. That makes it a direct contest between two players for arguably the most important job on the team and in some cases that fight for the starting job stretches over the course of an entire season.
So in that spirit, we’re going to get you up to speed on 10 goaltending battles as of the start of training camp:
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The Ottawa Senators - Craig Anderson vs. Robin Lehner
It’s often an awkward time when you have a promising young goaltender that’s got enough NHL experience to take the reins, but the veteran starter isn’t at a point yet where taking the job away from him is an obvious choice. Eventually teams are often forced to make a choice as having two goalies on the team that feel they should be the starter eventually becomes a distraction. Ottawa decided to go the unconventional route of locking up both goalies though. The hope is that Anderson and Lehner’s battle will prove to be nothing more than a healthy competition, but if Anderson falters this season then this situation could get uncomfortable. After all he’ll start a three-year, $12.6 million contract in 2015-16, so it’s not like he’s getting paid to spend most nights warming the bench.
The Toronto Maple Leafs - Jonathan Bernier vs. James Reimer
There’s no question that Bernier outperformed Reimer last season and will enter the campaign as the team’s starter. He took that job from Reimer though and it’s clear that he wants it back. Reimer’s come back from a rough season before so he can’t be ruled out, although we’d still bet on Bernier ending up with more starts.
The Minnesota Wild - Niklas Backstrom vs. Darcy Kuemper vs. Ilya Bryzgalov
This one’s a little weird. The Wild were initially expected to enter the season with three viable candidates for the starting job between Backstrom, Kuemper, and Josh Harding, but Harding will miss the first two-to-three months of the season due to a fractured ankle. That prompted the Wild to re-sign restricted free agent Kuemper rather than allow his negotiations to eat into training camp and also led to them offering a training camp invite to Bryzgalov. We doubt they’ll sign Bryzgalov, but stranger things have happened in Minnesota. Given the Wild’s recent history, their starter for any given game might not be determined based on performance, but health as Backstrom is far from a safe bet to stay off the sidelines.
The Anaheim Ducks - John Gibson vs. Frederik Andersen vs. Jason LaBarbera
What Gibson and Andersen lack in NHL experience, they make up for in talent. Both are viable options to serve as the team’s starting goaltender, although their youth makes them risks. The Ducks hedged their bets by bringing in 34-year-old LaBarbera and while he isn’t likely to win the starting job, he does add a wrinkle to this battle. Andersen is on a one-way contract, so sending him to the minors wouldn’t be ideal (even if he doesn’t have to be placed on waivers) while Gibson is still on an entry-level deal. For that reason alone, Andersen might have the inside track in the battle for the starting gig, although we still wouldn’t rule out both of the youngsters making the team at the expense of LaBarbera.
The Buffalo Sabres - Jhonas Enroth vs. Michal Neuvirth
Although Enroth is the heavy favorite to win the starting job, it’s not a mortal lock. Neuvirth is coming off a demoralizing season, but is still young and has held down the starting job before. From a fantasy perspective, this is a good goaltending battle to avoid whenever possible. The Sabres are expected to be a dreadful team and neither goaltender is likely to finish the season with an appealing GAA or many wins.
The Carolina Hurricanes - Anton Khudobin vs. Cam Ward
Ward’s stock has fallen heavily over the last couple of years, from his height when he was a good bet to play in around 70 games per season to the point where he’s not even the favorite to serve as the team’s starter. That being said, Ward is still just 30 years old and capable of bouncing back while Khudobin only has 57 NHL games under his belt. There’s no question that Khudobin had a better 2013-14 campaign, but fantasy owners should guard against prematurely assuming that Khudobin is the team’s starter.
The New Jersey Devils - Keith Kinkaid vs. Scott Clemmensen vs. Scott Wedgewood
Cory Schneider will be the Devils’ starter, that much is clear, but he’s the only netminder in the organization with a one-way contract. That’s created an open battle for the backup spot. Kinkaid is coming off of a strong season where he posted a 2.29 GAA and .912 save percentage in 43 AHL games and at the age of 25, there’s no point in keeping him in the minors solely to give him more playing time. However, Clemmensen has far more NHL experience and excelled with New Jersey back in 2008-09 when Martin Brodeur missed a significant chunk of the season with an elbow injury. It would be surprising to see Wedgewood win over Clemmensen or Kinkaid, but the 22-year-old is still worth keeping an eye on.
The St. Louis Blues - Brian Elliott vs. Jake Allen
Elliott was known in his youth as a goaltender of extremes. When he was at his best, he was as effective as any goaltender in the world and when he was at his worst, he’d play like he didn’t even deserve to be in this league. His tenure with St. Louis though has been superb, with him posting a 1.86 GAA and .927 save percentage over the last three seasons. He’s served primarily as the backup goaltender over that stretch, but with Jaroslav Halak gone, he has a chance to assume the starting role on a team that seems poised for a great season. Elliott still has to prove he can play in most games without suffering through the extreme cold streaks that have plagued him in the past. Allen might not have much NHL experience, but the 24-year-old is talented and poses a serious threat to Elliott.
The San Jose Sharks - Antti Niemi vs. Alex Stalock
Is Niemi still a lock in San Jose? Stalock is coming off of a significantly better season and Niemi fell apart in the playoffs. We would still give the edge to Niemi in this fight, but even if he ends up as the backup, Stalock is likely to get a decent chunk of the team’s starts. If you draft Niemi, you should hedge your bets by picking up Stalock as well.
The Edmonton Oilers - Ben Scrivens vs. Viktor Fasth
The Oilers finished the 2013-14 campaign with an entirely new goaltending tandem than they started the season with and so far the change has been for the better. The Oilers didn’t given Scrivens much support on the ice after acquiring him from Los Angeles, but he had some superb performances before the season was done and could have a pretty solid season given that Edmonton has bolstered its defense. Meanwhile, Fasth is coming off a 2013-14 campaign he’d probably like to forget, but can’t be dismissed in the battle for the starting job as when he’s healthy, he can be effective between the pipes. It wouldn’t be shocking if the two end up splitting the netminding duties fairly evenly this season.
