Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s your guy, MarmosDad, back for another preseason rundown of aggregate rankings and additional information for 2026-2027 Fantasy Hockey.
Two weeks ago, I shared that the tentative plan was running an aggregate of rankings from various sources around the internet, and giving some input as to which ones made sense to me or, more likely, which players were going to be underdrafted in your fantasy drafts this year.
We’ve gone through the Top 50 Forwards – and you can click that link if you want to read that one and/or see what my overall plan was when I started these aggregate analyses.
Last week was the Top 50 defensemen with the same criteria and breakdown I used with the forwards. Again, click the link if you want to peep that out, too.
This week, we’re off to the land of the tendy. And I’ll be the first to admit, the mainframe aggregate computer had more trouble with its processing than the chicken tender factory did when it got the most recent shipment of beaks and feathers.
Some projections were spot on (more on that below), but some others were downright confusing, or, in a not-so-nice assessment, downright wrong.
We’re not going as deep today as we did with the previous two aggregate articles. NHL dot com only publishes its Top 25 goalies, and in all fairness, even in a 12-team league, you’re likely only concerned with a couple dozen starting netminders anyway.
I’ll go at least 30 deep here today, though, just in case you want some names to stash as bench netminders on your reserve lists.
There’s one big caveat to note with these guys, too. Goaltender rankings are based strictly on “Wins + Shutouts only”. That means the aggregates here intentionally ignore GAA and SV% as additional categories.
Lastly, goaltenders are a notoriously difficult position to predict because of the higher likelihood of injuries (ask your goalie buddy how many times they’ve pulled a groin muscle), and most of their value is tied to playing time and sheer volume of minutes spent in the crease. Some of these guys could outperform (or underperform) expectations if their coaches change up the backstopper plans early in the season.
I was going to go with a strict roll-out of the aggregate rankings, just to show you how crazy some of them were, but at the end of the day I did some tweaking and editing anyway.
That is, unless you think Brandon Bussi is going to be the 4th-best goaltender for fantasy hockey this year. (Yikes).
Got all that? Ok, then. Grab some hot sauce and a side of fries because it’s Tendy Time!
NHL 2026-2027 AGGREGATE GOALTENDER RANKINGS
| RANK | NAME | TEAM | PROJECTED WINS | SHUTOUTS | NHL
(DOT COM) RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrei Vasilevskiy | TB | 41.1 | 2.2 | 1 |
| 2 | Connor Hellebuyck | WPG | 27.4 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Logan Thompson | WSH | 33.5 | 4.1 | 2 |
| 4 | Jake Oettinger | DAL | 39.6 | 4.4 | 5 |
| 5 | Ilya Sorokin | NYI | 33.1 | 7.3 | 4 |
| 6 | Igor Shesterkin | NYR | 34.8 | 8.3 | 6 |
| 7 | Scott Wedgewood | COL | 41.5 | 5.1 | 7 |
| 8 | Jeremy Swayman | BOS | 35.1 | 2.3 | 9 |
| 9 | Jesper Wallstedt | MIN | 32.2 | 6.2 | 8 |
| 10 | Jakub Dobes | MTL | 40.6 | 0.5 | 12 |
| 11 | Sergei Bobrovsky | TOR | 32.7 | 4.5 | 15 |
| 12 | Karel Vejmelka | UTA | 36.9 | 2.1 | 14 |
| 13 | MacKenzie Blackwood | COL | 36.1 | 4.4 | 13 |
| 14 | Brandon Bussi | CAR | 46.5 | 3.1 | 11 |
| 15 | Linus Ullmark | OTT | 35.4 | 3.7 | 17 |
| 16 | Filip Gustavsson | MIN | 34.8 | 4.7 | — |
| 17 | Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | BUF | 37.9 | 2.0 | 16 |
| 18 | Joel Hofer | STL | 32.7 | 7.3 | 19 |
| 19 | Dan Vladar | PHI | 34.7 | 0.4 | 20 |
| 20 | Spencer Knight | CHI | 28.4 | 3.1 | 23 |
| 21 | Jacob Markstrom | FLA | 32.8 | 1.6 | 10 |
| 22 | Alex Lyon | BUF | 34.3 | 4.7 | — |
| 23 | Lukas Dostal | ANA | 33.6 | 0.4 | 24 |
| 24 | Jet Greaves | CLM | 25.8 | 2.6 | 22 |
| 25 | Jusse Saros | NSH | 29.1 | 4.3 | 21 |
| 26 | Carter Hart | VEG | 27.8 | 2.6 | 18 |
| 27 | Yaroslav Askarov | SJ | 25.3 | 3.1 | — |
| 28 | Jordan Binnington | STL | 19.3 | 3.4 | — |
| 29 | Connor Ingram | EDM | 31.4 | 3.6 | — |
| 30 | Arturs Silovs | PIT | 30.9 | 3.1 | — |
| 31 | Jake Allen | NJ | 28.6 | 3.6 | — |
| 32 | Casey DeSmith | DAL | 31.4 | 2.2 | — |
| 33 | Jacob Fowler | MTL | 16.3 | 1.5 | 25 |
| 34 | Adin Hill | VEG | 19.3 | 3.6 | — |
| 35 | Tristan Jarry | EDM | 33.7 | 3.5 | — |
| 36 | John Gibson | DET | 32.1 | 4.2 | — |
| 37 | Pyotr Kochetkov | CAR | 22.4 | 1.8 | — |
| 38 | Darcy Kuemper | LA | 21.8 | 2.3 | — |
| 39 | Anton Forsberg | LA | 17.3 | 1.2 | — |
| 40 | Dustin Wolf | CGY | 23.6 | 4.3 | — |
| 41 | Fredrik Andersen | EDM | 25.2 | 2.0 | — |
| 42 | Joey Daccord | SEA | 23.3 | 2.1 | — |
| 43 | Sergei Murashov | PIT | 18.6 | 1.4 | — |
MARMOS GOALIE PICKS (or at least explanations about their rankings here)
Connor Hellebuyck – This one was the first projection that made me do a double take. To be completely honest, the aggregate didn’t even have Hellebuyck ranked in the Top 25. I’d understand if that admission alone made you discard this whole chart, but please bear with me. (And, for the record, I would predict a ‘full-season Hellebuyck’ to easily make a run at 40 wins).
By now, we all know the playoff failures that pushed Hellebuyck to request a trade out of Winnipeg. That kind of mental stress, along with the uncertainty that Hellebuyck even reports to training camp on time, is likely a major factor in the projected wins being way off from his elite-level peers.
The official NHL rankings predict 31 wins and slot him in as their 3rd-best goalie behind Andrei Vasilevskiy and Logan Thompson. That makes more sense than the aggregate does here, but I assume most of the low numbers here have a lot to do with uncertainty.
Hellebuyck has a no-movement clause, and he officially announced at the end of August that he did, in fact, request a move out of Manitoba. It doesn’t help that Winnipeg has said most trade offers have been low-ball or “underwhelming” offers.
His wins and shutouts will depend on his landing spot, and, more specifically, on the strength of the defense in front of him when he lands in a new city.
But let’s face the facts here. It’s highly unlikely that a team without playoff aspirations is willing to put together a package of young, NHL-ready talent to secure themselves a Vezina-caliber goaltender.
Buffalo has been frequently mentioned as a possibility, along with Carolina and New Jersey. Heck, Utah could even throw themselves into the mix if they’re willing to move some pieces out and secure a top-tier netminder.
Bottom line: Draft this guy as an elite-level goalie from the top tier, and let someone else worry about what jersey he’ll be wearing come October. The only concern I have is that he holds out and it affects his games played total. (In other words, monitor the news).
Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood – If you can’t see the forest for the trees, you might be in Colorado. When you’ve got one good wood, you’re good. Two, though? That’s even better. Or at least Avs fans hope that’s the case again this year.
Usually, I say it’s a good idea to steer away from the old 1A and 1B goalie tandems, even if they can perform at an elite level. There isn’t a lot to benefit from in fantasy if you’re drafting two very good goalies who finish with 40 starts (each).
Could both of these guys go 35-5 with a dozen shutouts and an equally ridiculous goals-against average and save percentage? Sure they could. But if you’re in a league that only counts wins and shutouts, you want to spend that draft pick on an equally strong guy who will get 20+ more starts in net.
Jakob Dobes – I wasn’t sure if I wanted to write up this kid or the one in St. Louis, but because of the supporting cast, Dobes was our winner here.
To say that the 25-year-old sophomore built on a decent rookie season in 2024-2025 would be an understatement. The only disappointing thing for fantasy managers last year was that he had zero shutouts to add to those 29 wins (in 43 starts). The 2.78 GAA and .901 SV% are solid ratios for a goaltender, let alone from one who came into last year with just 16 NHL games under his belt.
I expect Dobes to take an even bigger jump in games played (probably between 50-60), and to finally snag his second shutout in three seasons. The Habs are building a powerhouse squad full of young talent and reliable supporting cast members, and this kid is going to benefit big time from it.
Lock him in if he slips too far past the top 6 goalies. To be honest, I think the 10th spot here might even be too low.
Sergei Bobrovsky – Well, this list and write-up wouldn’t be complete without one of our favorites.
The only knock on Bob here is the age – he’ll turn 38 years old just before opening night – but the Leafs are finally getting a top-tier goalie to keep the puck out of the net.
The naysayers will agree that Bobrovsky is a top-tier guy…if we’re talking about the 2021-2022 season. But the fact of the matter is, as long as Bobrovsky can stay healthy, he’s got as good a shot as anyone else at leading the league in wins.
Like them or hate them, the Leafs have a solid top 6 forward group, have completely revamped their bottom 6 forwards, and roll into the year with a new stud defenseman in Darren Raddysh as well as a (hopefully) fully healthy Chris Tanev to bring the hits on the back end.
On paper, this team looks as good as anyone in the Atlantic, and BOBROVSKY is going to benefit from the strong support in front of him.
Karel Vejmelka – This doesn’t warrant much fanfare, but it serves as a reminder of a point I made earlier. When you’re assessing starting goalies and moving them around in your ranks, make sure you look for guys who have little-to-no competition for that #1 spot. If Utah shocks the hockey world and trades for Hellebuyck, all of this goes right out the window, but for now I have the Vejjie-man penciled in for 60 starts on an up-and-coming Mammoth squad that should make some noise again and sneak into the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
Brandon Bussi – As a Bruin fan, this one stung a lot. I even said to a close friend of mine that I hoped Boston would trade Joonas Korpisalo two years ago for a bag of pucks so they could bring Bussi in as Jeremy Swayman’s full-time backup.
Well, the Bruins didn’t even get a bag of pucks for one of their backup options when they lost Bussi to Florida as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2025.
Lucky Panthers, right? Nope!
Bussi was scooped off waivers by Carolina on October 5th and went on to be a savior for the Hurricanes after Pyotr Kochetkov was lost for the year after December hip surgery.
Is Brandon Bussi a very good goalie? Yes. But should he be expected to be the 4th-best netminder in the entire league and collect 40+ wins for a team that has a future star goalie now healthy and ready to play a starting role in Carolina?
Nope. (And for the record, the aggregate had him slotted in the 4-spot before I edited things up)
I’m fine with drafting Bussi as a second goalie in leagues that require such a thing, but I wouldn’t be expecting a repeat of the season he had last year. Sure, these two guys could turn into an East Coast version of the two-headed beast between the pipes in Colorado, but that’s a best-case scenario that I wouldn’t bet an early-round pick on.
Linus Ullmark – What a difference a summer makes.
At least that’s what Sens fans are hoping is the case after a quick early-round sweep at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes in last year’s playoffs. Was it a crummy way to go out? Sure. But we can’t pin this one on Ullmark. Ottawa managed to score just FIVE goals in those four games, from TWO different players at that, and Ullmark became the second goalie in NHL history to have a save percentage over .930 (.932) and still lose four straight games in a playoff series.
Now that the Brady Tkachuk circus has left town, there’s one less distraction for the team to deal with. Is a 33-year-old Ullmark going to win 40 games again as he did in Boston in 2022-2023? I wouldn’t bet on that. But I would bet on a solid bounceback this year, with a healthy increase from last year’s 28 wins and 3 shutout totals.
Spencer Knight – This one’s a quick one, and it pairs up with Karel Vejmelka and Jakub Dobes’ notes…to a degree.
Spencer Knight’s 2.82 GAA and .902 SV% were very similar to Jakub Dobes’ 2.78 GAA and .901 SV%. His 55 starts were just 9 fewer than Karel Vejmelka’s 64 games played.
So we should be reaching to draft a young goalie with solid ratios and little-to-no competition between the pipes on an up-and-coming team with a superstar captain?
Uh…pump the brakes a bit there. Chicago is heading in the opposite direction as Utah and Montreal and, to make matters worse, their new captain is out until at least early November as he rehabs from that shoulder separation injury.
If it’s a dynasty league, go get him at cost, but if you’re in a redraft league, he’s not getting Connor Bedard to give him any offensive support, so don’t expect too much of an increase in those 19 wins from last season.
Jacob Markstrom – This one is even quicker. I could just say “Ask the Flames fans what they think…or the Devils fans” and leave it at that. When a guy wins 23 games and posts a pretty putrid .883 SV% as your number one goalie…ya, you don’t want that kind of stress for your fantasy team either.
Jet Greaves – Oh! Now we’re talking!
Greaves burst onto the scene last year after an offseason where he was a sleeper pick in a few different places on the interwebs. I can’t say I called him out as a “sleeper” in the truest sense of the word last year, but I DID write up Elvis Merzlikins as a fade in my preseason write-up for the Metro division last fall.
“Elvis Merzlikins – It might be ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ time soon for The King. Elvis isn’t a terrible goalie by any means, but the .892 SV% and 26-21-5 record last year opened the door for competition this year. And the competition has arrived. It’s not a stretch to say that Merzlikins could go from starter to backup behind Jet Greaves as early as the first week of November if the latter gets off to a hot start.” And that’s me quoting me!
The hot start was there, and the starting job was wrestled away from Merzlikins to the tune of 55 starts and 26 wins for Greaves. The #24 spot in the chart is too low, as are the projected wins and shutout totals. Give me the over on all of it, and jump on this guy two rounds early. Jump even earlier if it’s a keeper league.
Yaroslav Askarov – Askarov me no questions, and I’ll tell you no lies. Take what I said for Greaves above, and paste it all in here. If you’re in a dynasty league and you roster both of these kids, you’re not going to have to worry about goaltending for a very long time.
Casey DeSmith – Really, aggregate? You think this guy is winning more than 30 games as a backup to Jake Oettinger? The same Jake Oettinger who started close to 60 games in each of the past 4 years? I don’t know what part of the program ran the numbers for this one, but the calculator was busted.
Could Casey DeSmith go 31-0 in 31 starts? Uh…I guess so. But that means Oettinger only starts 53 games, and neither guy loses a start to injury nor a third backup getting some time.
FINAL NOTES
Some final notes here about a goalie post that was getting far too long to get into the rest of the nitty-gritty…
If you’re looking for the “too long, didn’t read” version, it’s this: Draft proven goaltenders without a history of injuries, but with a clear path to a starting job that will get them close to 50-60 starts. We’re looking for volume and talent here first, folks.
Many of the bottom 20 names here are either in a time-share with one or two other goalies, are on poor to terrible teams, or are in the worst situation: a combination of both.
That’s why I didn’t write up guys like Adin Hill and Carter Hart, the Seattle duo, a couple of solid but time-splitting Kings, or any of the Edmonton cluster of chaos.
As far as the rest of the unmentioned dudes are concerned, I’d avoid them as much as you can unless they’re lottery picks at the end of your draft or to fill out a deep reserve list as a backup to your backup’s backup.
That’s all for this week! I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave some questions or comments in the chat here, and I’ll do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.
And if you’re looking for some pitcher notes from the baseball side, you can always click over to my weekly Top 100 Starting Pitchers column.
Have a great week, and I’ll see you next Wednesday for our deep league sleeper picks!
Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social
