The days of workhorse netminders logging 70-plus starts are fading into NHL history. Welcome to the era of goalie tandems, where fantasy hockey managers face a weekly guessing game that can make or break their matchup. Gone are the luxury picks like Martin Brodeur or Roberto Luongo who you could pencil into your lineup every night. Today’s fantasy landscape demands a different approach, one that requires equal parts strategic foresight, schedule analysis, and a healthy tolerance for risk.
The Death of the Workhorse
The numbers tell a sobering story for fantasy managers clinging to the old ways. During the 2023-24 season, only Connor Hellebuyck surpassed 60 starts, finishing with 60 appearances for the Winnipeg Jets. Compare that to the mid-2000s, when multiple goaltenders routinely eclipsed 70 starts, and the shift becomes painfully clear. Teams have embraced load management, and fantasy managers must adapt or watch their goalie categories collapse.
This evolution stems from multiple factors. NHL teams recognize that fresh goaltenders perform better, injury prevention has become paramount, and the modern game’s speed and intensity make back-to-back starts increasingly taxing. For fantasy purposes, this means the traditional strategy of drafting two elite starters and riding them all season no longer guarantees success. You need to think deeper, plan smarter, and stay nimble on the waiver wire.
Understanding Tandem Types
Not all tandems are created equal, and identifying which type you’re dealing with determines your entire approach. The clearer the hierarchy, the easier your life becomes.
The Clear-Cut Starter with a Capable Backup: This represents the sweet spot for fantasy managers. Think Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg, where despite Laurent Brossoit’s competence, there’s never doubt about who starts the crucial games. These goalies still deliver 55-60 starts, give you priority on favorable matchups, and provide the consistency that wins fantasy leagues. They’re your first-round picks, your anchors, your sleep-well-at-night options.
The True 1A/1B Split: Welcome to fantasy purgatory. Carolina’s tandem approach, whether it’s been Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta or the current rotation, epitomizes this nightmare scenario. Both goalies possess starting caliber, neither gets enough volume to rack up wins consistently, and predicting who starts on any given night requires reading tea leaves and monitoring morning skates obsessively. The Kings with Cam Talbot and David Rittich often fall into this category as well, creating weekly headaches for fantasy managers trying to maximize starts.
The Veteran Fading into a Timeshare: Perhaps the most painful situation for fantasy managers who invested draft capital. When a previously reliable starter begins sharing duties more evenly, your second or third-round pick suddenly provides fourth-round value. You’re stuck holding an aging asset, watching their start count dwindle, unable to cut them because of name value but unable to rely on them for consistent production.
The Emerging Youngster Challenge: Teams with a developing goaltender present a unique opportunity and risk. Will the young netminder seize the job mid-season, or will they hit the rookie wall? Monitor these situations closely because they offer tremendous waiver wire value if you time it right, but they can also burn you if you jump too early.
Draft Strategy in the Tandem Era
Your draft approach must acknowledge reality: elite goaltending wins championships, but overpaying for it can cripple your team. The key is identifying value and understanding positional scarcity without panicking into reaches.
In most standard leagues, you want to secure at least one top-tier goaltender in the first five rounds. Hellebuyck, Igor Shesterkin when healthy, Juuse Saros, and Ilya Sorokin represent the safest investments. They deliver the starts, face high shot volumes that pad your saves, and play for competitive teams that provide win opportunities. Yes, you’re paying premium draft capital, but the positional advantage is real.
Your second goaltender should come from the tier of reliable starters on good teams, even if they’re trending toward fewer starts. We’re talking Andrei Vasilevskiy despite his declining workload, Jeremy Swayman, Jake Oettinger, or Linus Ullmark in his new home. These netminders might not hit 60 starts, but they’ll get you 50-plus with strong ratios if they stay healthy.
Here’s where most fantasy managers make their mistake: they draft a third goaltender too early, trying to “lock up” the position. Resist this urge. The waiver wire in a 12-team league will always offer streaming options, backup goalies who stumble into playing time, and emerging youngsters whose value you can capitalize on. That seventh-round pick you’re considering using on a backup? That’s a high-upside forward or a powerplay quarterback defenseman who will score more points than your third goalie provides saves.
The Art of Streaming
If you want to compete in goalie categories without sacrificing early draft capital, you must master the streaming game. This requires diligence, quick waiver moves, and a willingness to make frequent roster changes.
Schedule Analysis: Your Sunday evening ritual should involve reviewing the upcoming week’s schedule. Which teams play four games? Which backup goaltenders are likely to see action on the second night of back-to-backs? Which favorable matchups exist against bottom-feeding offenses? Teams facing the Sharks, Blackhawks, or Blue Jackets present golden streaming opportunities.
Back-to-Back Situations: This is your bread and butter. When an elite team plays consecutive nights, their backup almost always starts game two. If that backup is available in your league, grab them. Even mediocre goaltenders can post wins when backed by strong offensive teams, and a cheap win plus 25 saves can swing your weekly matchup.
Injury Monitoring: Goaltenders get hurt, and when they do, their backup’s value skyrockets overnight. Set up alerts for injury reports, monitor practice lines, and be ready to pounce the moment a starting goalie misses practice. The manager who claims the backup goaltender 30 minutes after the injury news breaks gains weeks of streaming value.
Soft Matchup Targeting: Don’t just stream random backups. Target netminders facing weak offenses or teams on the second night of back-to-backs themselves. A journeyman goaltender facing a tired opponent can deliver better fantasy value than a quality starter facing a rested powerhouse.
Advanced Tandem Navigation
For managers seeking every possible edge, deeper analysis can reveal hidden value and help avoid costly mistakes.
Quality Start Percentage: Not all starts are equal. A goaltender who posts a .920 save percentage but plays for a weak defensive team might lose frequently, tanking your win totals. Conversely, a .905 goaltender on a defensive stalwart can rack up wins despite mediocre ratios. Balance these factors when evaluating tandem goalies. Quality start percentage, which credits goaltenders for performing well regardless of outcome, offers a more complete picture than raw wins.
High Danger Save Percentage: Standard save percentage doesn’t tell the full story. A goaltender facing constant high-danger chances is more likely to regress than one who benefits from strong defensive structure. Tracking high-danger save percentage helps identify unsustainable hot streaks and undervalued netminders who face difficult conditions.
Workload Trends: Monitor start patterns throughout the season. A coach might claim he’s running a tandem, but if one goaltender consistently gets the marquee matchups and plays in back-to-backs more frequently, that’s your real starter. Trust the deployment pattern over the public statements.
Playoff Schedule Density: This often-overlooked factor can determine championships. During fantasy playoffs, teams with compressed schedules play more back-to-backs, meaning both goaltenders in a tandem see increased action. Conversely, teams with lighter playoff schedules might ride their starter more exclusively. Study the final weeks’ schedule when planning your playoff roster.
Specific Tandem Situations to Watch
Let’s break down some current situations that fantasy managers need to navigate carefully.
Winnipeg’s Hellebuyck and Brossoit: This is the gold standard. Hellebuyck is your set-and-forget ace, while Brossoit offers spot-start value when you can predict his appearances. Own Hellebuyck in all formats, but don’t waste a roster spot on Brossoit unless you’re in a deep league with extra bench spots.
Edmonton’s Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard: Skinner secured the starter’s role but hasn’t dominated it completely. The Oilers’ offense masks some defensive deficiencies, meaning both goalies can post wins. Skinner is a solid second or third fantasy goaltender, and Pickard provides streaming value when Edmonton faces weaker opponents.
Boston’s Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark Replacement: After Ullmark’s departure, Swayman faced increased workload expectations. However, Boston’s tendency toward caution with goaltender usage means they’ll still manage his starts carefully. Joonas Korpisalo’s presence creates occasional frustration, but Swayman remains a quality second fantasy goaltender with top-tier ratio potential.
Carolina’s Rotating Door: Year after year, the Hurricanes frustrate fantasy managers with their refusal to name a clear starter. Frederik Andersen, when healthy, offers the best ratios, but expecting more than 45 starts is foolish. Antti Raanta or Pyotr Kochetkov in the backup role provide occasional streaming value, but committing significant roster resources to Carolina goaltending rarely pays off. If you draft one, accept the limitations and plan accordingly.
Dallas’s Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood: Oettinger is the clear number one, but the Stars’ strong defensive structure makes both goaltenders viable. Oettinger belongs on rosters in all formats, while Wedgewood offers streaming appeal in deeper leagues, especially when Dallas faces softer competition.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Over-Drafting Backups: The single biggest mistake fantasy managers make is using middle-round picks on backup goaltenders, hoping to capture value. Backup goalies who return draft value are rare, and the opportunity cost of passing on forwards and defensemen in those rounds is substantial. Let other managers reach for backups while you build depth elsewhere.
Ignoring Team Context: A goaltender’s talent matters less than the team in front of him for fantasy purposes. A mediocre netminder on a strong defensive team outperforms a talented goalie on a leaky defense. Wins and save opportunities flow from team construction, so evaluate the roster before the individual.
Chasing Save Percentage Too Aggressively: While strong ratios are valuable, obsessing over save percentage while ignoring volume leads to roster spots wasted on backups who make 15 saves every five days. You need starts to win, and a .910 goaltender with 60 starts typically outperforms a .920 goaltender with 30 starts over a full season.
Panic Dropping After Bad Weeks: Goaltenders have rough stretches. Even elite netminders post .850 save percentages occasionally. Don’t drop quality starters after one bad week unless injury or a change in deployment suggests legitimate long-term concern. That manager who scoops them up after you panic will laugh all the way to the championship.
Forgetting About Schedule Quirks: Some weeks feature unbalanced schedules where one team plays four times while others play twice. These schedule quirks create temporary value spikes for otherwise unremarkable netminders. Stay vigilant and exploit these opportunities.
Building Your Goaltending Strategy
Success in modern fantasy hockey requires flexibility and a willingness to adapt your approach based on league settings and roster construction.
In Standard Leagues: Target one elite starter early, grab a second reliable option in the middle rounds, and leave your third goaltender spot for streaming. This balanced approach provides a foundation of stable production while maintaining the flexibility to exploit waiver wire opportunities. You’re not trying to dominate goalie categories; you’re trying to win them while investing appropriately elsewhere.
In Deep Leagues: Goaltender scarcity forces different decisions. You might need to reach slightly for your second starter because the waiver wire offers nothing. Consider handcuffing your elite starter with his backup if you have the roster space. When your number one goalie gets hurt, having his replacement already rostered saves you from disaster.
In Points Leagues: Goaltender value changes in points formats depending on scoring settings. If your league awards significant points for saves, high-volume starters on weak defensive teams become more valuable. If wins carry heavy weight, prioritize goalies on good teams regardless of save opportunities. Know your scoring system and adjust accordingly.
In Categories Leagues: Pay attention to which goalie categories your league uses. Standard formats typically include wins, goals against average, save percentage, and sometimes shutouts. If your league counts saves as a category, volume becomes even more critical. If it doesn’t, efficient goalies on strong teams gain value.
The Waiver Wire Gold Mine
Your season-long success will likely depend more on waiver wire management than draft execution. The managers who win fantasy leagues stay active, informed, and aggressive with goaltender adds.
Handcuffing Starters: When a starting goaltender gets injured, immediately claim the backup even if you don’t own the starter. That backup just became a temporary starter, often for weeks. These injuries create the biggest value shifts of the season.
Emerging Prospects: Every season features a young goaltender who seizes an opportunity. Maybe a veteran struggles, maybe an injury creates an opening, or maybe the prospect simply proves ready. Monitor AHL statistics, watch for call-ups, and be ready to gamble a roster spot when the signs point to legitimate opportunity.
Hot Streaks: When a lower-tier goaltender gets hot, ride the wave. Yes, regression will come, but if you can milk two or three strong weeks from a hot backup, that’s found value. Don’t fall in love with these streamers, but don’t ignore them either.
Coach Comments: Listen to what coaches say about their tandems. When a coach commits to a starter getting more work, believe him until the deployment suggests otherwise. When a coach talks about competition and keeping both goalies fresh, that’s code for a time-share that will frustrate you.
Playoff Preparation
All your regular season maneuvering means nothing if you don’t optimize for playoff weeks. This requires advance planning and strategic thinking.
Schedule Study: Weeks before playoffs begin, examine which teams have favorable schedules during your fantasy playoffs. Four-game weeks matter more in playoff formats, and back-to-back sets create streaming opportunities. Build your roster with these schedules in mind.
Consolidate Before Playoffs: The streaming approach that works during the regular season often fails in playoffs when you can’t afford a weekly goaltending disaster. Consider trading mid-tier players for goaltender upgrades in the weeks before playoffs. Having three reliable starters who all see action during playoff weeks provides enormous advantage.
Handcuff Insurance: If your playoff success depends on one elite goaltender, consider rostering his backup as insurance. Yes, it costs a roster spot, but a backup plan beats elimination when your ace catches the flu during championship week.
The Mental Game
Managing goalies in fantasy hockey tests your patience and decision-making more than any other position. You’ll make incorrect lineup decisions. You’ll watch your benched goaltender post a shutout. You’ll start a goalie who allows five goals in the first period. This is the nature of goalie roulette.
The key is making process-driven decisions rather than results-oriented ones. If you start a goaltender facing a weak opponent on the second night of their back-to-back, you made a good decision regardless of whether they allow four goals. If you bench a goaltender facing a rested Colorado Avalanche, you made a smart play even if he posts a shutout.
Trust your analysis, stay active on waivers, and don’t let one bad week derail your season-long strategy. Fantasy hockey rewards the managers who adapt, stay informed, and make calculated risks.
Conclusion
The modern fantasy hockey landscape demands that managers embrace goaltender volatility rather than fight against it. The workhorse era is over, and the sooner you accept that reality, the better positioned you’ll be to succeed. Draft one elite anchor, supplement with reliable secondary options, and stay aggressive on the waiver wire throughout the season.
Goalie roulette isn’t going anywhere. The wheel will keep spinning, and your job is to make educated bets while maintaining the flexibility to adjust when the wheel stops on an unexpected number. Master the tandem navigation game, and you’ll gain a significant edge over league-mates still pining for the days when goalies started 75 times per season.
Those days aren’t coming back. Adapt or finish out of the playoffs. The choice, as always, is yours.