The Goalie Report: Risers & Fallers

The goalie market remains quiet but it's certainly bubbling under the surface. Reports came out that the Devils were very close to acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Flames – he had even waived his no-movement clause to approve the trade – before the deal fell through, supposedly because the two sides couldn't agree on the number for salary retention.

Markstrom would've been the first domino to fall, and it could've caused a chain reaction that also saw Jake Allen, Marc-Andre Fleury and, possibly, Juuse Saros, change addresses.

It would've represented a seismic shift in one of the most precarious positions in hockey, with huge implications in the playoff race as the Flames and Devils are both still currently in the hunt for a wild card spot.

It would certainly alter the goalie landscape in fantasy, too, since the Flames can now give unfettered playing time to prospect Dustin Wolf. Nico Daws and/or Akira Schmid would be re-assigned to the minor, with Vitek Vanecek possibly serving as the backup.

There's a chance a trade for Markstrom could be consummated, but maybe not this season. Teams looking for goalie help may choose to look elsewhere, and it's believed that at least Allen, a veteran goalie with one year remaining on his contract on a team hungry for future assets, is on the move.

If you're looking ahead and wondering which young goalies will get their chance late in the season, consider Wolf on the Flames and the Predators' Yaroslav Askarov, whose strong play in the AHL has been part of the impetus for Saros to be moved.

Trending Up

Alex Lyon, Red Wings (Last week: 3-0-0, .947 Sv%, 1.62 GAA)

Last week, I noted that Lyon still has a "precarious hold" on the No. 1 job and needs to keep performing well. That message was heard loud and clear, even with James Reimer pushing hard with a 38-save shutout performance and then an overtime win in Patrick Kane's return to Chicago.

Lyon's February started rough – 1-2-0, 5.01 GAA, .827 Sv% – but he's righted the ship since then, and the Wings are flying with a five-game winning streak and in a good position to make the playoffs. They have some tough matchups coming – Florida, Colorado, Vegas among them – but there's less worries about Lyon's play. He remains the Wings' top option in net.

Anton Forsberg, Senators (Since Feb. 13: 4-0-0, .917 Sv%, 2.21 GAA)

Forsberg's strong play has forced Jacques Martin to stop the rotation with Joonas Korpisalo for the time being. Korpisalo has not won since Feb. 10 against the Leafs, while Forsberg has won four straight starts. The Sens have been more competitive lately but this is still not a very good team. Their defense needs a lot of work, and it's believe that Jakob Chychrun could be on the move, which will hurt the Sens' depth even though he hasn't been a great fit for them. 

There's little doubt in my mind that Forsberg's play will regress at some point; he doesn't profile as a top-tier goalie even though he's putting up top-tier numbers. In the meantime, however, he's at least worth a streaming option.

Philipp Grubauer, Kraken (Since Feb. 13: 2-0-0, .939 Sv%, 1.47 GAA)

Do we really trust Grubauer? After being named the Kraken's No. 1 goalie since inception, Grubauer has been a huge disappointment, winning just 42 games in 109 starts during his three seasons in the Pacific Northwest. Something just hasn't agreed with him, from injuries to inconsistent play.

However, since the All-Star Weekend, Grubauer has outplayed Joey Daccord, who had played admirably but may be fatigued from experiencing a starter's workload in the NHL for the first time in his career. If Grubauer keeps this up, he's going take back the starting job, or at least form a timeshare with Daccord. The Kraken are in danger of falling out of the playoff race so Dave Hakstol has to be cognizant of riding the hot hand. So far, that's been Grubauer, who's a viable streaming option and a potential stash – for now.

Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs (AHL conditioning start: 36 of 37 saves, 1 goal allowed)

Woll was excellent in his rehab start with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. High-ankle sprains can be tricky, especially for a goalie, but Woll looked no worse for wear. The Leafs have not announced concrete plans for Woll to rejoin the team, but note that a few roster moves need to be made for it to happen. Calle Jarnkrok and Mark Giordano are also set to return, and the Leafs already have two goalies in net with Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones.

The Leafs don't want to do anything drastic to disrupt their seven-game winning streak, during which Jones has won twice, but Jones certainly seems like the odd-man out. Samsonov has been excellent since his rehab stint in the minors, and he was the Leafs' favored option at the start of the season. If Woll returns, there's no guarantee he'll be the No. 1 starter right away. Those counting on Woll to return to form right away would be sorely disappointed. The upside is fantasy managers don't need to activate Woll from an IR/IR+ spot right away, hopefully giving them a little more time to make the decision.

Trending Down

Stuart Skinner, Oilers (Since Feb. 6: 2-4-1, .865 Sv%, 4.02 GAA)

Following the Oilers' historic winning streak, they're 4-5-1, and both Skinner and backup Calvin Pickard's numbers have plummeted. The only reason they continue to win games is because the Oilers' goal support has been so good, ranked fifth in the league with 3.55 goals for per game.

The good news is there's no threat to Skinner's hold on the starting job. Pickard is a career backup and minor leaguer, and Jack Campbell continues to see big ups and downs in his play in the AHL. His overall numbers with AHL Bakersfield – 11-10-0, .908 Sv%, 2.95 GAA – still don't really warrant a call up, not to mention the Oilers would once again get hit by Campbell's entire $5-million cap number. The strategy would be to just stay the course for Skinner, who will continue to get the bulk of the starts, and hope that everything averages out by the end of the season.  

Nico Daws, Devils (7-8-0, .895 Sv%, 3.30 GAA)

The Devils' pursuit of Markstrom was a clear signal how they felt about their goaltending. Though Daws still represents their top option, it's just simply not good enough. Daws is too inexperienced and too inconsistent, and not the ideal goalie if the Devils want to go deep into the playoffs.

It seems as though it's just a matter of time before Daws loses the starting job, and his fantasy value keeps deteriorating little by little. He's posted a save percentage of .885 or lower in eight of his 15 appearances this season, so even if he gets the large bulk of the starts, roughly half the time he's not even worth starting, because of his potential to kill your goals against and save percentage.