Fantasy Hockey: Week 7 – Waiver Wire Goalie Targets
With Frederik Andersen (CAR), Alexander Georgiev (COL), Darcy Kuemper (LAK), Samuel Ersson (PHI), Connor Ingram (UTA), Thatcher Demko (VAN) injured, and Jeremy Swayman (BOS), Stuart Skinner (EDM) and Linus Ullmark (OTT) struggling, lots of Fantasy owners are desperate for short-term help between the pipes. Here are the best goalie waiver wire targets at a variety roster% levels.
Dustin Wolf (CGY) – 66% Rostered
Wolf has been excellent so far this season and is starting to earn recognition for the Calder Trophy. He’s been solid all season but he’s really turned it on recently with three straight victories while giving up just two goals on 87 shots (.977 SV%). He’s currently 8th in the NHL in Goals Saved Above Expected/60 () among starters with at least five appearances. The Flames offence will likely limit his win total, but he should continue to be a reliable No.2 or No.3 fantasy netminder for the rest of the season.
Lukas Dostal (ANA) – 59% Rostered
Dostal’s season has been all over the place, with some elite and some bad performances, but it’s been more good than bad. He bounced back from five-straight losses with a great win in Dallas on Monday. Still, the Ducks are so bad defensively that you’ll have to be choosey with your Dostal starts, despite how good he looks.
Semyon Varlamov (NYI) – 39% Rostered
Varlamov has started three of the Islanders’ last six games, and it will be hard for them not to continue to give him regular playing time the way he’s playing right now. After a sluggish start to the season, he’s 2-1-1 with a 1.49 GAA and .946 SV% in his last four starts. Meanwhile, Ilya Sorokin is 1-2-2 with an .898 SV% in his last five starts.
David Rittich (LAK) – 30% Rostered
With Darcy Kuemper out, Rittich should continue to see most, if not all, the starts moving forward. Rittich has been great in his last seven outings, going 4-3-0 with a .920 SV%. With the Kings being one of the best defensive teams in the league, he should post strong splits while always having a reasonable chance of picking up the win.
Jonathan Quick (NYR) – 25% Rostered
The same can be said about Quick. The Rangers might get him more starts the way things are going. He’s posted back-to-back shutouts and is 4-0-0 with a 0.91 GAA and .971 SV% this season. The one thing I will caution fantasy owners on is that we saw something similar with Quick last year. He started the season 9-0-1 with a .926 SV% in his first 11 appearances, but he was 9-6-1 with a .900 SV% in his last 16 games.
Mackenzie Blackwood (SJS) – 17% Rostered
The problem for Blackwood is how bad the Sharks are, but he’s had some elite performances so far this season. He has a 50.0% Quality Start%, which is fine, but he also posted a SV% over .930 in five of 13 games. You’ll have to navigate the matchups carefully with Blackwood, but he can help you. He’s also an interesting real-life trade target as a pending free agent and could be a great fantasy option if he lands with a contender.
Ivan Fedotov (PHI) – 13% Rostered
Fedotov struggled mightily early in his NHL career, but he’s turned things around recently. He looks more like the goalie that Flyers fans expected to see when he came over from the KHL. He’s gone 3-1-0 with a 2.65 GAA and .910 SV% in his last four games and should be in fantasy consideration with Samuel Ersson dealing with an injury. The next three matchups for Philadelphia are solid as well, as he gets the Blackhawks on Saturday, the Golden Knights next Monday and Nashville next Wednesday.
Elvis Merzlikins (CBJ) – 12% Rostered
Since posting back-to-back sub .900 SV% games to start the season and taking some time away from the team, Merzlikins is 4-3-1 with a 2.50 GAA, .915 SV% and one shutout. The Blue Jackets aren’t the best defensive team, so you’ll have to be careful with his matchups. However, they provide enough goal support to help him earn wins on a fairly regular basis.
Calvin Pickard (EDM) – 11% Rostered
Pickard has been solid for the Oilers, and it’s been enough to outplay Stuart Skinner, who should continue to earn him regular usage until Skinner gets his game back on the rails. Pickard has a strong 71.4 Quality Start% and will always have a chance at wins with the high-powered Oilers offence in front of him.
Karel Vejmelka (UTA) – 8% Rostered
Like Merzlikins and Fedotov, Vejmelka’s early season numbers were awful, but he’s recently turned a corner. Vejmelka has gone 1-2-0 with a 2.25 GAA and .931 SV% in his last four appearances. With Connor Ingram dealing with an injury, Vejmelka will be Utah’s unquestioned No.1 for now.