{"id":454943,"date":"2024-11-02T21:00:03","date_gmt":"2024-11-03T01:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=454943"},"modified":"2024-11-02T21:00:03","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T01:00:03","slug":"week-4-fantasy-hockey-goalies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/11\/02\/week-4-fantasy-hockey-goalies\/","title":{"rendered":"Hold, Trade, or Drop: Week 4 Fantasy Hockey Goalies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Goalies can be the back bone of a fantasy hockey team, and now that we are in Week 4, fantasy hockey goalies should be analyzed. Just over ten percent of the NHL season has been played, and there have been interesting developments surrounding some goalies. With this in mind, fantasy managers may need to adjust their original strategies to deploy the best goalies for their success. Let&#8217;s take a look at goalies you should be starting, streaming, dropping, or trading in Week 4.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kuempda01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Darcy Kuemper<\/a> is a Goalie You Want to Start<\/h2>\n<p>There are goalies that you know you want to start and stick with. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/v\/vasilan02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/swaymje01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeremy Swayman<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/helleco01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor Hellebuyck<\/a> to name a few. These are goalies rostered in virtually every fantasy league. While Darcy Kuemper is not in the same tier as these goalies, he will still be a volume starter this season.<\/p>\n<p>The Stanley Cup winning goaltender was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/09\/25\/goaltending-for-la-kings\/\" target=\"_self\">traded from Washington<\/a> to his former team in Los Angeles in the off season. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He started the season with two solid performances before being shelled for eight goals against the Senators.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kuemper had a brief absence <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.cbssports.com\/fantasy\/hockey\/news\/kings-darcy-kuemper-wins-in-first-game-back-from-injury\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">dealing with a lower-body injury<\/a>, but has since returned to the lineup, winning consecutive games. It is expected that he will be the number one goalie for the Kings this season, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/rittida01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Rittich<\/a> backing him up. This means a high volume of games for Kuemper this season, which spells value in fantasy hockey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Kings have been a solid defensive team in recent years, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.naturalstattrick.com\/teamtable.php?fromseason=20232024&amp;thruseason=20242025&amp;stype=2&amp;sit=5v5&amp;score=all&amp;rate=n&amp;team=all&amp;loc=B&amp;gpf=410&amp;fd=&amp;td=\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">finishing sixth in goals against last season<\/a>. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kuemper struggled in Washington last season, playing only 33 games and posting a save percentage of .890. He has a .914 SV% in his career with four seasons above a .920 SV% since 2017-18.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In Week 4, fantasy hockey goalies who are volume starters are hard to find. At 80% rostered on <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.fantrax.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fantrax<\/a>, and 71% rostered on <a  href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/fantasy\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yahoo<\/a>, you may be able to get him in free agency or at a reasonable price through a trade.<\/p>\n<h3>Keep an Eye Open for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/lyonal01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alex Lyon<\/a> as a Streamer<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">31-year old goaltender Alex Lyon is coming off a career season in Detroit. Lyon has under 90 games played in his career, with 44 of them played with the Red Wings last season. He was great through stretches last season, and has had an okay start to this year as well with <a  href=\"https:\/\/frozenpool.dobbersports.com\/players\/alex-lyon\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">2 quality starts<\/a> so far.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In six appearances, Lyon has a .916 SV% and 2.78 GAA. Because of his timeshare situation with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/talboca01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cam Talbot<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/h\/hussovi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ville Husso<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/10\/15\/two-year-old-trade-officially-a-st-louis-win\/\" target=\"_self\">who was placed on waivers at the start of the season<\/a>, Lyon likely won\u2019t see the majority of games. However, his performance so far this year has proven that he can be a valuable goalie to stream when he gets the nod.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>At under 50% rostered on <em>Fantrax<\/em> and <em>Yahoo,\u00a0<\/em>Lyon is available in free agency in most leagues. In some formats, he can be as high as a top 20 goalie at this point in the season. He is worth adding to your watch list and streaming when he starts.<\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/w\/wolljo01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joseph Woll<\/a> is a Strong Trading Chip<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heading into the season, there was excitement around <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/01\/toronto-maple-leafs-searched-for-and-found-backup-goalie\/\" target=\"_self\">Toronto\u2019s new goalie tandem<\/a>. Joseph Woll has played important games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs and shined. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/stolaan01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Stolarz<\/a> was statistically one of the best goalies in the league last season with <a  href=\"https:\/\/moneypuck.com\/goalies.htm\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">20.1 goals saved above expected<\/a>. All signs indicated a significant improvement over last year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/10\/09\/toronto-maple-leafs-already-missing-important-player-to-start-season\/\" target=\"_self\">An injury prevented Woll from starting the season<\/a> and changed the outlook of this tandem going forward. What many expected to be a 2:1 start ratio in favour of Woll, has likely become a 50\/50 tandem. Because of this, Woll\u2019s volume goes away, and with it a lot of his fantasy value.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Woll will still play a good number of games for Toronto, and could potentially outplay Stolarz for more starts. At this point in the season, however, you can\u2019t bank on that happening. There is also the threat of injury, which has plagued Woll throughout his young career.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being rostered as high as 91% on <em>Fantrax<\/em> can carry weight in a trade negotiation. However, managers are starting to take notice of Woll&#8217;s deployment, and his rostered percentage is falling. Try to trade Joseph Woll in the coming weeks after a few good starts.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Week 4 Fantasy Hockey Goalies in Free Agency Will Outperform <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/georgal01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alexandar Geogriev<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alexandar Georgiev has not had a good start to the 2024-25 campaign. He was pulled for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/a\/annunju01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justus Annunen<\/a> in back-to-back games to kick off the year, and still has not been able to find his footing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In six games played, Georgiev has an .822 SV% and 4.62 GAA, recording just one win. On <em>Fantrax<\/em>, Georgiev is still 87% rostered, despite the apparent transition to a three goalie system with Annunen and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kahkoka01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-31_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kaapo K\u00e4hk\u00f6nen<\/a>. For the foreseeable future, it is likely that Georgiev sees only one of every three games at most as the Avalanche will continue to cycle through their goalies. <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">For whatever reason, I don\u2019t think Jared Bednar is fully confident in Justus Annunen. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Nb0asjOuRX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/Nb0asjOuRX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Michael Amato (@amato_mike) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/amato_mike\/status\/1851644748454396197?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 30, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A goalie with this volume of starts is not one you want on your roster and not valuable in fantasy hockey. In most leagues, there are better goalie options available in free agency that are worth streaming. Doing so will be more effective than having Georgiev fill a roster spot on your team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Goalies can be the back bone of a fantasy hockey team, and now that we are in Week 4, fantasy hockey goalies should be analyzed. Just over ten percent of the NHL season has been played, and there have been interesting developments surrounding some goalies. With this in mind, fantasy managers may need to adjust [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5356,"featured_media":455095,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2498,4547,4548],"tags":[604,3758,1169,1119,872,1092,4577,273],"class_list":["post-454943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fantasy-hockey","category-hockey","category-nhl","tag-alex-lyon","tag-alexandar-georgiev","tag-anthony-stolarz","tag-cam-talbot","tag-darcy-kuemper","tag-joseph-woll","tag-justus-annunen","tag-ville-husso"],"modified_by":"Tommy Bennett","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5356"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}