2026-27 NHL Fantasy Hockey Rankings: Top 10 Goaltenders

With the 2026-27 NHL season right around the corner, The Hockey News is counting down the top 10 fantasy players at each position. Today's focus is on goaltenders.

Goalies are the toughest position in fantasy to value because of their unpredictability, which is why the premium is placed on job security and workload. 

In the cap era, only Connor Hellebucyk has won the Vezina in consecutive seasons. There have been plenty of surprises throughout the years, including Marc-Andre Fleury winning his first and only Vezina in his 17th (!) season, and Linus Ullmark when he split the net with Jeremy Swayman.

Players are ranked with consideration of traditional fantasy scoring categories, including goals, assists, power-play points, shots on goal, penalty minutes, blocks, and hits. 

No goalie in the league has a resume like Vasilevskiy’s, and no other goalie is in a better position to capture his maximum potential fantasy value at the most unpredictable position. The 32-year-old led the league in wins for the sixth time last season and he’s finished with a save percentage lower than .910 just once in his career. 

The Stars are an excellent team and Oettinger can easily provide 30-plus wins even when he’s not sharp. His performances last year were erratic, finishing with a save percentage .898 or lower in November, January, February and March despite posting winning records in each month. Casey DeSmith may be a threat to his playing time, but not for long stretches.

With 58 starts last season and showing little sign of fatigue, Thompson’s biggest fantasy caveat — a timeshare with Charlie Lindgren — is in the rearview mirror.

The Caps made significant investments in the off-season to bolster their roster in a division that has only one truly elite team. Thompson’s ranking is a reflection of his potential with the biggest risk being his relatively short track record as a starter.

Swayman bounced back from a poor season that was clearly affected by a contract holdout with a career-best 31 wins. He was consistently good, and among goalies with at least 30 starts, Swayman had the fourth-best quality start percentage.

The Bruins allowed a ton of shots last season, which is great for Swayman’s fantasy value in leagues that count saves. 

Shesterkin had a winning record — 25-19-6 — and the Rangers were 9-20-3 without him. That alone tells you how much he carried the team, and how dominant he can be in the right situation. The Rangers beefed up their defense, giving Shesterkin a chance to win 30-plus games.

The Vezina runner-up was dominant for long stretches last season up until the final month, even though statistically speaking it was one of his weakest seasons with a career-low .906 SP and 51.9 quality start percentage, per hockey-reference.com.

The Isles are on an upswing with Matthew Schaefer but are still merely a playoff contender with plenty of holes on their roster and horrendous goal support. Sorokin’s fantasy value will be discounted in leagues that count wins despite the two-time Vezina runner-up’s brilliance. 

We shall see if Hellebuyck switches teams before the season following his trade demand, because it will undoubtedly impact his fantasy value.

He’s coming off a career-worst season — 23-23-11 record, .895 SP — with a ton of mileage, having started a league-high 589 games over the past 10 seasons. But as he showed with Team USA at the Olympics, put a strong team in front of him and he can be brilliant. Right now, the Jets aren’t it.

It’s impossible to leave the Jennings-winning tandem off this list, but that’s the rub; individually, they provide excellent quality but limited volume due to their timeshare.

The Avs will likely split the starts until one emerges as the superior goalie, and despite Wedgewood’s brilliant season the smart money is on the younger Blackwood and his long-term contract. Fantasy managers who have snake picks would be wise to use them on the Avs' duo. 

There is no timetable for Filip Gustavsson's return from hip surgery, which means this is Wallstedt’s chance to run away with the starting job. The rewards are potentially great for an excellent team that can provide a lot of goal support, and 30 wins is attainable with enough starts.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Wallstedt was the best goalie in the playoffs last season based on goals saved above average at 5-on-5. In fantasy leagues that emphasize volume, Wallstedt has a lot of early-season fantasy value. 

Like Wallstedt, the risk to Dobes’ fantasy value is that the path of a young goalie is rarely linear. The difference is there is no shortage of threats to Dobes’ playing time, including veterans Sam Montembeault, Kaapo Kahkonen and top prospect Jacob Fowler. 

Honorable Mentions: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres; Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators; Jacob Markstrom, Florida Panthers; Karel Vejmelka, Utah Mammoth; Carter Hart, Vegas Golden Knights; Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks

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