As the 2025-26 NHL fantasy hockey season kicks off, The Hockey News is ranking the top 10 players at each position. Goaltending is the most volatile positions in fantasy hockey due to the unpredictable nature of the position itself and how difficult it is to be consistent from season to season. The Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin was the consensus top goalie last season only to see him post the first losing record of his career despite leading the league in saves. Shesterkin remains an elite goalie, but he’s been such supplanted by the Jets’ Connor Hellebuyck, whose team is also in danger of a regression in 2025-26 after claiming the Presidents’ Trophy as the league’s top team in the regular season. Fantasy value for goalies can range widely depending on league settings, but for this article the criteria is wins, save percentage, goals-against average, shutouts and quality starts. 1. Connor Hellebuyck, Jets There’s no denying who should be at the top of the list with back-to-back Vezina Trophy and Jennings Trophy wins, and a Hart Trophy as league MVP last season. Hellebuyck is heads and shoulders above everyone else and led the league in appearances (63), wins (47), GAA (2.00), shutouts (8) and for the second straight season led the league in goalie point shares, per hockey-reference.com. If Hellebuyck wins at least 30 wins this season, he will tie Ryan Miller for the most 30-win seasons by a U.S.-born goalie, per NHL Public Relations. 2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning Vasilevskiy was low-key just as good as Hellebucyk last season, except his team didn’t produce as many wins. It was a resurgent season for Vasilevskiy, who was coming off his worst season with a career-low .900 SP and career-high 2.90 GAA, appearing in more games and playing more minutes than everyone else. It was the first time he was a Vezina finalist in four seasons after being named a finalist (and winning once) in the previous four seasons. 3. Jake Oettinger, Stars The general consensus is the Stars are one of the best, if not the best, Western Conference team. He’s clearly a notch below Hellebuyck, but he’s also just 26 years old with his best seasons still ahead of him. Only Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy have won more games than Oettinger for the past four seasons. 4. Igor Shesterkin, Rangers A woeful performance by the team in front of him crated Shesterkin’s fantasy value last season and led the league in both shots faced and saved; if the Rangers didn’t have him in net, they’d be a lottery team. Shesterkin begins the first year of an eight-year, $92-million contract this season, and he will be worth every penny if past history is any indication. 5. Filip Gustavsson, Wild Despite a small sample size with only 161 career starts, the Wild were convinced enough to give Gustavsson a five-year, $34-million extension. He’s weirdly alternated between good seasons and bad seasons, and he’s coming off a .914 SP season with a career-high 31 wins in 58 starts, so time will tell if he can buck that trend. The up-and-down career of Jesper Wallstedt so far has solidified Gustavsson’s status as their starter for the time being. 6. Mackenzie Blackwood, Avalanche A second-round pick in 2015, Blackwood has always had oodles of potential but was constantly stuck behind some mediocre teams, including the pre-Jack Hughes Devils and the rebuilding Sharks. There were always hints of excellence, however, in the games he managed to steal here and there, and after a trade to the contending Avalanche, his potential was filled with 22 wins in 36 starts with a .913 SP and 2.33 GAA. Sometimes, a change of scenery is all that’s needed. 7. Adin Hill, Golden Knights There were questions whether a 29-year-old late bloomer could handle a 50-game workload after starting 60 games in the two previous seasons, but Hill performed admirably. His .906 SP was deceiving because the Knights allowed the fourth-fewest shots per game and he ranked eighth in GAA (min. 20 GP). With a backup in Akira Schmid who only has 36 career starts, Hill’s in line for a big workload in 2025-26. 8. Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers No doubt the Panthers will try to save Bobrovsky for the playoffs, but when he plays, he’s been excellent. Over the past four seasons, Bobrovsky ranks sixth with a 61.7 winning percentage in games started among goalies with at least 50 wins. Thanks to a stingy Panthers defense, Bobrovsky is also usually among the leaders in shutouts. 9. Ilya Sorokin, Islanders The range of outcomes for the Islanders is pretty wide this season; they could be a dark horse playoff team or finish well outside playoff contention. Much of their fate will depend on Sorokin, who finished fourth in goalie points shares last season, per hockey-reference.com. He secured 30 of the Isles’ 35 wins, and they were 5-11-6 without him in net. He’s a workhorse with a good probability to start over 60 games and finished top 10 in Vezina voting every season since his rookie year. 10. Jordan Binnington, Blues A little surprising that Binnington only has one 30-win season entering his ninth NHL season, but he’s come close in each of the past three seasons. His overall numbers last season weren’t great -- .900 SP, 2.69 GAA – but he was a top-five goalie from February onwards, going 15-3-2 with a .908 SP and 2.34 GAA. With the Blues trending up and Binnington showing he can be an excellent goalie, he’s worked himself into the conversation among the league’s top goalies. Though Joel Hofer is an excellent backup, Binnington should get a starter’s workload with at least 50 starts in 2025-26 with a good chance to secure 30 wins. Honourable mention: Darcy Kuemper, Kings Dustin Wolf, Flames Jacob Markstrom, Devils Linus Ullmark, Senators Thatcher Demko, Canucks Anthony Stolarz, Maple Leafs Logan Thompson, Capitals
