Goalie Advice Appreciated!

[Mikerosen]

Hey all, long post warning!

Deep 24 team NHL Cap, Weekly H2H Cats Dynasty league here. Goalie cats being GAA, SV%, Wins, Saves, in a start 2 scenario, which is weighted against 11 skater categories. So goalies are both extremely valuable (only so few constant vezina candidates to go around, right?) and also over valued(they make up so much less categories)

We also have a some max GP restrictions(4) with two active goalie slots, giving team tandems a strategic edge (ex. two standalone bonafide starters would cancel each other out by going over the GP threshold, a team tandem would maximize Wins + SVs without doing so.

I currently have Markstrom and Vladar. Markstrom has actually been fantastic in net this year, but CGY as a whole has been super poor, with some signs they are turning things around while also a potential sell off looms. To make matters more awkward for me, Dustin Wolf is anywhere from a season or a day away from stepping into a backup role, and I don't own him or have the chance to acquire him(owning team views him as untouchable future 1A).

As a highly competitive team, I want to be good in net. Due to cap hits, team, and age there isn't a huge market for teams wanting my tandem. I do have the option currently to swap them for Talbot/Copley. This saves cap(upgrades elsewhere), and gets me much more competitive in Wins and hopefully ratio stats as well (Talbot good, and yes copley has been bad, but had a good last game and will hopefully continue trending up).

Here is where I feel stuck.. Markstrom is younger, likely just better on pure talent and if the Flames continue finding new life maybe they stay a wild card competitive even after moving some UFAs. Talbot is 36, injury prone and not proven to be super consistent and Copley could be replaced by another backup in the coming months if he doesn't figure it out.

Is this a bad buy high on Talbot and the Kings, and I just continue rolling my Flames tandem for now? Or am I smartly securing some cheap good goaltending for a potential title run?

Thanks!

[stevegamer]

I think it's in between the two extremes.

Talent wise, I prefer the Flames guys. Team wise I prefer the Kings, by a lot. The issue is that this could very well be a move for just this year, but I do expect Vladar to get dealt soon, so that may wreck the tandem plan you have.

If you have weekly starts, I can see why you want a tandem. What happens if you exceed weekly starts? Do the extra games not count, or do you lose all goalie categories? I'd expect the former.

[jdreed3184]

What are the top 3 goalies available in free agency? Just want to get a sense of the depth.

Goalies are nuts, so I prefer to go with the highest potential value and hope for the best knowing that all alternatives are equally volatile. In this case, I'd probably go for Talbot/Copley and use the money to upgrade elsewhere.

CGY is just a tough team to bet on. LAK have a higher floor by a big margin. Other than a few goalies (Vasi, Saros, Sorokin, Helly, Shesterkin), I approach goalies on a one-year basis.

[Mikerosen]

I think it's in between the two extremes.

Talent wise, I prefer the Flames guys. Team wise I prefer the Kings, by a lot. The issue is that this could very well be a move for just this year, but I do expect Vladar to get dealt soon, so that may wreck the tandem plan you have.

If you have weekly starts, I can see why you want a tandem. What happens if you exceed weekly starts? Do the extra games not count, or do you lose all goalie categories? I'd expect the former.

Yeah, exactly. I also have a worry that I move the both and maybe Vladar gets moved IRL to a spot where he starts to thrive and can even have a path to a future strong 1B type. I know he hasn't exactly shown that yet, but it's clear CGY has been a wreck the last season+, and hey goalies man. It is the former yeah, you lose whichever goalie went over starts for the week. Not terrible really, but that and the cost to acquire goalies just makes it not the best practice long term to have two separate 1As unless you fall into them. Which is why a good tandem can get you far if they both can rack up W + SVs. Thats half the battle

[Mikerosen]

What are the top 3 goalies available in free agency? Just want to get a sense of the depth.

Goalies are nuts, so I prefer to go with the highest potential value and hope for the best knowing that all alternatives are equally volatile. In this case, I'd probably go for Talbot/Copley and use the money to upgrade elsewhere.

CGY is just a tough team to bet on. LAK have a higher floor by a big margin. Other than a few goalies (Vasi, Saros, Sorokin, Helly, Shesterkin), I approach goalies on a one-year basis.

Appreciate it. There are currently no goalies in FA, to give you a sense of depth. If I made this move, and then moved my Hartman+Dach for Fiala, is it looking like a good move to make?

[stevegamer]

When you say no goalies in FA does that include everybody who's played a NHL game or not? I'm in a league where the wire has only Pickard, Domingue, and Shepard for guys who've played in the NHL this year and there are no real prospects to speak of.

I'm not sure which direction I'd want to go in your shoes, but I think I'd take the gamble and save yourself some cap. Might grab Rittich to make sure the 3rd LA goalie is on your roster somewhere.