Goalie Strategy - Running Tandems?

[Turbo_Supremo]

Hey All,

Just wanted to get a feel out there with regards to Goalie Strategies...
In a daily line-up setting; with no min/max starts in a week... Is it better to run goalies from 3 different teams, even if one of the goalies is on a team that likely won't get wins. Or would it be better to have a Starters back-up or a Split-share tandem on a really good team to really maximize getting the wins?

My case, I have Vask and Andersen; I'm traded away Dreg, and getting Holtby in return... but my thought now is to drop Holtby and grab Campbell, as he is do back for TOR, and then for the rest of the season I just run either Andersen or Campbell along with Vask, rather than trying to run 3 different team goalies.

Since the waiver pool of goalies is mostly losing teams, is there really any value with them? I get less 'games' this way, but likely better odds to get the Wins.

Looking for your thoughts!
Cheers!

[PenguinHunter]

Ohh fun question! Because there cut and dry answer.
There are so many variables that need considered.

1)League Scoring
- in your league in your signature you count - Winx2+OTL+SHL, Sv%, SO
- so only one peripheral and the rest are counting stats
- so it is beneficial to get as many starts as you can (unless there is a games played limit) to ensure you maximize starts

2) League Setup- adds
- how many adds/drops you get - in your league it is unlimited

3) League Size and activity
-what available goalies are on the waiver wire - you mentioned that is only goalies on losing teams - keep in mind someone has to win when Anaheim plays LA.

Conclusion

Considering your league setup, I would not keep Campbell on my roster.
But I would definitely try and get him whenever he starts.

Campbell is likely only going to start once every 7-8 games which is once every 15-20 days.
In a league that doesn't have a max number of adds per week and allows for daily lineups

You could get an additional 10-12 goalie starts in those 15-20 days.
Through those 10-12 goalie starts - you might get a couple wins from those bottom teams
Or at least hopefully some OTL/SHL.

But consider this if you hold Campbell for 15-20 and he only gets one start
And that start ends up being a 6-5 loss... then you have held him for nothing.

And keep in mind that goalies on bottom teams can still have decent save percentage.

And plan it so you can pick up the LA starter when he plays against Anaheim
Or pick up the Detroit starter when they play Nashville.

In this league Quantity is greater than Quality!

[pmorrow]

In your league volume is rewarded and Ls are not punished, but if you cannot find a solid #3 starter then I don't have an issue with getting Campbell. That gives you some certainty week to week in h2h, and should give you quality and a safe number of wins each week. You might be tempted to pick up a hot starter on a bad team, but they can crash down at any moment. So I have no issue with Campbell until you can find a bigger volume starter on a decent-to-good team.

[stevegamer]

First off, PenguinHunter has some great goalie advice, and he makes the most important point: running tandems is very league specific.

I'm in deep dynasty leagues where every goalie who has played a NHL game in a given year is normally sitting on a roster, unless they are Dave Ayres or another got in 1 game goalie. My league in sig has rules that make owning a tandem an actively bad idea, except in very specific cases. In many leagues, tandems make sense.

I agree with parts 1-3 above, but want to add a part 4.

4) Your goalie situation and future plans, if it isn't a one year league.

You have a very limited keeper, only 5, so it's unlikely that you'd keep 2 goalies. Next year's plan is "Keep Vas". So we look at only this year.

Grabbing Campbell or McElhinney would be a handcuffing type of tandem, where there's a clear starter, and a clear backup. This has the advantage of securing a team's starter in case of injury or reduced workload down the stretch after a playoff spot is clinched. That also includes a trade, but there's no chance Tampa is dealing their starter, and while there's been noise about that in Toronto, Campbell/Hutchinson as a playoff tandem is dicey. If they deal Andersen, the team would be looking for a goalie upgrade, so any goalie coming back is likely suspect.

A more pure tandem play is say the Columbus goalies, where the water is muddier as to who's the main guy. This has the advantage of sometimes ending up with multiple starters if one gets dealt.

In your potential handcuff situation, there's zero chance I drop the incoming Holtby for Campbell quickly, excluding an injury/trade. Reasons:

1. Holtby is going to get more games if everyone is healthy.
2. I'm not convinced that Campbell is the handcuff you want. McElhinney could be a better choice. Toronto & Tampa are 1-2 in Regulation points percentage, but Tampa has 3 games in hand (3 less played) on Toronto. Tampa is also a better defensive team, and has been winning with more injuries in the lineup.
3. I don't think that Campbell would be a true #1 if Andersen goes down, more a #1A to Hutchinson's #1B.

So I'd play to ride Holtby for a bit, as the games played edge would go to you. If you can deal him to the guy who has Demko, that works too.

You could also plan to deal Andersen and grab Demko, or something else along those lines.