Best 1a/1b goalie tandems ?

[Gunfighter]

I've always drafted the best goalies available during a draft, but i see the 1a/1b posted a lot. Was wondering who some of the best tandems would be to target on draft day? I'm thinking Bos,Wsh,LA,SJ,Det..Any thoughts on who looks best.Do a lot of guys draft both from the same team?i don't think i've really seen it much, but i can see how it would work on some teams.I think teams like Det and LA would be good examples.

[NYR9394]

To me, the best tandems to own this year in order are:

San Jose - A perennial powerhouse in the west. Niemi should be solid whenever he is in net, Niitty could go either way though. However, I suspect he will be good more often than not. Either way, I wouldn't wanna have just one of those guys.

Washington - Wins for days & days. If they can keep the GAA & SV% respectable, they'll be gold!

Bos - Just because nobody knows how often Thomas will play? Who knows if they will not be able to move that contract? Will Rask regress a bit? Too many ??? for my liking.

L.A. - I'm not fully buying into a 1A/1B situation in L.A. until next year.

If you own any one of San Jose, Washington or Boston's "#1's", you really should snatch the backup just so you can sleep better. L.A., I don't feel that it's imperative.

[BabyElias]

I agree with NYR, but I would put BOS tandem as #1. Both Rask and Thomas should get good numbers (Thomas healthy this season, even though the last season numbers were not that bad either).

One practical thing to remember is that you should have the information about starting goalie before the games if you own a tandem:

Boudreau's (WAS) decisions were difficult to predict last season and no reason why it would change this season. Capitals Insider Blog sometimes helps: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider/

Julien (BOS) usually revels the starter before the game. And if not, then there is REALLY good source of information in Bruins Blog: http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/...s/bruins_blog/. You can check the starter after warm-up. Never failed last season!

I have no experience on McLellan (SJ). It is a new situation for SJ now that Nabokov is gone, so anything is possible.

[Shoeless]

I think in a one year league, that actually setting out to draft a tandem doesn't make a lot of sense. Takes another roster position to get enough worthwhile starts for one thing. You never know for sure if they are going into a true tandem for another. I don't see Quick and Bernier as a tandem for instance - Bernier will start as the backup without a doubt.

[Savages]

What about the Hawks? I can see Turco Crawford being nice to own. I would say one tandem you may want to stay away from would be Ottawa and Edmonton

[beatnik_uwo]

One of the tandem's I'm watching this year will be Ellis and Mike Smith in TB. Combined they only make 3.9 mill so to get 80 starts you'll still be spending less than many starting goalies make by themselves. I traded Calvin de Haan for Smith (full keeper) so you see how much I'm behind TB this season.

Another situation that could be fruitful could be in Minnesota with Backstrom and Harding. Likely, at least for the first half of the season or until they figure out if they want to trade Harding it will be a 50-50 split in starts. Too bad Minny will probably suck.

Boucher/Leighton will probably end up being a split start situation as well. And with Philly in front of those guys they'll post pretty damn good numbers.

Just a few other 1A/1B situations to keep an eye on:

Toronto
Atlanta
Dallas
Ottawa
Edmonton

Although I'd probably avoid those teams for this season anyways.

[AwkwardMongoose]

I would normally shy away from a tandem, but I think Niemi and Nitty could be interesting. For information on who is starting, make sure to check out leftwinglock, as they are usually right.

[NYR9394]

I think in a one year league, that actually setting out to draft a tandem doesn't make a lot of sense. Takes another roster position to get enough worthwhile starts for one thing.

I think with elite teams like San Jose or Washington,you should use that extra draft pick on the tandem for peace of mind. I agree with what you're saying for teams like Tampa Bay. However, San Jose should be very good. I won't let tandem goaltending cloud that fact when drafting.