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Fantasy Hockey 2011: Top 30 Rankings for Goalies

NEW YORK - APRIL 07: Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers salutes the fans following a 5-1 defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on April 7, 2010 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK - APRIL 07: Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers salutes the fans following a 5-1 defeat of the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on April 7, 2010 in New York, New York. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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WHAM! A double helping of fantasy hockey goodness (relatively speaking, whether you like my rankings or not) coming at you! Here's the top 30 rankings for the goalies of 2011-12 season. Stats are based on Wins, Goals Against Average, and Save Percentage. And no I am not going to bother with Shutouts, it's too unpredictable. Enjoy!

1) Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers - Love me some consistency. Guy is as rock solid as they come from start to finish and you can't ask much more for your #1 goalie.

2) Roberto Luongo, Canucks - I am concerned about the workload and his mileage coming into this season. He's still elite but it's something to consider.

3) Pekka Rinne, Predators - He won't get you elite wins but he'll get you elite averages. Love Rinne this year.

4) Tomas Vokoun, Capitals - Going from a hopeless cause in Florida to a playoff contender is a nice upgrade for Vokoun. Likely will upgrade in every category so you should be happy as much as he is this season.

5) Tim Thomas, Bruins - Nice bounce back season for Thomas and won the Stanley Cup to boot. Much like Rinne, he got a great but not elite amount of wins but his averages are a dream.

More after the jump...

6) Carey Price, Canadians - Price did a great job responding to getting the full time job all to himself this past season and he should do just as well this season.

7) Antti Niemi, Sharks - I think he'll get better than he did last season and post better stats all around thanks to defensive upgrades and the offense humming to it's own tune.

8) Ilya Bryzgalov, Flyers - Going to a shooting free-for-all team to a defensively stingy team is great for Bryzgalov's career but may take a hit on his save percentages. Still an excellent goalie to have.

9) Ryan Miller, Sabers - We go from Miller's highs to his lows the past couple of seasons. Look at the middle and that's about where I see him this season.

10) Martin Brodeur, Devils - Yeeahhhhhhhhh. I don't think I need to remind you of last season. However late in the season, he did very well and I think with everyone healthy, he'll do his thing he does so well again this season.

11) Corey Crawford, Blackhawks - The defensive minded Hawks should help Crawford develop and grow into his #1 goalie status so I think he'll more or less do the same as he did last season with some chance for more wins as he gains experience in handling high pressure situations

12) Jonathan Quick, Kings - Despite having Jonathan Bernier right behind him, I think the Kings will continue to let Quick do his thing and post great wins and stellar averages.

13) Jimmy Howard, Red Wings - I'm calling last season as a bottom line to expect from Howard and I think he will rebound in a big way after having a bummer season.

14) Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins - A great goalie on a great team, he'll give you plenty of opportunities for wins but he's got some great averages but don't expect any more than that but anticipate slightly less.

15) Jonas Hiller, Ducks - Poor guy had to deal with vertigo issues for most of last season and leaving his status in limbo for owners. It sounds like it's good to go but I'm a bit more leery of him since vertigo isn't easily cured. Draft him as a #2, not a #1.

16) Jaroslav Halak, Blues - The Blues are still and young, rebuilding team but Halak should do just fine on his end so long as you aren't expecting too many wins but instead looking for his great averages.

17) Cam Ward, Hurricanes - A great #2 option that can provide a great amount of wins with some good averages.

18) Kari Lehtonen, Stars - Another great #2 that might not be much of an upside pick but he'll still provide a good amount of wins and averages.

19) Craig Anderson, Senators - He'll do better than his total stats last season seem to suggest since he seemed to get a second wind after being traded. Don't expect a miracle though since we are talking about the Senators.

20) James Reimer, Maple Leafs - Should be interesting to see what he does with the full time gig now that's he's earned it. Certainly worth drafting as a #2 but may provide borderlined #1 stats if he plays to his potential.

21) Miikka Kiprusoff, Flames - A power horse when it comes to games and minutes played, he provides lots of wins but his averages are ok, not good. Plus, he's not getting any younger and the mileage has to catch up to him.

22) Niklas Backstrom, Wild - Fully healthy, he's still got some room for improvement over his so-so season last year thanks to some offensive improvements to the team.

23) Dwayne Roloson, Lightning - Not a bad option as a #3 but age certainly has to play a factor over whether he can play a significant amount of games or not.

24) Semyon Varlamov, Avalanche - Health is the name of the game here and Varlamov isn't very good at that. He'll be given the chance to start as many games as necessary but with his health in question, he's best as a #3 goalie.

25) Ondrej Pavelec, Jets - A solid #3 option that won't provide you with much wins and ok averages but he'll start the majority of the time.

27) Mike Smith, Coyotes - He'll start the majority of the time and get the bulk of the wins as they come but his averages are bleh. Backup option but perhaps some (not much) upside is here.

27) Steve Mason, Blue Jackets - Another majority starter that will get an ok amount of wins but bleh kind of averages.

26) Jose Theodore, Panthers - It sounds like he's going to get the majority of the starts but with Scott Clemmensen behind him, he better play well but I'm not holding my breath.

28) Devan Dubnyk or Nikolai Khabibulin, Oilers - Devan is looking to be the #1 this upcoming season but he's still got Khabibulin to deal with since he's still on the roster and competing as well. Pay attention who performs well and who doesn't.

30) Al Montoya or Evgeni Nabokov or Rick DiPietro, Islanders - Yuck. It's a complicated situation that doesn't sound like there is an answer at this time. Keep your ears peel since Nabokov seems to be in a better mood than last season's pout but who know's what happens.

Also, head on over to Fantasy Hockey Scouts, another SB Nation site, focused on fantasy hockey. They have published their annual Fantasy Scouting Report and Breakout Bible. Check it out. 

Thanks for reading and check me out on Twitter at @MattPTurner!