Fantasy Hockey Goalie Gab Part 2: Jesper Wallstedt, Scott Wedgewood, Mackenzie Blackwood and More

Hey folks. We are continuing with the second edition of our newest recurring editorial series for fantasy hockey: Goalie Gab. Here's the first. There has just been too much happening in the blue paint to leave anything out!

In part two, we have a couple goaltenders who have come out of nowhere to steal the crease when at the start of the season projections had them well behind in a backup role, as well as another starter who is failing with no help or hope in sight. 

Let's dive right back into the blue paint with part two focusing on these starter stealers!

Make sure to check out our new Fantasy Hockey Projections. Outlooks at your fingertips that always give you an in-depth snapshot and an accurate outlook of what you expect from every player -  all season long. Powered by AI; refined by our experts.

Minnesota Wild

The hottest topic in goaltending right now is Jesper Wallstedt, the supposed backup for Filip Gustavsson. The Wild have been very up and down this season. There is a lot to like about them, and fantasy league managers were quick to roster a lot of players and were then shocked to see the losses stack up. 

For the first while, their goal differential was amongst the worst in the league, despite them having such huge firepower up front, including Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi, and Joel Eriksson Ek. Plus early on we saw the resurgence of Vladimir Tarasenko and the rise of new defenseman and young powerplay quarterback, Zeev Buium.

So what was wrong with this team? Defensive play on the blueline, and goaltending in the blue paint. Gus was struggling, and along comes Wallstedt who gets back-to-back shutouts and seems to be unstoppable. The two now seem to be battling for the net, however the veteran Gustavsson is just coming off of a shutout, while Wallstedt gets the nod for Saturday night's bout against the Winnipeg Jets.

Wallstedt is the most, and fastest added player in all of fantasy hockey right now, so if you are in need of a goaltender, he is worth betting on. At worst if his play continues, it'll be a split tandem, and best case scenario head coach John Hynes rides the hot glove and Wallstedt continues to get starts and the Wild can continue to win games again.

Wallstedt has five wins in seven games started as a goaltender. He also has a .926 save percentage, 2.20 goals against average, and two shutouts.

Gustavsson has six wins in 15 games started as a goaltender. He also has a .902 save percentage, 2.79 goals against average, and two shutouts.

Colorado Avalanche

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Well if it were in the Colorado Avalance, I would say less wood chucked than pucks saved. Team “Wood” is without question the best goalie duo in the league, and it's not even close.

Mackenzie Blackwood was sidelined for the start of the year, and that left nearly the entirety of starts left for Scott Wedgewood, which he whole heartedly took advantage of and now sits atop the league for goaltender points.

What is crazy, is that Blackwood returned, has won 75% of his games, has a shutout, and is STILL behind Wedgewood for contention of the starts in Colorado. Head coach Jared Bednar has publicly stated that the net is Wedgewood's until he stops playing so well, even though Blackwood should be their starter and is the goaltender who they have locked up for the next five years.

They did sign Wedgewood to a one-year extension in the midst of his holding the fort down, however this leaves to question what this duo will look like in the future.

Together, they are unstoppable and, on the deepest team in the league, it makes them serious contenders. It doesn't matter who is in net, statistics point to a strong win.

Last season, Blackwood split the season between the Sharks and the Avs and still had nearly 60 starts with an above .900 save percentage. Impressively, he even had a shutout behind the Sharks, and tallied three more with the Avs.

Wedgewood has been impressive though, only losing four starts this season with elite numbers. I think regardless of who you have on your fantasy team, both tendys are firm holds with strong win percentages per start. You can't really go wrong here, but I will note if you had Blackwood to start, you're getting the short end of the stick so far.

Wedgewood has 12 wins in 16 games started as a goaltender. He also has a .913 save percentage, 2.33 goals against average, and zero shutouts.

Blackwood has three wins in four games started as a goaltender. He also has a .911 save percentage, 2.47 goals against average, and one shutout.

Edmonton Oilers

I was asked this week who Stuart Skinner could be traded for to upgrade goaltending. Even backup Calvin Pickard is not reliable, and statistically is one of the worst goaltenders in the NHL.

My obvious answer in fantasy is the new starter Jet Greaves, who has taken over the crease from Elvis Merzlikins for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He comes at a discount, and is still available in most leagues despite the amount of starts and wins he is putting up. Elvis has officially left the building.

Back to the Oilers, they are still going through the definition of insanity. They continue to roll back their same goaltender expecting different results, then are shocked when they don't get them. While in fantasy Skinner is the unquestioned starter here, and will stack starts and saves for you, he certainly isn't competing for wins.

Despite the Oilers being top heavy, with the best player in the world up front and scoring at will, Connor McDavid, they also have Leon Draisaitl, who is a top-five player in his own right. Further, McDavid just got back his winger in Zach Hyman, but even reunited they are struggling badly to put together their productive offensive prowess of seasons past.

The Oilers are in a bad place. Their production isn't where it needs to be. They are still unbelievably top heavy, their blueline struggles with defensive play and offers little to no resistance to attackers in their own end, and their goaltending continues to be absolutely atrocious with no help or hope in sight.

They need change now, and until they get it, nearly every Oiler player is a buyer beware for me. Their +/- is awful, they can't string together wins, and their offense can no longer get them out of holes they put themselves in defensively. Skinner needs to go, before this team has another hope at a Stanley Cup final.

Skinner has eight wins in 17 games started as a goaltender. He also has an .885 save percentage, 3 goals against average, and one shutout.

Pickard has two wins in seven games started as a goaltender. He also has an .851 save percentage, 3.87 goals against average, and zero shutouts.