Fantasy Top Ten - Goalie Gambles

We know you fantasy owners love a good list so we put together a whole whack of them in both our Fantasy Scouting Report and our Breakout Bible.

We've decided to reproduce a few of them on the site to drum up a bit more business and more importantly to generate a bit of discussion.

So this is only going to work if we get a ton of comments.  So the 90% of you that are reading this but never comment... let's hear what you have to say.  Love the list?  Hate it?  Somebody we forgot?  Let us know.

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Today's list.... Top 10 Goalie Gambles

Ahhhh goalies.  They can win you a fantasy title (thank you very much Carey Price) or lose it for you (Craig Anderson, we're looking in your direction). These are not the best ten fantasy goalies ... but ten goalies who are currently backups (or #1A) but with a little luck they could end up making a nice low risk / high reward pick.

1)      Mark Dekanich (backing up Steve Mason)
Dekanich's lack of name recognition should means he comes cheap and investing in Steve Mason's backup is always a good idea (although Mason did have a fine preseason).  If Mason puts up another stinker (that would be the third year in a row) the Jackets could lean heavily on Dekanich

2)      Cory Schneider (backing up Roberto Luongo)
We think Schneider is ready to go as a #1 goalie (he did finish 3^rd and 4^th in sv% and gaa respectively last year).  Only problem is Luongo is stuck in his path.  He'll need an injury or trade to really reach his potential but he's worth a shot.

3)      Jonathan Bernier (backing up Jonathan Quick)
We're going to keep putting him here until he breaks through and steal Quick's job.  It's happening eventually.  It could be this year.

4)      Tuukka Rask (backing up Tim Thomas)
He was the #1 a year ago and it took a record breaking season Thomas to usurp him.  Thomas is 37 years old and old guys tend to get injured.  If that ever happened Rask is a top ten goalie.  In the meantime expect a 60-40 split which makes Rask one of the most valuable backups in the league.

5)      Jason LaBarbera (backing up Mike Smith)
Really wish Phoenix had a better backup as we're not convinced Mike Smith has it to be a #1.  LaBarbera has been a starter (kinda) before so the Yotes may hand him the job if they need to.  Only problem is he was terrible last year (3.26 gaa / .909 sv%)

6)      Mathieu Garon (backing up Dwayne Roloson)
Rolly is 42 years old now.  We know he's a freak of nature but his body can't hold on forever, right?.  Garon has been played >30 games the last three years so he can handle a good sized workload.

7)      Dan Ellis  (backing up Jonas Hiller)
He was really, really good with the Ducks in 13 games last year.  He probably got a bit lucky but with Hiller's vertigo issues, Ellis might be worth a late round pick... especially if you own Hiller.

8)      Evgeni Nabokov (backing up Al Montoya)
Yeah it's a long shot but we're hopeful he gets traded soon and lands in a good situation. 

9)      Jacob Markstrom (in AHL, third on depth charts)
He's third on the depth charts but the two ahead of him are Scott Clemmensen and Jose Theodore.  Clemmensen has already gotten injured so Markstrom will start the season as the backup.  He's got the talent to run with it.

10)  Johan Hedberg (backing up Martin Brodeur)
He posted better numbers than Brodeur last season and Marty has had trouble staying healthy lately.  In Florida, DeBoer has sat his star #1 tender (Vokoun) for stretches to ride the hot hand... the same could happen in NJ.