Fantasy face-off: Most valuable goalie for 2018-19

NHL.com compares elite goalies Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck to see who is most valuable at the position in fantasy for 2018-19. See how these players compare in terms of category coverage, team security and other factors before viewing the @NHLFantasy Twitter poll results. For more fantasy coverage, visit NHL.com/Fantasy.

NOTE: Players are listed in order of rank in NHL.com's top 250.
Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL -- The Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender had career highs in games played (65), starts (64), wins (44), save percentage (.919) and shutouts (eight) last season. His 44 wins were tied for an NHL best with Connor Hellebuyck and his eight shutouts were tied for most with Pekka Rinne. Vasilevskiy played the majority of the season as the top ranked goalie in Yahoo but was a pedestrian 7-5-0 with an .887 SV% in the final 12 games of the season, ultimately finishing third. He broke out of the late season slump in the Stanley Cup Playoffs going 11-6 with a .918 SV%, including an NHL best road record (5-2) with a .941 SV%. His end of the season numbers are encouraging and he's playing behind arguably the best offense in the NHL with elite forwards Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Vasilevskiy gains additional value with a deep team defense, including Ryan McDonagh, who signed a seven-year contract extension on July 1. Vasilevskiy was the second goalie selected (No. 17 overall) in NHL.com's
mock draft
and should be considered as a late first or early second round pick in season-long fantasy drafts.

Connor Hellebuyck, WPG -- The Winnipeg Jets goaltender finished second at the position (behind Rinne) in Yahoo with 44 wins (T-1st in NHL), including six shutouts, a 2.36 GAA and a .924 save percentage. Part of Hellebuyck's successful season was his NHL best record at home (30-5-2), including four shutouts, a 2.31 GAA and a .921 SV%. The 25-year-old signed a six-year contract on July 12, giving him security of being Winnipeg's No. 1 goalie for the foreseeable future. The Jets allowed the fifth fewest goals last season (216) and were tied for the NHL's seventh best penalty kill (81.8 percent) adding to Hellebuyck's value. He was the first goalie selected in the mock draft (No. 13) and is a lock to be a late first or early second round selection in 12-team standard league drafts. The Jets are NHL.com's top rated
fantasy team
with five skaters ranked among the top 30, giving Hellebucyk the highest ceiling of all goalies.

Next highest ranked goalies in NHL.com's top 250:Frederik Andersen, TOR; Braden Holtby, WSH; Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ; Jonathan Quick, LAK