Week 2: Fantasy top 25 goalie rankings for 2016-17

All season long, NHL.com's David Satriano will rank the top 25 goalies for standard Yahoo leagues (wins, goals-against average, save percentage, shutouts). Players with long-term injuries have been removed from this list.
These rankings are based on expectations for the rest of the season. Value is quantified by projected starts, peripheral category coverage, time-share situations, team defenses, past performance and overall upside in standard leagues. It is important to note that our rankings reflect sheer fantasy value, not necessarily the most talented goalies in order.

There was a changing of the guard for the Detroit Red Wings last season with goalie Petr Mrazek getting the majority of the starts over Jimmy Howard. But this season could turn into a much different story.
Mrazek started 49 games to Howard's 33 and went 27-16-6 with a 2.33 GAA, .921 SV% and four shutouts. Howard was subpar, going 14-14-5 with a 2.80 GAA and .906 SV% in the regular season. Howard went 0-2 with seven goals allowed against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs before Mrazek played the final three games of the series (1-2, 1.35 GAA, .945 SV%).
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But Howard, 32, has played like he has something to prove early on this season. In his first start against the New York Rangers on Oct. 19, he made 32 saves on 33 shots faced and was the main reason the Red Wings won 2-1. He followed with a 30-save shutout against the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 22. The sample size may be small, but Howard leads the NHL in GAA (0.50) and SV% (.984) among goalies with at least two starts.
Mrazek has made five starts, allowing at least three goals in three of his outings. He's faced at least 31 shots in each game, so his SV% has been solid (.917), but his 2.82 GAA is much worse than last season. This early development should be monitored in all fantasy formats as Howard (42 percent owned) continues his push for a true time-share role in Detroit.

Trending Up

We saw what Cam Talbot was capable of as a high-end backup with the Rangers in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and that's why the Edmonton Oilers made him their franchise goalie. After a mediocre first season in Edmonton for Talbot (21-27-5, 2.55 GAA, .917 SV%, three SO), the Oilers made some offseason reinforcements and are being rewarded for their faith in the 29-year-old goalie. Talbot is riding a four-game win streak and leads the NHL in wins (six). His SV% (.927) has improved drastically after impressive wins against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 20, at the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 23 (31-save shutout in 2016 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic) and against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Talbot passed his biggest test yet with 34 saves on 35 shots faced against the Capitals, but Edmonton begins a five-game, eight-day road trip Nov. 1. That should be extremely telling for Talbot's value the rest of the way.

Trending Down

Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche had a 27-save shutout against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 20, but has allowed at least three goals in each of his other three starts, including five goals twice. Varlamov's 3.25 goals-against average and .902 save percentage are much lower than his NHL career marks (2.60, .917), and he's unlikely to end the season with strong peripherals. He's started at least 57 games in each of the past three seasons, but was 27-25-3 last season with a 2.81 GAA and hasn't been the same since being named a 2014 Vezina Trophy finalist. Backup goalie Calvin Pickard allowed three goals on 31 shots in a 4-3 overtime win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 17 in his lone start. He should push for more playing time, which could further affect Varlamov's fantasy value.

Worth Noting

• Peter Budaj, 34, has won his first three starts for the Los Angeles Kings, who are without their top two goalies, Jonathan Quick and Jeff Zatkoff, because of injuries. Budaj (26 percent owned) has allowed eight goals on 75 shots faced (.893 SV%) but has a respectable 2.32 GAA.
  - Boston Bruins rookie Zane McIntyre (2 percent owned) made his first NHL start on Wednesday, making 26 saves and allowing five goals in a 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers. The Bruins are without Tuukka Rask (lower body) and Anton Khudobin (upper body). Fellow rookie Malcolm Subban started Tuesday but allowed three goals on 16 shots faced before being replaced by McIntyre in a 5-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild.
  - Al Montoya (28 percent owned) picked up his third win in four games on Wednesday. The Montreal Canadiens goalie has allowed six goals on 133 shots faced (3-0-1, 1.47 GAA, .955 SV%) and should continue to provide strong fantasy returns whenever Carey Price is given a rest.

Top 25 Goalie Rankings

These rankings were last updated Oct. 27.
1. Braden Holtby, WSH (SAME)
2. Carey Price, MTL (+1)
3. Cory Schneider, NJD (-1)
4. Roberto Luongo, FLA (+2)
5. Jake Allen, STL (-1)
6. Devan Dubnyk, MIN (+7)
7. Pekka Rinne, NSH (-2)
8. Martin Jones, SJS (SAME)
9. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (+2)
10. Ben Bishop, TBL (-3)
11. Tuukka Rask, BOS (IR)
12. Corey Crawford, CHI (-3)
13. John Gibson, ANA, (-3)
14. Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT (SAME)
15. Petr Mrazek, DET (+1)
16. Jacob Markstrom, VAN (+1)
17. Cam Talbot, EDM (NEW)
18. Brian Elliott, CGY (+1)
19. Jaroslav Halak, NYI (-1)
20. Jimmy Howard, DET (NEW)
21. Craig Anderson, OTT (SAME)
22. Steve Mason, PHI (+3)
23. Kari Lehtonen, DAL (-8)
24. Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (NEW)
25. Sergei Bobrovsky, CBJ (NEW)
* IR: Player is on injured reserve but could return soon
Dropped out: Chad Johnson (CGY), Robin Lehner (BUF), Frederik Andersen (TOR), Connor Hellebuyck (WPG)
Just missed: Peter Budaj (LAK), Ryan Miller (VAN), Al Montoya (MTL), Johnson, Semyon Varlamov (COL)
Key injuries: Jonathan Quick (LAK), Matt Murray (PIT), Mike Smith (ARI)
READ: Last week's Top 25 goalie rankings