Monday Morning Ramblings: A Little Love For The Backups Ft. DeSmith, Vladar, Comrie And More

Welcome fantasy managers to another week of the Monday Ramblings. This week we’ll be giving a little love to the backups. In today’s NHL where even the elite netminders play just a little over 60 games, a solid backup goaltender has become an essential part to a team's success. Let’s get to it!

Vladar’s Value To Flames

Dan Vladar’s value to the Calgary Flames this season has been immeasurable with not only his play on the ice but also for his mentorship of the Flames uber talented rookie Dustin Wolf. While the aforementioned Wolf has carried the bulk of the mail this season, Vladar has been everything the Flames could have expected and more.

Vladar’s numbers this season may not necessarily jump off the page, however, one must keep in mind that the Flames have leaned on him against some stronger competition for most of the season as evidenced by his 11-11-6 record accompanied by a 2.86 goals against and .895 save percentage. This has allowed the organization to ease their goaltender of the future Dustin Wolf into the starters role while also limiting his workload in his first National Hockey League season.

His mentorship of the young netminder has also been a huge factor in Vladar’s value to the Flames organization as he has certainly aided in the 23-year-old's development to this point. It cannot be stressed enough how vital the veteran Vladar has been in spelling Wolf over the course of the season as the Flames future in goal acclimated himself to the rigours of being a starting netminder in the NHL. It will be interesting to see if the Flames re-sign the veteran over the summer with the success the tandem has had this year combined with the fact that you have a low maintenance player in Vladar who knows exactly where he stands in the pecking order as it relates to the organizations depth chart.

From a pure fantasy perspective, Vladar’s value lies mainly in spot starts against relatively weaker teams moving forward with the young Wolf getting the lion’s share of starts for the Flames. That being said, if Wolf encounters any kind of injury, the Prague native gets a decent bump in value with a relatively decent team in front of him. Fantasy managers should view him more as an injury replacement than anything moving forward.

DeSmith Dominating In Dallas

The Dallas Stars have been an absolute wagon this year and a massive part of that has to do with their superb goaltending. We are all familiar with Jake Oettinger’s work over the past few years, however, current backup Casey DeSmith is having himself a phenomenal season with a 14-6-1 record accompanied by a stout 2.30 goals against and .922 save percentage in addition to two shutouts.

DeSmith has been even better over his last 10 games played as he has fashioned an incredible 8-0-1 record with a miniscule 1.87 goals against and a phenomenal .943 save percentage in addition to one shutout. Thus allowing the organization to scale back Oettinger’s workload (however minimal) keeping him ready for postseason play.

Dallas GM Jim Nill and his management staff must be over the moon with DeSmith’s play this year and the best part of it all is that the veteran netminder is signed for the next two years at a very reasonable average annual value (AAV) of one million dollars, giving the organization the flexibility to make other moves in the future.

As it pertains to DeSmith’s fantasy value, he is somewhat in the same boat as the previously mentioned Vladar, however with a much more solid team in front of him as well as a better source of wins as well as peripheral numbers. DeSmith's games played will continue to be limited with the talented Oettinger as the club's undisputed starter, however, the Stars backup will continue to offer managers better than average value even if only through spot starts.

Comrie Coming Up Big

Third time's the charm for the Winnipeg Jets backup netminder Eric Comrie as he is enjoying a rather solid year is what is now his third stint with the franchise. In search of a backup after the departure of Laurent Broissoit, the Jets turned to their former 2nd round pick in 2013 to fill the void and couldn’t be more pleased with the results.

Comrie has put together an impressive season behind workhorse Connor Hellebuyck by going a combined 9-9-1 with a very respectable 2.36 goals against and .914 save percentage, in addition to two shutouts. The Alberta native has given Winnipeg a reliable option to spell Hellebuyck throughout the season with 68.4% of his starts being Quality Starts (games with save percentage above league average) all while coming in at under a million dollars both this year and next.

The 6’1” 190lbs goaltender has been on a rather impressive run of late going 6-2 with an incredible 1.63 goals against and .929 save percentage in addition to two shutouts. The Jets are getting some incredible value out of Comrie at the moment as is any fantasy manager who has inserted him in the lineup over the last number of weeks.

As it pertains to his fantasy value moving forward, Comrie will continue to offer value with several spot starts to allow Hellebuyck some rest over the course of a season. That being said, due to the solid defensive roster in front of him, Comrie will be a reliable source of wins, owning better than average peripheral numbers.

Pickard Pacing Oilers

You have to wonder where the Edmonton Oilers would be without the services of their backup Calvin Pickard to this point in the season. In a year where Stuart Skinner has struggled mightily and now finds himself nursing an injury, Pickard has stepped in and given the Oilers exactly what they need at such a critical time in the season…..a chance to win on a nightly basis.

Pickard has been rock solid for the Oilers this year with a 20-9-0 record accompanied by a 2.62 goals against and .902 save percentage with 57.6% of his starts being Quality Starts. The former second round pick in 2010 has been even better since the injury to Skinner going 3-1 with a sparkling 2.00 goals against and .925 save percentage, as the club continues to jockey for playoff positioning.

The veteran netminder has taken advantage of his opportunities this season as Skinner continues to find some solid footing to his game. In the meantime, the Oilers will continue to lean on Pickard with confidence as should many fantasy managers. He will never be a true number one goaltender, however he will continue to offer some great value as a reliable source of wins while offering some respectable peripheral stat for the remainder of the year and into the 2025-2026 NHL season.

There you have it folks, a look into some quality backup goaltenders who are having very solid seasons while offering some surprising value to fantasy managers in their limited roles.

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See you all again next Monday!