Monday Ramblings: On Fire For Fantasy Playoffs Ft. Wedgewood, Andersen, Gustavsson And More

Welcome fantasy managers to another week of the Monday Ramblings. This week we’ll take a look at some goaltenders who are coming up big during the most important time of year - the fantasy hockey playoffs. Let’s get to it!

Wedgewood’s Winning Ways

It has been an interesting year for Scott Wedgewood to say the least, with his signing in Nashville during the offseason to his subsequent trade to the Colorado Avalanche back in November, so one could excuse the career backup as it has been a bit of a whirlwind season. All that being said, Wedgewood’s numbers would seem to suggest that he is more than enjoying his time in the Mile High city.

Since the move to Colorado, Wedgewood is rocking a 10-4 record with a sparkling 2.02 goals against and .918 save percentage accompanied by two shutouts in relief of starter Mackenzie Blackwood. The 32-year-old from Brampton has been even better in recent weeks with an incredible 4-0 record with a ridiculous 1.49 goals against and .927 save percentage in addition to one shutout, giving the Avs the type of goaltending they were sorely lacking at the beginning of the season.

Avs management must surely be happy with their current goaltending situation as the tandem of Blackwood & Wedgewood (affectionately referred to as the Lumberyard) have fully stabilized the position and are both signed through the 2025-2026 NHL season. Thus allowing the organization to focus on filling other needs within the lineup such as going out and adding Brock Nelson as a much needed second line centre.

As it relates to fantasy, Wedgewood's value will continue to be as a spot starter in relief of incumbent Blackwood, however Wedgewood does get a considerable bump in value simply due to the team he has in front of him. Moving forward, fantasy managers can expect a solid source of wins with above average peripheral numbers as managers continue to navigate through the fantasy playoffs.

Gustavsson On Another Level

About a month ago I wrote a snippet on Filip Gustavsson’s phenomenal play coming out of the Four Nations Face-Off. Well, it certainly bares repeating as the Finnish netminder has been on fire the last 10 games for the Minnesota Wild as they continue their stronghold on the Western Conference first wild card spot.

The Wild’s starting netminder is having himself a year with a stat line of 28-15-4 with a solid 2.48 goals against and .917 save percentage and five shutouts but his recent run of play has been rather outstanding. Gustavsson has compiled a 6-3-1 record over the last 10 games played with a miniscule 1.90 goals against and a stout .932 save percentage in addition to two shutouts, as Minnesota continues to separate themselves from the pack chasing the second wild card spot.

This of course could not come at a better time for the Minnesota Wild organization and fantasy managers alike with Gustavsson playing at such a high level of consistency, allowing both entities to roster with unabashed confidence. To point out just how consistent Gustavsson’s game has been this year, look no further than his 70.8% Quality Starts (games with a save percentage above league average / games with fewer than 20 shots and save percentage above .885) all while being one of the league best bargains at $3.8M AAV.

From a fantasy perspective, Gustavsson is “set it and forget it” at the moment and should be rostered accordingly. As I mentioned about a month ago, his status as a true number one only becomes more clear with current backup Marc-Andre Fleury enjoying the final few months of his NHL career and Gustavsson will surely be leaned on heavily for the 2025-2026 NHL campaign, therefore boosting his value and by extension his workload as well.

Andersen Crucial For Canes

Frederik Andersen may have a long and storied injury history but one cannot deny that when healthy he can provide all world goaltending which is what he is currently giving the Carolina Hurricanes in spades. In what has been another injury riddled season, Andersen has been quite solid sporting a more than respectable 11-5 record accompanied by a 2.07 goals against and .918 save percentage.

However, it’s what the 6’4” 229lbs goaltender has accomplished of late that is peaking fantasy managers interest as the native of Denmark has an unblemished 4-0 record his last four games played with a phenomenal 1.50 goals against and .939 save percentage, with all four games being quality starts. Andersen along with youngster Pyotr Kochetkov have given the Hurricanes more than adequate goaltending throughout the season, with the exuberant youngster really coming into his own albeit at the expense of the veteran Andersen.

The shift may have already begun as it relates to the young Kochetkov taking over number one duties, however, the veteran Andersen is still very capable of putting this team on his back if need be as evidenced by his consistent level of play again this year. Andersen may no longer carry the heavier workload but is still a valuable asset as it relates to spot starts.

From a pure fantasy perspective, Andersen’s value will continue to be tied to his health. If he can remain healthy for any extended period of time managers should expect a solid source of wins while providing above average peripheral numbers playing behind such a structured team defense. However, as has been the case for a number of years, one should indeed expect some missed time through injury. Proceed with caution.

Hofer Handling High Pressure

The St.Louis Blues young netminder is proving to management that if they ever decide to move on from Jordan Binnington that they are indeed in good hands as the soon to be 25-year-old is playing some of his best hockey to date. The Blues backup has had a rather decent year so far going 14-7-3 with a respectable 2.64 goals against and .905 save percentage in relief of starter Binnington.

However, what has Blues brass excited is his recent run of play where the 6’5” 179lbs goaltender has fashioned a 3-0 record accompanied by an amazing 1.00 goals against and incredible .959 save percentage. Yes, two of those victories came at the hands of bottom dwellers in the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, however, this is exactly what you want to see from a young goaltender in the midst of fighting to keep a hold on the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.

Hofer has all the motivation he needs to keep this level of play going as the native of Winnipeg, Manitoba is paying for his next contract as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Many fully expect the Blues to extend their young netminder over the course of the summer with incumbent starter Binnington going into the last year of his current six-year deal in 2025-2026.

As it relates to a fantasy perspective, Hofer’s value should continue to increase provided his workload does as well. Much of course will depend on the status of Binnington and which direction the organization decides to take towards the trade deadline next year (at the latest). However, until such time Hofer’s value may be a tad limited with the aforementioned Binnington earning the lion’s share of the workload for the foreseeable future. Use sparingly for the time being for spot starts against inferior competition.

There you have it folks, a look into some goaltenders who are giving their respective fantasy manager some incredible value during the most important time of the year - the fantasy hockey playoffs.

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See you all again next Monday!