2008/2009 NHL Fantasy Goalie Rankings

Here are Hockeyinformer's goalie rankings for the 2008/2009 NHL season. While we have ranked most of the top goalies in the league, we have also taken the liberty to break them down into tiers as we feel at times it may be important to know which goalies share similar value and which are in a distinctly inferior group.

Tier One

1. Martin Brodeur - You can't go wrong with the perennial All-Star and Vezina finalist .. Turns 36 this year, but is ready to break several records this season the most prominent of which will be to become the league's all-time winningest goalie.

2. Evgeni Nabokov - Was an absolute workhorse last season and contributed his strongest season ever playing an absurd 77 games .. Figures to have a slightly lighter workload, but is number one on a stellar Sharks club.

3. Henrik Lundqvist - Has proved his detractors wrong with three straight Vezina nominations and three straight 30-win seasons .. Only injuries can derail what could be a landmark fourth NHL season in which he hits 40 wins for the first time.

4. Roberto Luongo - Second NHL season in Vancouver started with a bang, but his play following the all-star break tailed off considerably as off-ice issues surely caused a huge distraction .. Is primed for a 'rebound' if you even want to call last year a letdown.

5. Miikka Kiprusoff - Some could argue that he no longer belongs in this upper echelon, given his deteriorating stats since almost winning the Hart three years ago .. However, the flip side of that means that he will come undervalued in a lot of drafts.

Tier Two

6. Jean-Sebastien Giguere - Would easily be a top-three goalie but we're dropping him down a notch due to the fact that his somewhat brittle nature will likely prevent him from appearing in more than 60 games .. If you're looking for someone to help with goals-against-average and save percentage, he's your guy.

7. Marty Turco - Provided his usual 30+ wins and above average save percentage and goals-against-average and more of the same should be expected this year .. Slayed some playoff demons to help with confidence issues and with no established backup, he might offer the best value out of all goalies.

8. Marc-Andre Fleury - Former first overall pick battled inconsistency and injuries early in the year before blossoming over the final quarter and into the playoffs .. Is a top notch talent ready to hit 40 wins again, but his peripherals could suffer in front of shaky defense.

9. Carey Price - Handed the reigns mid-season and seemed like the real deal before faltering badly in the playoffs .. Backup Halak is unproven and veteran Denis is a shadow of his former self, so Price will get to run the show almost exclusively to himself.

10. Chris Osgood - Completely rehauled his mechanics and backstopped the Wings to another Stanley Cup after taking over from now retired Dominik Hasek .. Is still prone to some lapses and will surely lose starts to Ty Conklin.

11. Ryan Miller - The wins have been there in each of the last three seasons, but his goals-against-average and save percentage always seem to hang around mediocrity .. Play slipped after a huge second half workload so he should be aided by Patrick Lalime's arrival.

Tier Three

more to come later...