Scott Cullen projects things out very well. This is especially true of his Top 40 by position lists. Yes that is right….top 40. Here is his look at goalies and projections for the upcoming 2009-10 season.
Time to disect a bit. The usual suspects are there. Luongo at 1 and Brodeur at 2. After that it starts to get interesting. Evgeni Nabokov at 3 will have people scratching their heads some. After all Nabokov has very good regular seasons but his numbers (GAA and save % were almost average last year). Steve Mason is at #5. Do people really think he can repeat last number once again with more pressure and more starts? Tim Thomas is all the way down at 12. I know Boston is going to drop some points wise but Thomas should not drop that much. Thomas is a quality goaltender that at least has a Top 10 year in him over Semyon Varlamov at #9.
How is Varlamov #9 when Jose Theodore has been named the starter? Mysteries abound but I am guessing the death of his infant son has something to do with this. Yes Varlamov will likely start at some point but how will he handle the pressure of being “the guy”? That was my concern and why I did not have him ranked that high. I do understand risks need to be taken but I remember Martin Biron last year and will never ever hear the end of it.
These type of rankings are loaded with landmines. No one can get these things right for every single player. There is just too high of a margin of error. What I found interesting was Scott Cullen’s projection of shutouts. Luongo leads the land with only 7 of them. Its an interesting take. This is also quite possible given that scoring should be up this season by a good bit.
Now for the oh by the way laugh of the Top 40. It has to be Rick DiPietro. Can he even play at this point and for how long? Its another no one really knows but reports are suggesting that he is really trying to give it a go. Here is a hope that he starts earning that long albatross of a contract. Do you think the Islanders have learned their lesson now? Let’s hope so since they went so goalie happy in the draft and free agency avenues.
Like I have said these rankings are very subjective and also the reality is this. How long a goalie keeps his job is almost as key as his performance oddly enough. After all you have to pile up the starts and wins to keep up with the Top 10 of this list. It should make for an interesting fantasy hockey season.
