Hey, Karel!
Psssst.
Yeah, you. Vejmelka. We see you.
Between 2009-10 and 2017-18, across nine NHL seasons, almost one in four goaltenders maintained a crease share of greater than 75% for their team.
From 2018-19 to 2025-26, that dropped to roughly one in 16.
Last season, there was only one.
The true ironman went the way of the complete game in baseball.
So, if the ironman is dead, what buried him? A job-share. The modern crease is a 1A starting 45-ish and a 1B starting 30-plus, and the gap narrows every season -- teams figured out a rested goalie in March beats a gassed one in April.
Here's what your league hasn't priced in: Everyone still drafts goalies like it's 2013, as in reach for "the starter" and hope for 65 games. But a crease that splits on a good team doesn't kill value, it copies it. Two goalies with winnable matchups and rest-sharpened rate stats, both rosterable, at least one going undrafted next to you. The scarcity that makes elite starters expensive is the same scarcity that leaves tandem goalies cheap.
Look at what "elite" even means now. Last season's top 12 fantasy goalies averaged a 63.6% crease share. That's not a workhorse number, that's a strong-side-of-a-tandem number. The line between "the starter you reach for" and "the committee guy you stream" has blurred into almost nothing; only 10 goalies cleared 65%, and exactly one (Vejmelka) cleared 75. Everyone else is sharing.
That means the minutes have to go somewhere. A top-24 fantasy goalie (12-team fantasy league) played just 56.55% of his team's crease last season, so the other share is landing on a second goalie. And, on a good team, that second goalie is rosterable too. The proof is in the depth: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Scott Wedgewood and Logan Thompson had some separation in 2025-26, but between Jake Oettinger's 128.8 fantasy points and Jakub Dobes' 99.8, you find the goaltenders ranked No. 4 through No. 16. Flip just two of Dobes' rougher outings to quality wins and he becomes No. 4.
So the math flips. Reaching up for a "starter" buys you a 63% crease at a premium price. Or you spend less draft capital, grab both halves of a good tandem (or the better half of two), and bank two goalies with winnable matchups and rest-sharpened rate stats. The scarcity that makes the few real horses expensive is the exact same scarcity that leaves tandem goalies cheap.
Don't pay up for volume that no longer exists. Buy the split.
Who's off the tandem board (2025-26 stats)
But before we look at which tandems to target, let's set aside the ones to not target.
There are still several teams that, on paper, look like they have a goalie with a path to workhorse status. The evolution of goaltender usage suggests otherwise, but when you consider these 15 goaltenders, as well as their projected backup, it's difficult to envision a healthy season in which they don't approach 55 games played (65% crease share).
Fifteen names, and last season the league produced 10 goalies at a 65% crease share (all 10 of them listed above). That gap is the whole game. Every one of these has the paper case -- the job, the pedigree, a backup you can talk yourself out of -- but the trend says a third of them slip. Stuff happens: an injury, a hot backup, a coach who likes his rest days.
We can't go much further without addressing the multiple-Vezina-winning-plus-a-Hart elephant in the room. Connor Hellebuyck's situation is ugly for draft tables. He wants out, but it's not guaranteed this situation will come to a comfortable resolution. That said, more often than not, all parties involved find some way to resolve the situation that doesn't involve a hold out. I'm personally not scared to draft him, assuming he's a workhorse stud, but you have to define your own level of risk acceptance. He'll be discounted at drafts, but not so much that the draft pick you spend will hurt if he doesn't play.
With that said, let's take a team-by-team snapshot of the tandems you can target at a discount.
More: Sign up for free | Rankings | Projections | League types
Buffalo Sabres: Target
Alex Lyon: 40.4% crease share, 86.4 fantasy points (33.8 years old)
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: 41.1% crease share, 92.4 fantasy points (27.5 years old)
This isn't a dead-even timeshare. Buffalo won its division, and Luukkonen was the better goalie down the stretch. He's the ascending starter on a winner, not half of a coin-flip, so draft him as a legitimate mid-tier target, not a dart. Lyon is the veteran insurance.
The hedge is external: Buffalo keeps coming up as a Hellebuyck destination, and if that lands, Luukkonen's rising-starter case collapses overnight. Price the trade risk in. His ceiling is real, his floor a rumor away.
Carolina Hurricanes: Target
Brandon Bussi: 47.7% crease share, 100.8 fantasy points (28.2 years old)
Pyotr Kochetkov: 9.9% crease share, 22.8 fantasy points (27.2 years old)
Kochetkov had the tailwinds to become the 1A once Frederik Andersen moved on, but he couldn't stay healthy and Bussi capitalized. Expect a fairly even split -- Bussi drove the bus in the postseason, but Kochetkov is a proven commodity. There is fantasy value for both in Carolina's obsessive, possession-driven defensive environment.
Colorado Avalanche: Target
Scott Wedgewood: 51.6% crease share, 170.6 fantasy points (34.1 years old)
Mackenzie Blackwood: 43.6% crease share, 91.2 fantasy points (29.8 years old)
An injured Blackwood to start last season let Wedgewood, ahem, wedge himself a bigger role on the back of a hot start. But 34-year-old career backups aren't where you invest at a draft. Blackwood is the play -- peak production age, on a contender, worth paying up a little even after falling short on playing time.
ESPN Fantasy Hockey is the fun, free way to get inside the game. Draft your players, set your lineups and earn points when the pros do. Sign up today!
Edmonton Oilers: Avoid
Frederik Andersen: 42.44% crease share (with CAR), 3.4 fantasy points (36.9 years old)
Tristan Jarry: 33.3% crease share, -8.2 fantasy points (31.4 years old)
A mess, and mess plus age is a fade. Jarry was a bust after Edmonton handed him the job, and Andersen is a per-game gamble even when he's good. The one saving grace is the team. A strong Oilers club vultures wins for whoever's in net, so there's streaming value in the hot hand. But that's a matchup play, not a draft-day target. Don't spend a pick to find out which one blinks first.
Florida Panthers: Target
Jacob Markstrom: 51.8% crease share (with NJD), 32.6 fantasy points (36.6 years old)
Akira Schmid: 39.6% crease share (with VGK), 47.4 fantasy points (26.3 years old)
Start with why he's worth the trouble: a starter's crease on one of the best teams in hockey is a gift. Wins bank, shots-against stay manageable, rate stats take care of themselves. There's history here too, Florida drafted Markstrom and gave him his first NHL action. Healthy and on his game -- as he was in 2024-25 -- Markstrom's a legitimate No. 1 on a Cup contender. The catch is 2025-26, when he fell off hard at 36, and the ratios only recover if the Panthers play the defensive juggernaut in front of him that the Devils didn't. Draft him for the team context but as a borderline No. 2 whose floor is real.
Los Angeles Kings: Monitor
Darcy Kuemper: 58.0% crease share, 51.8 fantasy points (36.4 years old)
Anton Forsberg: 40.8% crease share, 76.8 fantasy points (33.8 years old)
Shave five years off Kuemper and he's a clean mid-round target. Proven starter, good defensive team. But you can't, and at his age the risk isn't a gentle decline, it's a trap door. Goalies this deep on the curve fall off without warning, and Forsberg pushed him last season. Maybe more important is to wait and see if an Anze Kopitar-less Kings team can protect a goalie enough to make either side of the tandem worth your while.
Minnesota Wild: Target
Filip Gustavsson: 59.8% crease share, 112.6 fantasy points (28.3 years old)
Jesper Wallstedt: 40.2% crease share, 102.4 fantasy points (23.8 years old)
Calvin Pickard: 17.6% crease share (with EDM), -12.8 fantasy points (34.4 years old)
Wallstedt got the keys in the playoffs, but that doesn't lock in workhorse minutes opposite a prime, talented starter. It'd take a massive gap in outcomes before the Wild stop splitting. And that's the point: this is the best tandem in the league to draft. Both goalies cleared 100 fantasy points last season while sharing the crease -- the clearest proof that a split doesn't shrink value, it doubles it. Grab either at a discount, or both, and start whoever's hot; on a winning team, there's no wrong answer here.
Montreal Canadiens: Target
Sam Montembeault: 28.6% crease share, -7.2 fantasy points (29.9 years old)
Jakub Dobes: 51.0% crease share, 99.8 fantasy points (25.3 years old)
Jacob Fowler: 20.4% crease share, 40.4 fantasy points (21.8 years old)
Don't overthink it. Dobes was a revelation in the playoffs and Montembeault was bad all season, so this changing of the guard has already happened. Dobes has the crease and the only real threat is Fowler, arguably already better than Montembeault and climbing. On an improving Montreal team, Dobes is one of the better "buy the split" values on the board, still priced for a committee that isn't really there. Draft him with more confidence than his crease share suggests. Montembeault's a fade, Fowler's the midseason stash.
New Jersey Devils: Avoid
David Rittich: 33.8% crease share (with NYI), 41.2 fantasy points (34.1 years old)
Jake Allen: 44.5% crease share, 59.0 fantasy points (36.1 years old)
Nico Daws: 3.7% crease share, 7.6 fantasy points (25.7 years old)
Where the "buy the split" logic runs out. A crease built on two goalies the wrong side of 34 plus a raw third option is one to fade, not chase. Allen and Rittich can hold a rope on a good defensive team, and the wins will come, but you're buying age and volume risk at both slots with no upside beyond "stays healthy and vultures wins." Daws is theoretical, and theoretical doesn't win you weeks. Draft here only if the value falls into your lap, there's no one to reach for.
Philadelphia Flyers: Monitor
Dan Vladar: 60.1% crease share, 112.8 fantasy points (29.1 years old)
Joseph Woll: 45.18% crease share (with TOR), 44.0 fantasy points (28.2 years old)
The Woll acquisition turns a Vladar showcase into a genuine competition, and that's the whole story. Vladar surprised last season, but Woll was half of the league's best fantasy tandem the year before, and healthy, he's the higher-ceiling goalie. Expect a true 50-50 that breaks toward whoever's hot. If you can roster only one, take Woll later in drafts.
Made it this far? Create your own league with your own rules and play against your friends today.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Avoid
Arturs Silovs: 45.4% crease share, 41.6 fantasy points (25.5 years old)
Sergei Murashov: 5.7% crease share, 5.8 fantasy points (22.4 years old)
The Penguins enter the season with... hang on... one second... OK, sorry. Was just checking my email to see if my offer to play goaltender for Pittsburgh was accepted. Nope, they're going into the campaign with Silovs and Murashov as the projected goaltenders.
San Jose Sharks: Monitor
Yaroslav Askarov: 52.6% crease share, 11.0 fantasy points (24.2 years old)
Alex Nedeljkovic: 46.2% crease share, 45.4 fantasy points (30.7 years old)
Eric Comrie: 28.1% crease share (with WPG), 21.0 fantasy points (31.2 years old)
Askarov is the reason to care, and it's a projection bet, not a production one. He's blue-chip talent on a team still closer to the lottery than the playoffs. The crease is his to seize, with Nedeljkovic the insurance, not a threat. Just know what you're buying: a young goalie's rate stats on a team that loses a lot, which caps the ceiling no matter how good he looks. Askarov is a late-round dart with real payoff if San Jose steps up -- which, to be fair, is a distinct possibility, and reason enough to let your gaze linger here.
Seattle Kraken: Monitor
Joey Daccord: 54.6% crease share, 53.8 fantasy points (30.1 years old)
Philipp Grubauer: 36.3% crease share, 54.8 fantasy points (34.8 years old)
The closest thing to a settled starter in the tier, Daccord owns this crease, and only Grubauer's contract keeps it a timeshare. But "owns it" now means a high-50s share, not a workhorse load, so temper the volume. The upside is opportunity, not context. Seattle won't bury you in wins, so his value rides on rate stats and workload. A fine mid-tier target you don't sweat on draft day. Grubauer's an insurance play, little more.
St. Louis Blues: Target
Jordan Binnington: 46.8% crease share, -17.6 fantasy points (33.2 years old)
Joel Hofer: 53.2% crease share, 118.2 fantasy points (26.1 years old)
Hofer didn't just spell Binnington last season, he outplayed him, and it wasn't close. The question is whether the Blues read that as a changing of the guard or a hot stretch from a cheaper option, because Binnington's pedigree and paycheck still argue for a real share. Bet on a split that tilts Hofer's way, he's the better play and likelier to grow into the role, but Binnington in a bounce-back role quietly wins weeks in the second half. On a wild-card team, both get enough winnable starts. Draft Hofer with intent; stash Binnington as late-round upside.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Monitor
Sergei Bobrovsky: 61.2% crease share (with FLA), 31.6 fantasy points (38.0 years old)
Anthony Stolarz: 28.1% crease share, 17.4 fantasy points (32.6 years old)
The reunion helps, as Bobrovsky and Stolarz were a Florida tandem a couple years back, so this is a known pairing, not two strangers. Bob's the nominal starter, but the number that matters isn't his crease share, it's his age. He plays this season at 38, deep enough down the back slope that production gets unpredictable fast, and you're betting he holds off the cliff one more year. Stolarz is more than an insurance pick, he's a capable starter in his own right and the natural beneficiary the moment Bob dips. Draft Bobrovsky for the wins if you trust the floor, but Stolarz is the shrewder value and a slump away from the larger share.
Vancouver Canucks: Avoid
Thatcher Demko: 22.7% crease share, 20.0 fantasy points (30.8 years old)
Kevin Lankinen: 52.8% crease share, -47.0 fantasy points (31.4 years old)
Both halves come with a warning label. Demko's the higher-ceiling goalie when upright... but "when upright" is the whole problem, as his share cratered on injury. You can't draft a goalie who can't stay in the net as anything but a gamble. Lankinen's the durable one, but he carried a losing team and the fantasy line reflects the losses more than the goaltending. That's the tell. the talent was never the issue in Vancouver, the team was. Any rebound rests on the Canucks being better -- a bet on the roster, not the goalies. Draft Demko only if the price bakes in the injury risk; Lankinen's a stream-when-they're-decent option, not a target.
Vegas Golden Knights: Target
Adin Hill: 30.2% crease share, -1.0 fantasy points (30.3 years old)
Carter Hart: 20.5% crease share, 29.6 fantasy points (28.1 years old)
Don't let the split fool you. Hart took over this crease late last season, started every game of a run to the Stanley Cup Final, and he's the starter going in. He's underpriced for two reasons: it was his first extended NHL action in nearly two years, so the sample's thin, and Hill remains a legitimate backup capping the workload. Both suppress his cost more than his job security warrants. That's the value -- a goalie who just backstopped a Cup finalist, on an elite team, at a discount because the market's still squinting at a small sample. A target with real upside, Hill matters only if Hart falters or gets hurt.
Download the ESPN Fantasy Sports app and have every player right at your fingertips. Available on the App Store and Google Play.