"With every NHL team having hit the midseason point by last week's column, I went through a collection of midseason awards. And with the NHL preparing to stage the All-Star Game this weekend, what better way to mark the occasion than to assess which players around the league have been fantasy All-Stars?
Just so we're on the same page, I'm following colleague Sean Allen's lead here: these are not simply the best fantasy assets to this point of the season. The overall Player Rater rankings for netminders can provide you with that information. Instead, this assessment also takes draft value into account, much like the MVP award from last week's column, which went to the largely undrafted Brian Elliott. With that explanation out of the way, let's run through some goalies -- other than Elliott -- who have provided the best figurative bang for the buck in fantasy hockey.
The All Stars
Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins: There's an adage in fantasy hockey that a backup on a great team will provide more value than a starter on a bad team. This is even more relevant when considering a player that is arguably more skilled than a number of starters around the league and whose coach is trying to keep their other option -- one of the top 'tenders in the known universe -- fresh for a deep playoff run. Such is the situation in Boston with Rask and Tim Thomas. Rask is no stranger to veteran fantasy hockey owners, so his strong performance thus far isn't a total shock. What is noteworthy is the fact that he's generated strong enough stats to land in the No. 6 spot on the Player Rater among goalies while only appearing in 17 games. I suppose it helps to be leading the league in save percentage (.943) and second in goals-against average (1.69). It has been an excellent return on investment for those who drafted Rask this season; his average draft position (ADP) in ESPN leagues was 181.8, meaning he was generally taken as a team's third goalie or later. As for the continuation of Rask's exploits, there's no reason to believe that he won't continue to draw around a third of the starts down the stretch; furthermore, he's performed well over the final three months of the regular season in past campaigns. Though he won't be taking over from Thomas anytime in the near future, he'll continue to put up gaudy stats playing for the bullies of the Eastern Conference."
