An Early Look at Underrated Fantasy Goalies for 2026-27

Hello hockey fans! The regular season is officially behind us and props to you if you won a title, improved from last year, or just plain old stayed active enough throughout the season to not ruin it for others. Congrats, it’s quite an accomplishment!
This week, as the league managers start pressing the “renew league” button and that one manager in your league goes ahead and updates their trade block, let’s, too, start to look ahead to next year and, specifically, check out where we can take advantage of the goalies that may have flown under the radar this year, despite their providing serviceable play in recent memory. Let’s look at some of the most underrated fantasy goalies of the 2025-26 season, in no particular order:

Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders - Sorokin is a household fantasy name, however, he has earned the title of “underrated” because while in a couple of leagues I play in, he finished as the #1 ranked goalie - he certainly is not treated as a #1 ranked goalie. Because of injuries and the NHL’s condensed schedule this year, the reliable Russian finished below the 60 game threshold (55 GP) and, due to the Islanders late season implosion, finished just below the 30 win threshold (29 wins), as well. He did, however, lead the league in shutouts (7) and leads the NHL in shutouts over the last 5 seasons with 26 overall. In category leagues that kind of consistency is incredibly rare to find in an elusive cat like shutouts. The Russian twine tender enters his age 31 season next year after finishing 2026 with quality metrics of 29 wins (tied for 9th among goalies to play at least 21 games), 2.68 GAA (20th), .905 SV% (17th), 7 SO (1st), and 1,386 Saves (8th) and we can expect that his numbers may improve across the board (though it’s highly unlikely he exceeds 7 shutouts) as his team continues to make strides around their 2025 #1 overall pick and Calder Trophy favorite Matthew Schaefer. With his backup position going into next season still in doubt (David Rittich becomes a UFA July 1) we know that Sorokin will still be trusted with the workhorse’s load on a team that is likely contending for the playoffs again in 2027. Make a deal this offseason if you can, and keep an eye on his draft stock come next fall as there could be some value to be found in Sorokin as the Islanders look to make the next step in 2026-27.

Jet Greaves, Columbus Blue Jackets - There was some uncertainty at the start of the year regarding Columbus’ starter in net, but we gained some clarity when Greaves started 8 straight contests and 14 of 15 through parts of December and January. The Blue Jackets and Greaves demonstrated inconsistency throughout the year, including going on a 10-0-2 streak at the start of their head coaching change (firing of Dean Evason, hiring of Rick Bowness January 13th) and then ending the year on a 2-6-1 skid. Still, a lot of promise remains for the 25 year old Canadien keeper, as he was able to crush his previous career marks of 11 games played and 7 wins by exploding for 26 wins in 55 games played. His 2.60 GAA was good enough for 14th overall by goalies to play at least 21 games, while his .907 SV% had him tied for 11th, and his 1,397 saves placed him in 7th. This all comes from a goalie that finished this season at just 67% rostered (Yahoo) and will start next season with head coach Rick Bowness who lead the Blue Jackets to a 21-11-5 record and a 2.70 GA/G average (4th best) after the team started the year 20-19-7 with a 3.39 GA/G average (4th worst). If the Blue Jackets can find a way to be more consistent in play throughout the whole season, Greaves could easily become a top 10 option at his position.

Dan Vladar, Philadelphia Flyers - Are the Flyers for real? We all seem to think it can’t possibly be true and so the 28 year old Czech keeper Dan Vladar finished the season at just 51% rostered in Yahoo leagues, despite him posting some stellar metrics across the board: 29 wins (tied 9th) in 52 games played (tied 14th), 2.42 GAA (3rd), .906 SV% (tied 15th), and 1,162 saves (18th). Depending on how the Flyers’ playoff run continues (3 games to 0 lead over the interstate rival Penguins), it remains to be seen just how under the radar Vladar will fly, as he is currently rocking a perfect 3-0 record (1 SO), while only letting by 4 pucks on 74 shots (.946 SV%). There is some uncertainty if Vladar will be able to maintain his level of play for multiple seasons, as 2026 marked the first time he appeared in more than 30 games, while his saves, GAA, SV%, and wins were all career highs, but as the Flyers continue to proof the doubters wrong, there is some potential for Vladar to actually improve on this years numbers on a club that is still young and has plenty of room to grow. If the acquisition cost is cheap, Vladar could easily outperform his asking price in 2026-27 and for years to come, assuming he can handle the starter’s reigns.

Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes - This may be the best time to acquire the 2019 second round draft pick, as his name currently appears next to 3G on the Hurricanes depth chart after he was forced to miss the majority of the 2025-26 campaign with a hip injury and subsequent surgery. The 26 year old Russian went 6-2 (1 SO) in 9 games played this season, after posting 27 wins in 47 games played in 2024-25 alongside a solid 2.60 GAA and fair .897 SV%. There is some real uncertainty at this stage of the year as to who will own the lion’s share of starts in the Carolina crease in 2026-27, but between 26 year old rookie Brandon Bussi’s lack of experience (39 games played, all this year) and soon-to-be free agent Frederik Andersen’s notable regular season decline (career worst 3.05 GAA and .874 SV%), there is good reason to believe that Kochetkov will take the majority of start’s between the pipes for a Carolina club that has achieved 99 or more standings points in each of the past 5 seasons. The longer the Hurricanes have post season success with the Great Dane Freddie Andersen, the longer Kochetkov will continue to fly under the radar. In Dynasty or keeper leagues, it may be prudent to make a move sooner than later for this promising, young net minder.

That’s all for this week, thanks for reading! My name is Garrett Finlay and you can follow me on X @garrett_fi51284 and on Bluesky @garrettfinlay.bsky.social where I am often talking goalies and fantasy hockey. I’ll be back here next Thursday to breakdown another busy night of twine tending action! Happy Hockeying and good luck out there!