Fantasy hockey rankings: Jesper Wallstedt rises thanks to shutouts

We all knew it was coming eventually, but Jesper Wallstedt's push for the Minnesota Wild crease is still wildly impressive. He has twice as many shutouts as anyone else in the league despite a 36% crease share. Because of the way fantasy scoring works, shutouts really monkey with goaltender projections. They are massive point-earners for goaltenders, but are fleeting to predict and chase. A top-100 spot for Wallstedt feels fair considering the presence of Filip Gustavsson and the share of his points that have come from the four shutouts.

Just for fun, here's a passage from the ESPN dynasty rankings from Aug. 5, 2022, hinting at the goaltending guard-change we are currently watching unfold. A lot has changed for these players, but it's still neat to review the snapshot we had three and a half years ago. (Just don't look too closely at how Aaron Ekblad was ranked if you click the link.)

Even still, I've taken a leap of faith with some others. I still believe Spencer Knight and Carter Hart have next-level stuff to show us and I think the opportunity will be there for Knight (as Sergei Bobrovsky ages up) and for Hart (as the Flyers impressive prospect pool starts clicking in three to five years). I also think the table is set perfectly for Jesper Wallstedt to be the next big thing in the crease in a couple years' time, especially if he gets a season to learn as the backup for Marc-Andre Fleury. While I also like Yaroslav Askarov and Dustin Wolf a lot, their path to prime time is a little murkier with Saros and the older-than-you-think-but-not-quite-that-old Jacob Markstrom in front of them.

These rankings are based on expectations of fantasy points produced from Friday, Dec. 5, until the end of the season.

Skaters: goals = 2 points, assists = 1 point, shots and hits = 0.1 points
blocked shots and special-teams points = 0.5 points;

Goaltenders: wins = 4 points, OT losses = 1 point, shutouts = 3 points
saves = 0.2 points, goals against = -2 points.

1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, C1
2. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, C2
3. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, D1
4. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, C3
5. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals, G1
6. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, G2
7. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, C4
8. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks, C5
9. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, LW1
10. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, C6
11. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets, D2
12. Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars, RW1
13. Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars, C7
14. Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators, D3
15. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, G3
16. Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets, D4
17. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, RW2
18. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, D5
19. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, C8
20. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers, C9
21. Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals, RW3
22. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, RW4
23. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, LW2
24. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, C10
25. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, LW3
26. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets, C11
27. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, LW4
28. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, C12
29. Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks, C13
30. Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW5
31. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, LW6
32. Morgan Geekie, Boston Bruins, C14
33. Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens, LW7
34. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, RW5
35. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils, C15
36. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, LW8
37. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings, D6
38. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW9
39. Noah Dobson, Montreal Canadiens, D7
40. Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes, RW6
41. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, G4
42. Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, G5
43. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, C16
44. Bo Horvat, New York Islanders, C17
45. Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim Ducks, LW10
46. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, RW7
47. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, G6
48. Tim Stutzle, Ottawa Senators, C18
49. Matthew Knies, Toronto Maple Leafs, LW11
50. Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings, RW8
51. Martin Necas, Colorado Avalanche, RW9
52. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, RW10
53. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, G7
54. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars, D8
55. Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW12
56. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs, C19
57. Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers, LW13
58. Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders, D9
59. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW11
60. Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild, D10
61. Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers, D11
62. Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW12
63. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings, LW14
64. Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens, LW15
65. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, D12
66. Shayne Gostisbehere, Carolina Hurricanes, D13
67. Drake Batherson, Ottawa Senators, RW13
68. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D14
69. Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens, D15
70. Trevor Zegras, Philadelphia Flyers, C20
71. Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins, RW14
72. Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights, RW15
73. Josh Norris, Buffalo Sabres, C21
74. Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals, D16
75. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, C22
76. Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings, LW16
77. Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars, D17
78. Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres, C23
79. Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames, D18
80. Dylan Guenther, Utah Mammoth, RW16
81. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, D19
82. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators, D20
83. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, LW17
84. Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights, C24
85. Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars, C25
86. Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche, G8
87. MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary Flames, D21
88. Clayton Keller, Utah Mammoth, LW18
89. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers, LW19
90. Mike Matheson, Montreal Canadiens, D22
91. John Carlson, Washington Capitals, D23
92. Logan Cooley, Utah Mammoth, C26
93. Seth Jones, Florida Panthers, D24
94. Jesper Wallstedt, Minnesota Wild, G9
95. Timo Meier, New Jersey Devils, LW20
96. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, C27
97. Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers, C28
98. Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres, RW17
99. Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights, D25
100. J.T. Miller, New York Rangers, C29
101. Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers, RW18
102. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils, RW19
103. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, C30
104. Adam Fantilli, Columbus Blue Jackets, C31
105. Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas Golden Knights, RW20
106. Kiefer Sherwood, Vancouver Canucks, LW21
107. Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers, LW22
108. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, G10
109. Justin Faulk, St. Louis Blues, D26
110. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning, C32
111. Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks, G11
112. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah Mammoth, D27
113. Gabriel Vilardi, Winnipeg Jets, C33
114. William Eklund, San Jose Sharks, LW23
115. Tyler Bertuzzi, Chicago Blackhawks, LW24
116. Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals, C34
117. Brandon Montour, Seattle Kraken, D28
118. Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW21
119. Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild, C35
120. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, D29
121. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders, G12
122. Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers, RW22
123. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes, C36
124. Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues, C37
125. Josh Doan, Buffalo Sabres, RW23
126. Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks, D30
127. Dawson Mercer, New Jersey Devils, RW24
128. Frank Nazar, Chicago Blackhawks, C38
129. Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames, C39
130. Jet Greaves, Columbus Blue Jackets, G13
131. Ben Kindel, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW25
132. Shane Pinto, Ottawa Senators, C40
133. Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, G14
134. Jacob Trouba, Anaheim Ducks, D31
135. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators, D32
136. Mattias Samuelsson, Buffalo Sabres, D33
137. Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken, RW26
138. Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings, RW27
139. Will Smith, San Jose Sharks, C41
140. Owen Tippett, Philadelphia Flyers, RW28
141. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers, C42
142. Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado Avalanche, LW25
143. Jake Walman, Edmonton Oilers, D34
144. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins, D35
145. Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks, C43
146. Vince Dunn, Seattle Kraken, D36
147. Scott Wedgewood, Colorado Avalanche, G15
148. Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken, D37
149. Adam Fox, New York Rangers, D38
150. Ivan Barbashev, Vegas Golden Knights, LW26
151. Spencer Knight, Chicago Blackhawks, G16
152. Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado Avalanche, RW29
153. Radko Gudas, Anaheim Ducks, D39
154. Filip Hronek, Vancouver Canucks, D40
155. Zack Bolduc, Montreal Canadiens, C44
156. Cam York, Philadelphia Flyers, D41
157. Jordan Kyrou, St. Louis Blues, RW30
158. Ivan Demidov, Montreal Canadiens, RW31
159. Simon Nemec, New Jersey Devils, D42
160. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks, G17
161. Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders, C45
162. Emmitt Finnie, Detroit Red Wings, C46
163. JJ Peterka, Utah Mammoth, RW32
164. Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames, G18
165. Darren Raddysh, Tampa Bay Lightning, D43
166. Jake McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs, D44
167. Simon Edvinsson, Detroit Red Wings, D45
168. Mason McTavish, Anaheim Ducks, C47
169. Eeli Tolvanen, Seattle Kraken, LW27
170. Brayden McNabb, Vegas Golden Knights, D46
171. Dylan Cozens, Ottawa Senators, C48
172. Braeden Bowman, Vegas Golden Knights, RW33
173. Nick Schmaltz, Utah Mammoth, RW34
174. Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets, D47
175. Chris Kreider, Anaheim Ducks, LW28
176. Will Cuylle, New York Rangers, LW29
177. K'Andre Miller, Carolina Hurricanes, D48
178. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers, RW35
179. Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers, C49
180. Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars, D49
181. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators, G19
182. Sean Monahan, Columbus Blue Jackets, C50
183. Beckett Sennecke, Anaheim Ducks, RW36
184. Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning, C51
185. Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, D50
186. Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets, C52
187. Denton Mateychuk, Columbus Blue Jackets, D51
188. Alexandre Carrier, Montreal Canadiens, D52
189. Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers, D53
190. Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild, D54
191. Artem Zub, Ottawa Senators, D55
192. Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken, G20
193. Dylan Holloway, St. Louis Blues, C53
194. Jake DeBrusk, Vancouver Canucks, RW37
195. Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh Penguins, G21
196. Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators, C54
197. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings, C55
198. Oliver Kapanen, Montreal Canadiens, C56
199. Matt Roy, Washington Capitals, D56
200. Quinton Byfield, Los Angeles Kings, C57
201. Yaroslav Askarov, San Jose Sharks, G22
202. Aliaksei Protas, Washington Capitals, C58
203. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins, D57
204. Justin Brazeau, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW38
205. Bowen Byram, Buffalo Sabres, D58
206. Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings, LW30
207. Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, D59
208. Ryan Pulock, New York Islanders, D60
209. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings, D61
210. Brandt Clarke, Los Angeles Kings, D62
211. Emil Heineman, New York Islanders, LW31
212. Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks, RW39
213. Dmitri Voronkov, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW32
214. Ian Cole, Utah Mammoth, D63
215. Dmitry Orlov, San Jose Sharks, D64
216. Jake Neighbours, St. Louis Blues, LW33
217. Artyom Levshunov, Chicago Blackhawks, D65
218. Ryan Leonard, Washington Capitals, RW40
219. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Toronto Maple Leafs, D66
220. John Klingberg, San Jose Sharks, D67
221. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils, D68
222. Ben Chiarot, Detroit Red Wings, D69
223. Matty Beniers, Seattle Kraken, C59
224. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins, D70
225. Alexander Nikishin, Carolina Hurricanes, D71
226. Josh Manson, Colorado Avalanche, D72
227. Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, D73
228. Nick Blankenburg, Nashville Predators, D74
229. Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames, LW34
230. Ryan McDonagh, Tampa Bay Lightning, D75
231. Cole Perfetti, Winnipeg Jets, LW35
232. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers, LW36
233. Chandler Stephenson, Seattle Kraken, C60
234. Matthew Wood, Nashville Predators, LW37
235. Anthony Mantha, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW41
236. Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes, LW38
237. Nikolaj Ehlers, Carolina Hurricanes, LW39
238. Shane Wright, Seattle Kraken, C61
239. Blake Coleman, Calgary Flames, RW42
240. Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota Wild, RW43
241. Zach Benson, Buffalo Sabres, LW40
242. Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche, LW41
243. Adam Henrique, Edmonton Oilers, LW42
244. Matt Coronato, Calgary Flames, RW44
245. Lawson Crouse, Utah Mammoth, RW45
246. Noah Cates, Philadelphia Flyers, LW43
247. Brock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche, C62
248. Jackson Blake, Carolina Hurricanes, RW46
249. Karel Vejmelka, Utah Mammoth, G23
250. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers, G24
250. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers, G24