Alexandar Georgiev: Top Draft Goalie to Droppable in Fantasy Hockey Leagues
From starter behind a Cup contender to a splitter for a rebuilder - Alexandar Georgiev has fallen from top tendy to droppable and has made his nickname “FOURgiev” a reality.
I don’t think it’s been a big secret that in the last several years the Colorado Avalanche have been a force to be reckoned with. With today’s generational franchise power forward Nathan MacKinnon up front, and the next coming of Bobby Orr in Cale Makar in the back end, the Avs have talent up and down the lineup.
They are also deep, hard to play against physically and harder to defend against. This begs the question: their netminder must have stolen some games for them this year, right? Well, before December 8, the answer was no! What about last year? Still nope!
Speaking on December 8, I would like you to read the following quote in your best Gary Bettman voice; “We have a trade to announce!” Did you hear the boos too, or was that just me?
Alexandar Georgiev was traded to the San Jose Sharks.
The Good
Any fantasy league you are in, regardless of type, you know in years past Georgiev is going among top five in goalies. If he has the nickname FOURgiev, why is this?
Well, for starters, he is a starter. (Pun intended!). In the ever changing landscape of tendys in the NHL, more and more common are duos splitting ice time. The Toronto Maple Leafs with Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz or the Calgary Flames with Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar are excellent examples of this.
Second, Georgiev has historically played in front of Stanley Cup contending teams. He spent his career playing in front of the New York Rangers, before moving to the Colorado Avalanche. When you are a cup contender, in solid or weak showings, your team might steal a win in front of you, so while you might not have the greatest goals against average or save percentage, you’ll likely continue to stack up starts and wins. Both of these are good for your overall weekly matchup numbers.
So Georgiev has some really positive things going for him, right? He plays behind amongst the top teams in the league, he gets a ton of starts, and he wins a lot. Perfect! Well.. maybe not.
The Bad
Georgiev since he was traded to the Sharks has gone from unquestionable starter, to a 50/50 split against Yaroslav Askarov, and he’s losing. What’s worse, is that Vitek Vanecek is on IR and is ahead of Askarov in the pecking order. At the time of writing, he is due back in two weeks. What does this mean for Askarov, who currently has the hot hand, or Georgiev who should be their starter moving forward? Only time will tell.
Further, moving from the Avalanche, who have the second-highest ranked forward for fantasy in the league in Nathan MacKinnon, and the first-ranked defenseman in the league in Cale Makar, to the 31st-ranked team in the league does not bode well for his projected wins. Coupled with his starts being diminished and his starter status now in limbo as he tries to find game again, it is not looking good for Geogiev’s future.
The Future
It’s not all bad, and speaking of future..
The Sharks have a huge addition to their roster in Macklin Celebrini, who is now healthy and in their lineup leading the charge and sparking hope in San Jose.
So while Georgiev might struggle, every Sharks game is a “must watch” to watch Celebrini light it up and be the youth of the future for this franchise, or to watch and see what happens to your rostered Georgiev.
Maybe if both of these players are on your roster it could potentially be filled with an emotional rollercoaster of ups and downs.
The Ugly
Let’s dive into some numbers!
Overall this season Georgiev has: 22 starts, nine wins, 87.3 save percentage, 3.55 goals against average and zero shutouts.
Sadly, since being traded to the Sharks Georgiev has: 5/12 starts, 1/5 wins, 86.9 save percentage, 4.08 goals against average and zero shutouts.
If you have a keen eye - actually you don’t need a keen eye - it is quite clear to see that Georgiev has gotten worse in every category since joining the Sharks. Literally every category, and with significantly worse deployment and on a significantly worse team.
To compare with Askarov, who should be third in line behind both Georgiev and Vanecek: seven starts, three wins, 92.3 save percentage, 2.37 goals against average and zero shutouts.
Closing Thoughts
Has Georgiev earned the nickname FOURgiev? This season, it’s likely.
So what to do? Well you have a couple of choices - those being either hold or drop. Sell is likely off the table. In a keeper league, or a very deep league with 12+ players and bigger rosters, it might do you well to hold, hope, and pray.
The sad part is, even at the beginning of this year, Georgiev has always warranted high draft picks - either in the top 50 (unless you have a strong zero goalie presence), or at very least in the top-five goalies selected. With these in mind, Georgiev has fallen far from grace, and in a lot of leagues has been outright dropped. There are likely better options on the waiver wire or free agency for you, at least in the short term.
If you struggle with your goalie lineup, could he be a decent third option to sit nights against stronger opponents? Sure. Would I roster him? No. If you haven’t dropped him yet, I would. If he hasn’t been dropped in your league yet, he likely will be soon, and I wouldn’t waste a waiver spot on him.
He may be worth keeping an eye on to see if his starts or other numbers increase. If he regains his confidence and starts to push for majority of starts, he may be in the Montreal Canadiens’ Sam Montembeault category, where you are stacking starts, saves, and hoping for wins - but until then with Georgiev’s recent trade to a non-competitive team, he would be a “no roster” player for me. Steer clear until improvement is evident.
