With the fantasy hockey season winding down, managers in keeper leagues need to start considering players to bring over to the 2009-2010 season. This is the second segment in a 5 part series exploring keeper options for deep keeper leagues.

Solid Starters

Ryan Miller | Buffalo Sabres
Ryan Miller has played well for the Sabres this season and is locked into Buffalo for several more years after signing an extension in the fall. While Miller will never reach the upper-echelon of goaltenders, he’s a rock solid option to have between the pipes for any fantasy team. He shouldn’t see any competition for the next 2 years from a backup or prospect and should produce steadily for owners.

Cristobal Huet | Chicago Blackhawks
Despite Nikolai Khabibulin having a great season with the ‘Hawks, it’s going to be hard for Chicago to pay him what he may be expecting. He’s due for a contract at the end of this season, however, it will probably come from another team. This leaves Huet as the starter in the Windy City and with the solid skills that he has developed behind a young, up and coming team, it makes the Blackhawks an extremely dangerous team for the next several seasons. Before you commit to Huet, however, see how the situation plays out over the summer. While Khabibulin is expected to depart, we’ve all seen crazier things happen.

Marty Turco | Dallas Stars
Turco owners who had high hopes for Marty and the Stars heading into this season were certainly frustrated by the extremely poor start. Those who stuck with Turco have been enjoying a relatively decent second half of the season and with new faces emerging in Dallas, we should look at this season as a bump in the road and look forward to a better season in 2009-2010. While Turco has shown his inconsistencies, he is still a pretty good option between the pipes and his numbers in the past have shown that he is worthy enough to anchor a fantasy goaltending duo. He’ll be in Dallas a couple more seasons and shouldn’t see any pressure from backups in that timeframe.

Cam Ward | Carolina Hurricanes
Ward has had a really nice second half of the season and is showing us once again that he can handle the starting duties in Carolina for the next 2 seasons. The ‘Canes have 16 free agents to deal with in the off-season so we may see some of the offense that has helped them out this season depart from Carolina in 2009-2010, but if Ward keeps up solid play, he should be able to keep them contenders again next season. Expect 60-70 starts for Ward if he can remain healthy and consistent.

Marc-Andre Fleury | Pittsburgh Penguins
While there is some risk that accompanies using Fleury as a keeper, when healthy, he is a rock solid starting goaltender who should see the majority of the starts next season. Pittsburgh will be a solid team for several seasons to come and Fleury should be able to contribute to their success. He’s locked into a pretty good team for the next 4 years so take advantage.

Steve Mason | Columbus Blue Jackets
Mason has certainly proven himself to the Blue Jacket organization this season and the team should be excited about the next several seasons of hockey. Along with a budding offense full of dynamite rookies and crafty veterans, the Jackets have a rock solid goaltender between the pipes. Mason has proven to be wise to the shutout ways this season by landing 9 of them since November. His numbers are worthy of a keep in every format, especially those leagues that emphasize goaltending categories.

Tomas Vokoun | Florida Panthers
Vokoun had owners worried at the beginning of the season as poor play resulted in the opportunity for backup Craig Anderson to showcase his talent. Vokoun weathered the storm however and responded by putting in a rock solid effort in the 2nd half of the season. With the Panther organization getting stronger each season, Vokoun will finally have some offense in front of him to give him an opportunity to land 10-12 more wins next season.

1. Top Tier Goaltenders for Keeper Leagues in the 2009-2010 Fantasy Hockey Season