Follow @SpiegelSports If you are playing fantasy hockey next season, you might want to consider avoiding Florida goaltenders.
It's not because they won't produce. They most certainly will with a better defense in front of them.
The problem will be both Roberto Luongo and James Reimer are considered starters...and backups.
Assuming good health, it wouldn't be surprising to see both players have a similar number of starts at the end of the year.
Health, however, is THE issue for Luongo.
After offseason hip surgery last summer, Luongo returned sooner than expected to start the season. James Reimer received his planned spot starts to give Luongo rest, but the injury bug re-emerged in mid-February. He tried to play through it, but Luongo's last game was the first period of a game at Philadelphia on March 2nd.
Reimer took over and largely played well for the rest of the regular season, ending the year with two shutouts against Buffalo and Washington on back to back games. He finished 9th in save percentage for all goaltenders with at least 39 starts.
Luongo is now the oldest goaltender in the league. His hip issues are related to core problems that will likely get worse with age.
New head coach Bob Boughner could ride the hot goaltender until the flame goes out, but in Luongo's case rest is just as important as riding him when he's hot. If he were to suffer another long-term injury, forcing Reimer to carry the load, that could spell disaster for Florida's playoff hopes.
It will indeed be a fragile balancing act for the coaching staff to keep Luongo protected, but also feel confident in letting him loose at the right times.
With the lack of goaltending depth currently in the organization, Dale Tallon might be forced to swing a deal to get another starting caliber goaltender or one of the better backups. Unless promising prospect Sam Montembeault has shown enough that he could fill in if needed, a contingency plan is needed.
Tallon would hate to mortgage some of the club's future via trade to patch up a weakness in goaltending should Luongo go down, so it will be an interesting situation to watch.
Reimer has proven to be a good starter in this league when he has quality talent around him, and with Boughner revamping the systems for the talented blue liners on this team, that should bode well for this season.
At 29 years old, Reimer could become the workhorse the Panthers need to give Luongo the rest he needs. But if Luongo is feeling well it's hard to say either player is better than the other. That is neither good or bad, but keeping them both fresh is ideal.
In the tale of two seasons, Luongo was the workhorse to start last year. Reimer was the one who ended it. As the painful season came to a close, both had 39 starts, but not by design.
Luongo is a competitor, but he's not about ego. If his new role is that of a bonafide backup, he'll happily and effectively perform his duties. He's the consummate teammate and professional. Reimer deserves to be the #1 if not for age alone.
Perhaps there is a plan to platoon them that pleases everyone and gets desired results. Ultimately all the talk about the forwards and line combinations might not be as important as the handling of Reimer and Luongo as the season progresses.
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