Week Six Recap/Week Seven Preview

09 Nov, 2026

Welcome to Week Seven, hockey fans.

Unsurprisingly, I have a special interest in goalies. I’ve always loved the position and have endured the mental tribulations of playing it. Lately, though, I can’t shake the feeling that the joy of goaltending is evaporating.

Even when goalies were truly sieves, there was lightning. Now there are more goalie carousels than ever. I get the why, but I miss the days when a goalie regularly started 60+ games and could enter a complete flow state. Maybe I’m alone there. There are some exciting goalies right now, but consistent greatness is rare. For every Vasilevskiy, there’s a Lyon, Dobes, Dostal, Binnington, Georgiev, Samsonov, Jarry, and Merzlikins.

So, in true Commish fashion, I went down a rabbit hole to determine where I'm justified and where I'm just nostalgic.

The sieves, the walls, and the slide

In the 1960s, the league save percentage sat around .909. Higher than I thought, but I guess that's what happens when the sticks were chiseled by hand with wood laying behind the shed.

Then the '70s and early '80s happened. Offenses radically shifted but the goalies hadn't. They were still predominantly using the stand-up style of goaltending. By 1981-82, the league save percentage had bottomed out at .873, and league-wide GAA peaked at 3.95. That's the era of sieves I was talking about. Despite that, there was still magic in the position.

From there, save percentage climbed for three decades, peaking at .915 in 2014-16. Then the NHL started shrinking goalie gear, players started adapting to large, technically skilled goalies, and it's been sliding ever since. Last season, it hit .896, the lowest since 1993-94. That's crazy.

Goalies got huge

From 1959 to 1986, the average NHL goalie stood between 5'10" and 5'11" (exactly the range as your commish). Goalies 6'4" or taller played exactly 0% of minutes before 1985. Last season, they played 40%.

You can pin the turning point on Patrick Roy, an early pioneer of the butterly-style and standing at 6' 2". The growth spurt starts in 1986-87, the season after Roy won the Cup as a rookie. By 1990, most NHL goalies were using at least part of the butterfly. When your job is to drop and cover the bottom of the net, being tall enough to still cover the top becomes a pretty big advantage. The average goalie grew about five inches by 2016 and has hovered around 6'3" ever since.

Size became the entry fee

Teams started drafting accordingly. The share of drafted goalies 6'4" or taller passed 20% in the 2007-09 drafts. In 2026, it was 47%, and not a single drafted goalie was under 6'0". At the same time, teams stopped spending high picks on the position. No goalie has gone in the top 10 since 2010.

The twist

Here's the kicker. One analysis found that height has almost no link to how well a goalie stops shots compared with others in his era. Teams have spent two decades drafting for size, and size alone isn't what separates the great ones.

Which brings me back to my original gripe.

Starting goalies now play a smaller share of their team's minutes than they used to. Gear is smaller, goalies are bigger, save percentages are falling, and teams are splitting the crease more than ever.

One other interesting factoid before moving on: Canadian goalies once played about 99% of NHL minutes. Today, it's about 25%.

Now onto the main event... right after I get my pads out of the garage and play for the first time in a year.

Week Six Recap

I went 2 for 5 this week, but I'll happily take the L on one of those misses.

Seider House Rules (Brent) vs. Not Gavin a Good Time (Andy)

The curse is broken (well, for now)! After picking against myself for the sixth straight week, Seider House Rules finally got into the win column, and it wasn't close. SHR put up 269.31 points (while leaving a league-leading 75+ points on the bench), the second-highest score of the season, and won by 115.71, the biggest margin we've seen this year.

The star was Cutter Gauthier, who put up 58.37 points, the best week by any player this season. Remember when I complained about the Ducks' top line? Since then, Gauthier has 95.80 points in two weeks. Sennecke chipped in 28.55, Hertl added 26.23, and Werenski, Bouchard, and Lindholm all topped 20.

Andy had a rough week, with the fewest points in the league. Robertson (29.17) and Cooley (21.76) held their own, and Quinn Hughes and Scheifele each scored about 20. But Crosby's 17.87 sat on the bench, and nobody else cracked 14.

Gus Chychruns (Ben) vs. Kim Kardashian (Rich(ie))

Richie finally caught a break. Kim Kardashian put up 233.41 points, his best week of the season, led by a monster 46.96 from Jack Hughes. McDavid added 28.22, Kempe put up 23.92, and Vasilevskiy bounced back from last week's dud with 20.23.

Ben got solid weeks from Celebrini (29.33), Blackwood (28.92), and Hellebuyck (22.03), and Tristan Luneau chipped in 17.24 after Ben scooped him back up. But Tage came back to earth after his 46-point week, and one waiver move sank him. More on that later.

Geri-hat-tricks (Brian) vs. Rebuilding Since 2019 (Matt)

I called this a coin flip, and it was close. Matt won by 7.33 for his fifth straight win, and he did it with balance: Aho (26.45), Reinhart (25.86), Pastrnak (23.07), and Connor (22.98) all topped 20. Even more shocking? Joel Hofer gave him 21.62 in net. Matt has found a goalie. For now.

Brian topped 200 for the second straight week and lost for the second straight week. That hurts. Kaprizov (25.99), Marner (23.93), and Wallstedt (23.02) did their part, but J.T. Miller's 16.71 sat on his bench, enough to close the gap. That one stings.

Singin' the Blues (Justin) vs. King Booby's Ice Reign (Myles)

My gut was right. Myles won by 6.41 for his third straight win, and he did it with a balanced attack: LaCombe (27.57), Caufield (24.48), Bedard (22.25), Johnston (22.13), and Kucherov (21.80) all topped 20. And he did it despite leaving 65.84 points on his bench.

Draisaitl kept rolling for Justin with 36.28, and Keller added 26. But Justin lost by 6.41 with Roope Hintz's 23.97 sitting on his bench. If you've been reading this blog, you know that's become a weekly tradition. Play Roope!

Big Macs (Kevin) vs. Neither Fish nor Fowler (Alan)

I ordered the fish. I should have gotten the burger. Gimme dat! I'm jokin', I'm jokin'.

The Big Macs snapped their two-game skid with 254.71 points, getting seven(!) players over 20: Swayman (29.77), MacKinnon (26.48), Guentzel (22.60), Necas (22.50), Josi (22.41), Eichel (21.40), and a waiver pickup who'll sound familiar (21.33). More on that later.

Alan followed up his record-setting week with 238.92, the third-highest score of the week. That would have beaten seven of the other nine teams. Makar (26.63), Carlsson (25.76), and Fox (21.09) led the way. Wrong week to run into the Big Macs, but a good sign for a team that struggled to put up numbers early in the year.

As ever, following our recaps, we move on to:

This week's Bozo is Ben.

On Tuesday, Ben picked up Yaroslav Askarov, the same Askarov Myles cut the week before. Askarov started Wednesday against the Kings, gave up seven goals, and cost Ben -17.34 points. Ben cut him on Thursday. Ben lost to Richie by 29.97, so Askarov alone accounted for more than half the margin.

And that wasn't all. Ben dropped Jordan Kyrou on Monday, and Kyrou put up three points on Tuesday. He cut Jack Quinn on Thursday, and Quinn put up a goal and an assist on Friday.

I'll give myself a theoretical Bozo as I was going to pick up Askarov for that very start, but Ben beat me to him.

Power Rankings

Six weeks in, the top four have separated a bit, and the bottom of the table is a mess. And yes, Seider House Rules is now second in the league in points, less than 10 away from the most, despite sitting at the bottom.

Three Stars of the Week

Our top star had the best week by any player this season. Cutter Gauthier put up 58.37 points, topping Jake Oettinger's 47.08 from Week Two. Jack Hughes showed flashes of his 22-23 campaign, and Draisaitl continues to be Draisaitl.

Honorable mention goes to Juuse Saros, whose 31.62 points came entirely from the Seider House Rules bench. Some things never change.

1) Cutter Gauthier, ANA (58.37 points, Seider House Rules)

2) Jack Hughes, NJ (46.96 points, Kim Kardashian)

3) Leon Draisaitl, EDM (36.28 points, Singin' the Blues)

Welcome back to the Waiver Wire Wizard, where we recognize managers who showed a bit of magic in their pickups.

This week's wizard is Kevin. On Monday, he picked up Carter Verhaeghe, the same Verhaeghe Brent dropped last week right before he scored twice, and got 21.33 points out of him. Kevin also brought back Thomas Harley on Thursday for 14.89. Add it all up, and the Big Macs used every possible point this week.

Honorable mentions go to Alan, who grabbed Shane Pinto for 18.71, and Ben, who reunited with Tristan Luneau for 17.24. Alan also deserves credit for cutting Scott Wedgewood on Tuesday, the same day Wedgewood gave up four goals in 27 minutes.

Now for the dark arts. We covered Ben's week in Bozo of the Week, but the Askarov pickup deserves another mention: -17.34 in a single start.

Kevin, for all his magic, wasn't perfect either. He dropped Dylan Strome on Monday, and Strome put up two assists on Tuesday. Kevin picked him back up on Thursday, then dropped him again the same day.

And Myles? He brought back Tristan Jarry on Monday (7.61), dropped him Saturday for Devon Levi (7.66), and dropped Levi on Sunday for Dan Vladar (-1.44). Three goalies, one week, 13.83 points. Could be worse.

Meanwhile, the Pavel Zacha World Tour rolls on. Kevin picked him up on Monday, cut him on Wednesday, and Brian grabbed him on Sunday. That's five stops this season: Matt, Brent, Kevin (twice), and now Brian.

Putting on a Low album as we return to Benchwarmer Blues, where we shine a light on the managers who left points sad and alone on their benches, just like Brent (almost) every Sunday night.

Seider House Rules led the league with 77.36 points on the bench, the second-highest total of the season. Juuse Saros (31.62) sat yet again, joined by Tomas Hertl (13.71) and Beckett Sennecke (12.90). The good news? SHR still won by 115.71. The bad news? Saros has now been on SHR's bench for 68.42 points this season. That's a lot of points from one guy. Imagine what Brent can do if he can manage his team effectively (and not be so afraid of playing Saros).

Myles came in second with 65.84, led by Andrei Svechnikov (28.92), Jackson Blake (15.89), and Brady Tkachuk (14.42). Myles won anyway, so no harm done. Another big what-if, though, as it shows a lot of firepower.

Matt rounded out the top three with 44.42, led by Nick Schmaltz (11.35) and Morgan Geekie (10.36). He also won.

The real pain belongs to Justin and Brian. Justin lost by 6.41 with 43.37 points on his bench, including 23.97 from Roope Hintz, who has now appeared in Justin's bench list in five of six weeks. Brian lost by 7.33 with 32.95 on his bench, including 16.71 from J.T. Miller. Ouchie.

On the other end, Kevin smartly -0.08 points on his bench. And Ben actually really effectively managed his team by benching Mackenzie Blackwood's -6.04 and Gavin McKenna's -1.98. It didn't save him, but it's the thought that counts.

Here's the full breakdown.

Week Seven Preview and Commissioner Picks

Seider House Rules (Brent) vs. Geri-hat-tricks (Brian)

Picking against myself finally worked last week, so why stop now? SHR is second in the league in points and coming off the biggest win of the season, but Brian has topped 200 points in back-to-back losses and is due. Kaprizov and Wallstedt give him a high floor, and I'm not about to tempt fate.

Not Gavin a Good Time (Andy) vs. Big Macs (Kevin)

Andy has dropped two straight and now has the fewest points in the league. Kevin just snapped his skid with seven 20-point players and used every single point he scored. This one doesn't need much explanation.

Gus Chychruns (Ben) vs. Rebuilding Since 2019 (Matt)

Matt has won five straight, and last week he even found a goalie who scored positive points. Ben has the pieces in Celebrini and Hellebuyck, but his waiver moves keep working against him. Until that changes, I'm riding with Matt.

Kim Kardashian (Rich(ie)) vs. King Booby's Ice Reign (Myles)

This is the Matchup of the Week. Richie just put up his best score of the season behind 46.96 points from Jack Hughes, and he's fourth in the league in points despite his 2-4 record. But Myles has won three straight while leaving huge chunks of points on his bench. If he ever sets a perfect lineup, look out. I'm taking Myles, but barely.

Singin' the Blues (Justin) vs. Neither Fish nor Fowler (Alan)

Alan has scored nearly 530 points over the last two weeks and has just one win to show for it. That's brutal luck. But Justin has Draisaitl rolling, and he's due for a week when Roope Hintz's points actually count. I'll take Justin to bounce back.

Thanks for reading, crew. Good luck this week and we'll see you back here next Monday.