Fantasy faceoff: Scott Darling vs. Mike Smith

All offseason long, NHL.com will cover all the angles leading up to your fantasy hockey draft. For some of the most compelling debates, our fantasy writers will compare two players at a given position in the same projected draft range, according to NHL.com's top 250 rankings.
Value is quantified based on factors including (but not limited to) line combinations, power-play usage, team goalie situations, injury history, bounce-back, breakout or sleeper potential, possible regression and age. Once each writer has made his argument, fans can cast their votes in our @NHLFantasy Twitter poll.
Today, we compare goaltenders Scott Darling of the Carolina Hurricanes and Mike Smith of the Calgary Flames:

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PETE JENSEN: The stage is set for Darling to carry over his efficiency as a backup to a potential starting role with the Hurricanes. He was stuck behind Corey Crawford on the Chicago Blackhawks depth chart in each of his three NHL seasons, but has produced a combined .923 save percentage in 75 games. Only Carey Price (.929 in 140 games) of the Montreal Canadiens has had a better save percentage than Darling among goalies with that many games played in the span. He went 18-5-5 with better peripherals than Crawford last season, finishing 121st in Yahoo (17th among goalies).
His performance in Chicago was impressive, but he is now tasked with elevating Carolina into Stanley Cup Playoff contention in his first season. Hurricanes goaltenders (mostly Cam Ward, Eddie Lack) combined for a .901 team save percentage last season, tied for fourth-worst in the League. But Carolina's nucleus of talent at forward (e.g. Jeff Skinner, Sebastian Aho, Elias Lindholm) and on defense (e.g. Justin Faulk, Jaccob Slavin) is possession savvy and showed signs of an eventual breakout last season. Darling could be the missing piece that helps Carolina edge other Metropolitan Division teams like the New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers for a postseason spot.
Darling and Smith each can feasibly win at least 30 games as the starter for his new team this season, but Darling, 28, is much younger than Smith, 35, and could be the breakout goaltender of the year. If the Hurricanes finally reach their potential and Darling wins the job outright from the veteran Ward, the former could even enter the top 10 at his position. Smith won 38 games in 2011-12, but is 90-114-31 over the five seasons since with unimpressive peripherals. Darling has also been much better at even strength (.929) than Smith (.921) over the past three seasons.

DAVID SATRIANO: Smith receives an instant boost going from the Arizona Coyotes to the Flames. Arizona had 30 wins and scored 191 goals (2.33 per game) last season. Calgary had 45 wins and scored 222 goals (2.71 per game). Smith finished 297th in Yahoo with a 19-29-6 record, 2.92 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and three shutouts in 55 games last season and hasn't won more than 19 games since 2013-14 (27). Because of the team in front of him -- the Coyotes allowed 258 goals (3.15 per game), third-most in the League -- Smith hasn't had a GAA under 2.50 and a SV% above .920 since 2011-12.

Smith is a workhorse when healthy, having played at least 55 games in four of the past five full NHL seasons and made at least 61 starts three times. The Flames allowed 2.67 goals-per game last season and have one of the best defensive groups in the League with Mark Giordano, Dougie Hamilton, TJ Brodie and newly acquired Travis Hamonic. That's great news for Smith, who faced 30.2 shots per game last season and has consistently been among the goalies facing a heavy shot volume on a nightly basis.
Darling certainly has fantasy upside with the Hurricanes, but he could easily struggle going from a sure-fire contender to a team that hasn't made the postseason since 2008-09. The Flames haven't been a source of strong fantasy goaltending in recent years either, but they have at least made the playoffs in two of the past three seasons. There's also a chance you could draft Smith rounds later than Darling and get similar results if things go well for each goaltender after the change in scenery. It also brings more peace of mind to invest in a goaltender who has an elite fantasy season on his resume; Smith finished among the top five fantasy goaltenders in 2011-12.