NHL 2018 Week 12 Fantasy Hockey Report

This is my week twelve fantasy hockey report for those competing in head to head categories or rotisserie leagues. There are both standard and deep league acquisition targets. This is more of a “waiver wire” report, looking for those who are more likely to be available in your league as opposed to the universally owned players. I also do not recommend any players who play 2 games or less over the next 7 days (Monday to Sunday), with a preference for those with 4 or more games.

Best Standard League Adds (20% to 60% Yahoo ownership):

1) Kevin Hayes, C, Rangers, (33% Yahoo ownership): The guy has 13 PTS in his last 7 GP, putting him among the hottest players in the league. This is not just a flash in the pan, Hayes has appeared on this list before. If he were Wing eligible, he’d be at least 60% owned. The guy has 30 PTS in 35 GP, good for a 70-point pace. The fact that he’s a center makes him harder to fit into your line-up.

2) Alex Tuch, W, Vegas, (46% Yahoo ownership): Only two teams play at least 3 games next week and the Golden Knights are one of them. Tuch has cooled off since his hot start, but still has 4 PTS in his last 7 GP with decent hit totals. I’m not burning a permanent roster spot on Tuch, but he’s a high-end streaming option when Vegas has a good schedule.

3) Nick Schmaltz, W, Arizona, (20% Yahoo ownership): The other team who plays 3 games this week is Arizona. In this shortened week it will be hard to squeeze out any extra games. Schmaltz has 6 PTS in his last 8 GP playing on the top line. I’ve already added both Schmaltz and Tuch as one-week streamers in my 12-team standard league. 

4) Alex Edler, D, Vancouver, (35% Yahoo ownership): If Darnell Nurse is still available in your league, I do prefer him. Edler is more widely available and provides similar numbers. In his last 13 GP he’s scored 9 PTS with 26 shots and 25 hits, getting plenty of ice time on an effective power play. Yahoo ranks him as the 13^th best defenseman over the last 30 days by standard league scoring, and nobody ahead of him is more widely available.

5) Jacob Markstrom, G, Vancouver, (53% Yahoo ownership): Markstrom has had limited upside since becoming the #1 starter in Vancouver during their rebuild. They have not been a difficult team to score on, at least until recently. Jake has been on a hot streak lately, putting up a 1.90 GAA and .933 SV % over the last 9 games. At some point those numbers should come crashing back to Earth, but in the meantime, ride the wave in all formats.

Last Week: Ondrej Kase, David Krejci, Brandon Montour, Andrew Shaw,

Dave Rittich

Best Deep League Adds (under 15% ownership):

1) Jesse Puljujarvi, W, Edmonton, (6% Yahoo ownership): Insert the obligatory “new McDavid linemate” alert here. Chiasson is out, Puljujarvi is in. That could last 2 games, it could last 20 games. We don’t know. In the meantime, anyone who does play on that line is worth owning in most deeper fantasy leagues. Don’t drop a good player to add him, but he’s worth a gamble if you’ve got an extra spot.

2) Alex Iafallo, W, LA, (8% Yahoo ownership): Playing on the top line with Kopitar and Brown has been producing results for Iafallo (8 PTS in his last 6 GP), with decent hit numbers. He needs to be more than 8% owned if that deployment is going to continue all season. Iafallo is a long-term acquisition in deep leagues, and could even be a decent streaming option in standard leagues any weeks where LA has a strong schedule.

3) Darcy Kuemper, G, Arizona, (14% Yahoo ownership): Kuemper is in a position to be the #1 goalie in Arizona for the remainder of the season and that team has some upside. In his 5 GP since returning from injury he’s put up a 3.03 GAA and .904 SV%, getting 62% of the team’s starts. That’s not great, but not terrible. He’s the best deep option if you simply need as many starts as you can find.

4) Alex Goligoski, D, Arizona, (4% Yahoo ownership): If you need a defenseman in a deep league, Goligoski plays 3 games and has scored 4 PTS in last 8. I always like to include at least one defenseman in this section, and there were limited options this week. For a short-term target, you could do worse than Goligoski.

5) MacKenzie Blackwood, G, New Jersey, (2% Yahoo ownership): If you are in a deep league where goalies are hard to find, keep an eye on Blackwood. The Devils top goaltending prospect is up in the NHL, Schneider is injured, and Kinkaid has not been good. Through his first 107 minutes, the kid is sporting a 2.24 GAA and .930 SV %. At some point in the future the Devils would like him to permanently take-over the starting role (if his progress goes according to plan), that just may not happen this season.

Last Week: Pontus Aberg, Jesper Bratt, Nate Schmidt, Zach Aston-Reese,

Anton Khudobin

The 1% (best adds 1% owned or less):

1) Connor Murphy, D, Chicago: Murphy missed the start of the season due to injury. Since returning, he’s scored 5 PTs in 9 GP with 16 shots and 24 hits. There’s no way he’ll sustain a 45-point pace for the remainder of the season, but he’s at least a compelling short-term target in the deepest leagues.

2) Connor Brown, W, Toronto: Brown is an interesting target for really deep leagues, as he is maintaining decent ice time on a stacked Toronto team. His recent numbers may be a bit inflated by a 3-point game against the Devils, but it’s still strong coming from a 1% owned player.

3) Brian Boyle, W, New Jersey: Over his last 13 GP, Boyle has scored 5 PTS with 17 shots and 19 hits. That production isn’t great, but he gets decent ice time in New Jersey and will help in deep leagues that count hits. Boyle will also chip in a few face-off wins from a wing eligible player, which is a bonus in formats that count FWs.

Last Week: Marcus Johansson, Oscar Lindberg, Brendan Dillon

Safe to drop in Standard Leagues:

1) Dougie Hamilton, Carolina: Hamilton will still give you solid shot and hit totals, but that’s about it, which doesn’t justify 82% ownership, producing just 2 PTS in his last 13 GP, with a -8. Until we see a reversal in his scoring numbers, he’s not much better than a high-end streamer in standard leagues.

2) Yanni Gourde, Tampa: This is another player whose production doesn’t match ownership rates (4 PTS in his last 13 GP, 76% Yahoo ownership). There will certainly be weeks where he’s worth owning, but I’d rather hit that as a streamer than burn a permanent roster spot.

Last Week: Ivan Provorov, Jeff Carter