NHL 2018/19 Week 17 Fantasy Hockey Report

This is my week seventeen 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) Nino Niederreiter, W, Car, (45% Yahoo ownership): Nino has scored 6 goals in 6 games (with 26 shots) since being traded from Minnesota to Carolina. He’s getting good deployment (with Aho) and scoring goals. The Canes have a strong schedule this week, making Nino an ideal streamer who may even be worth holding on to long-term if this production with his new team continues.

2) Darcy Kuemper, G, Phx, (33% Yahoo ownership): Over his last 8 games Kuemper has 6 wins with a 2.07 GAA and .928 SV %. He needs to be owned in more leagues and next week is a great time to start with the Coyotes playing 4 games. The Coyotes have started winning a few more games and Kuemper is at least a beneficiary if not the cause. He's a streamer that you may want to keep beyond just this week if you are struggling in goal.

3) Jared Spurgeon, D, Min, (46% Yahoo ownership): I’ve recommended Spurgeon a few times this season as a streamer whenever the schedules align. He’s having a strong season and may be worth holding on to for the rest of the season, on pace for nearly 50 PTS. He has benefited from the injury to Matt Dumba, who does not appear to be returning anytime soon.

4) Blake Coleman, W, NJ, (47% Yahoo ownership): Another player with a good streaming schedule that you should consider holding permanently. Over his last 12 GP, Coleman has 10 PTS with 40 shots and 39 hits while averaging over 17 minutes of ice time. That makes him must own in all categories leagues that count hits (including Yahoo standard leagues).

5) Brayden Schenn, C, Stl, (52% Yahoo ownership): Schenn started the season owned in 87% of fantasy leagues, and that number has only gotten smaller each month. He’s on pace for a 53-point season after scoring 70 PTS in 2017/18. This week the Blues play 4 games and Schenn has scored 6 PTS in his last 7 GP. The Schenn-Tarasenko-O’Reilly line appears to be heating up, as the 3 players combined for 8 PTS in their last game. That’s worth keeping an eye on.

Last Week: Carter Hart, Patrick Hornqvist, Ivan Provorov, James Van Riemsdyk, Mats Zuccarello

Best Deep League Adds (under 20% ownership):

1) Justin Williams, W, Car, (18% Yahoo ownership): It has been a good 30 days for Williams, scoring 10 PTS in 12 GP with 39 shots on goal. The Canes have a strong schedule, which does make Williams borderline ownable in standard leagues. He’s been playing on the top line with Aho and Niederreiter, which has been very productive since they added Nino. There are plenty of reasons to like Williams right now, perhaps even beyond the upcoming week.

2) Joonas Korpisalo, G, Clb, (13% Yahoo ownership): It’s looking increasingly likely that Bobrovsky’s days in Columbus will soon come to an end, probably before the trade deadline. If Bobrovsky gets traded and Korpisalo takes over the starting duties (which he has kinda done already), his ownership will probably triple in a week. Over his last 7 GP, Korpsy has a 1.91 GAA and .936 SV%. He’s been the best goalie in Columbus in 2019.

3) Jacob Slavin, D, Car, (13% Yahoo ownership): Slavin has been hovering around 4% ownership all season until a recent span of 11 PTS in 13 GP has vaulted him up to 13%. As stated above, this is an ideal week to add some Carolina Hurricanes. Slavin is a great streaming target, and may be worth a permanent roster spot in deeper leagues. That scoring pace is probably not sustainable in the long-term, but in the meantime I’m happy to ride the wave.

4) Jack Roslovic, W, Wpg, (3% Yahoo ownership): It was a slow start to the season for Roslovic, scoring 12 PTS in his first 50 GP. An injury to Ehlers created a new opportunity and he’s starting to take advantage (7 PTS in his last 6 GP). Eventually Ehlers will return and the Jets may add forward help before the deadline, in the meantime this young gun has been blazing. He just punked the Ducks for 3 goals.

5) Nick Bonino, C, Nsh, (9% Yahoo ownership): Nick Bonino has been shockingly productive lately (11 PTS in his last 13 GP) and the Predators have a strong schedule this week. If your league counts faceoff wins, his value climbs even higher. He was hovering around 1% ownership for most of the year and could have been found on the waiver wire in the deepest of formats. Somebody in my 18-team league just traded a 6^th round pick to acquire Bonino.

Last Week: Brandon Tanev, Bryan Little, Anton Khudobin, Brian Dumoulin,

Tanner Pearson

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

1) Oskar Sundqvist, W, Stl: Sundqvist probably needs to be owned in more than 1% of fantasy leagues with the deployment he’s been getting in St. Louis (nearly 16 minutes per game over his last 12). In those 12 GP, he has scored 7 PTS with 28 shots and 18 hits.

2) Jordan Oesterle, D, Ari: Oesterle has moved into a prominent role on the Coyotes defense, averaging 21:29 of ice time over his last 11 GP (where he has produced 6 PTS, including 2 on the power play). His shot totals are disappointing, but his block totals are strong, if either of those are important to you.

3) Evan Rodrigues, W, Buf: Rodrigues has been getting good deployment in 2019 for the Sabres and has managed to produce 7 PTS in his last 10 GP, with 24 shots while averaging just over 15m per game of ice time. The Sabres have a nice schedule this coming week, making Evan a nice streaming target.

Last Week: Dominik Simon, Oskar Lindbolm, Andrew Copp

Safe to drop in Standard Leagues:

1) Cam Talbot, Edm: I’m not sure how Cam Talbot is still owned in 49% of Yahoo leagues. He did manage to string some good games together in early January, which proved to be temporary. In his last 7 GP he’s sporting a 3.46 GAA and .897 SV%. Koskinen has started 4 of the last 6. Talbot has been dropped twice now in my 18-team league where almost every goalie in the league is owned. You can safely drop him in all shallow formats.

2) Charlie McAvoy, Bos: Here’s a fun fact, of all the NHL players over 70% ownership, none have scored fewer PTS this season than McAvoy. Part of that is due to missing a significant chunk of games with a concussion. He’s back in the Bruins line-up and has only scored 1 point in his last 7 games. 70% ownership is too high. There may be a time in the future when I do want to own this kid, but not now.

Last Week: Brandon Montour, David Perron