This is my 2021 Week Nine 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 your best options among those who are more likely to be available in your league as opposed to the universally owned players. There are 10 recommendations in total, 2 goalies, 2 defensemen, and 6 forwards.
Best Standard League
Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):
1) Mattias Ekholm, Nsh, (36% Yahoo ownership): With Roman Josi out due to injury, the Predators will be forced to lean on Ekholm now more than ever. The defenseman has been hot, scoring 7 PTS in his last 9 GP with 28 shots. The Preds have a 4-game road trip coming up, and not against particularly easy opponents, Tampa, Florida twice, and Dallas. My interest in Ekholm is more than just a streamer, he’s a long-term hold. They had him on the top power play unit Saturday night, and he’s must-own so long as that lasts.
2) Anthony Cirelli, TB, (47% Yahoo ownership): Take a look on your waiver wire for Tampa Bay Lightning players, as the Bolts (hopefully) are going to play 5 games this week and mostly at home where they’ve been deadly. Cirelli is currently listed as winger on the first line with Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat, but isn’t getting power play time. Anthony has scored 7 PTS in his last 8 GP, and is certainly a big volume play this week. You may also want to try teammate Alex Killorn, who gets less overall ice time, but more on the power play. Yanni Gourde has also been hot on line 2 with Stamkos. I struggled to choose my favorite Lightning forward this week.
3) Alex Tuch, Veg, (53% Yahoo ownership): The upcoming week will be a fantastic opportunity to own Vegas players in fantasy, as they’ll play 4 games against the Kings and Sharks. Tuch has been remarkably effective at scoring goals lately, with 8 in his last 10 GP with 26 shots (he won’t sustain that shooting percentage long-term). Only 1 of those tucks has been on the power play, but he’s been getting a look on the 2nd unit. You may also want to try using William Karlsson, or even possibly even Reilly Smith depending on your league size.
4) Vitek Vanecek, Wsh, (64% Yahoo ownership): The return of Ilya Samsonov into the primary starting role certainly diminishes even the most optimistic valuation of Vanecek for the remainder of this season. This stock price is going nowhere but down, but don’t dump your shares until after this week. The Caps play a pair of back-to-backs, 3 of those games against bad teams. You could/should get 2 easy wins from Vanecek (who has 6 wins and a .906 SV% in his last 10 games). If you’re looking for a goalie to possibly hang onto beyond this week, I’d rather take Antti Raanta, assuming Kuemper isn’t returning anytime soon.
5) Brandon Tanev,
Pit, (40% Yahoo ownership): There was a very competitive group of forwards
competing for my final deep league recommendation this week, but I had to go
with Brandon Tanev over some of the other higher scoring options because I’ve
submitted a waiver claim to add him to my own team. He’ll be replacing Radko
Gudas as my category league hits specialist. The Penguins have a very busy
schedule coming up, and Tanev is my guy. Teammate Kasperi Kapanen has also been
hot, and was a finalist for this list.
Honorable Mentions: Jakub Vrana, Yanni Gourde, William Karlsson, Alec Martinez, Antti Raanta, Alex Killorn, Kasperi Kapanen
Last
Week: Nazem Kadri, Max Comtois, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Kaapo
Kahkonen, Matt Dumba
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Zach Sanford, Stl, (7% Yahoo ownership): Sanford is critically under-owned considering the numbers he’s been putting up the last few weeks, playing on the top line with O’Reilly and Perron, accumulating 8 PTS in his last 8 GP (with 20 shots and 14 hits). He’ll provide quality peripheral numbers for category leagues, while also getting a look on the second unit power play. The Blues have 4 games coming up against the Kings and Sharks, so it’s another team with multiple quality waiver candidates depending on your format.
2) Calvin Petersen, LA, (20% Yahoo ownership): After a few subpar starts and a very brief stint on the NHL Covid list, Petersen was back in top form on Friday night, stopping 44 of 45 shots against Colorado. I’m not thrilled with the Kings upcoming schedule (Vegas twice, St. Louis twice), but Petersen is still my favorite option for goalies under 25% owned, which seems to be a reoccurring theme this season. His Save % has dropped down to .912 over his last 6 games, diminishing my earlier optimism, there just aren’t better choices that are this widely available.
3) Chandler Stephenson, Veg, (19% Yahoo ownership): For a player who has been centering the top line in Vegas with Pacioretty and Stone, Chandler Stephenson is owned in suspiciously few leagues. He has sustained high level deployment for several weeks, and the market has been slow to react. Too many of us still think of him as a 3rd line player and can’t see past our bias (myself included). He has scored 11 PTS in his last 14 GP (including PTS on the power play) and would be pacing for 60 PTS if this were an 82-game schedule. This is a great week to take Chandler for a spin.
4) Brett Pesce, Car, (22% Yahoo ownership): Brett Pesce is quietly delivering the best offensive season of his career, though that pace has started to slow down over the last 2 weeks. Whether or not the 9 PTS he has scored in last 16 GP is sustainable, he’s still scoring at a 44-point pace on the season. There’s a large enough sample of success to be optimistic when forecasting his remaining games. The Hurricanes have 3 easy games this week against the Red Wings and Blue Jackets, so Pesce should be able to help. Vince Dunn might have a more agreeable schedule if you’d like an alternative on defense.
5) Eeli Tolvanen, Nsh, (4% Yahoo ownership): Tolvanen is among the most widely available players who has collected at least 4 power play points in the last two weeks (only Jake Bean is available in more leagues). The 5v5 production is a concern, but if you need a power play option in deep leagues, Tolvanen has to be near the top of your list. He’s a high-end prospect and a dangerous shooter who has been on many analyst’s radar since ripping up the KHL as an 18-year-old. His dynasty value is even greater than in shallower re-draft leagues.
Honorable Mentions: Tyler Johnson, Scott Laughton, Vince Dunn, Jason Robertson, Jake Oettinger
Last Week: Alex Killorn,
Rickard Rakell, Cam Fowler, Calvin Petersen, Marcus Foligno
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