Welcome to my 2021/22 Week Two Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report for those competing in head-to-head categories or rotisserie leagues. There are both standard and deep league acquisition targets. This report focuses on the best options among those who are 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. Some of these are only short-term targets, while others you may want to keep permanently.
Best Standard League
Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):
1) Timo Meier, SJ, (32% Yahoo ownership): Timo Meier has only played 1 game, but against Vezina quality goaltending. He notched 1 point with 8 shots and 3 hits. The Sharks play 4 games this week, the last 2 on Friday and Sunday, allowing you to avoid busy Saturday. Timo is available on several waiver wires. We’re talking about a player with an average ownership of 73% last season, thanks in large part to his shot and hit totals. Timo is currently slotted on the top line and top power play, which should boost his scoring.
2) Mattias Ekholm, Nsh, (59% Yahoo ownership): Ekholm has been a regular streaming target for many of us in standard sized leagues over the past 2-3 seasons, not quite good enough that you refuse to drop him when you’re desperate for a streamer, but someone you are quick to add on waivers when they have a good schedule. He has scored at a 40-point pace over the past 2 seasons and has been a consistent producer. He won’t get you too many hits, but he can reliably provide shots and points.
3) Jeremy Swayman, Bos, (63% Yahoo ownership): Swayman earned the starting job on opening night and picked up a 3-1 win against Dallas, posting a .964 SV%. I’m still not giving up on Linus Ullmark until he actually plays badly, and his presence does limit Swayman’s ceiling. What I like this week is the schedule, only 3 games but they’re not on busy nights, so it’ll be easy to fit him in your starting roster. If you own Linus Ullmark, you should also try to acquire Swayman. I’m expecting this tandem to be really good.
4) Brandon Tanev, Sea, (31% Yahoo ownership): I added Tanev to both my fantasy teams as a streamer this week, and he scored 3 goals (one of them on the power play) with 7 shots and 11 hits. I’m looking at streaming options for the upcoming week, but find myself unwilling to drop the Kraken winger. He was a hitting machine for years before the expansion draft and has been expanding his role in Seattle, playing 18:41 minutes in their last game. He joined my rosters on PTO, and may have earned himself a permanent spot.
5) Tyler Bertuzzi,
Det, (44% Yahoo ownership): The infamously unvaccinated Tyler Bertuzzi has
scored 5 PTS in his first 2 GP. He has been the most added player on Yahoo
since scoring 4 goals in the opener against Tampa. The Red Wings play 4 games
this week, but one of them is in Canada, so Bertuzzi will only play 3. The good
news is, the Canada game is on Saturday when you have plenty of other options.
He was 12% owned on October 1st, and has climbed to 44% over the
last 6 days.
Honorable Mentions: Vitek Vanecek, Ryan Pulock, Trevor Zegras, Jesse Puljujarvi, Logan Couture
Last Week: Jake Allen, Jesse
Puljujarvi, Jaden Schwartz, Josh Anderson, Jacob Trouba
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Noah Dobson, NYI, (17% Yahoo ownership): Dobson was my top deep league target on defense last week, and I’m doubling down. The Islanders play 4 games this week, one of them against Arizona, and Noah is on the top unit power play. The season has started poorly for the Isles, giving up 11 goals against over their first 2 games, but they also played 2 really good teams (Carolina and Florida). They’re going to be facing weaker competition in the upcoming week, especially that Coyotes game on Saturday.
2) Thomas Greiss, Det, (4% Yahoo ownership): We saw 2 different versions of Greiss last season, first half and second half. He was brutal early in the schedule (.883 SV%) and was fantastic in the second half with a .936 SV%. Saturday night he stole a win from the Vancouver Canucks, after Nedeljkovic struggled in the opener. It’s only been one game, but it looks like he’s continuing his 2nd half trend rather than reverting to a bad 1st half. The Wings play 4 games next week, so you should get at least 2, maybe 3 starts from Greiss.
3) Jordan Kyrou, Stl, (9% Yahoo ownership): Kyrou peaked at 47% owned last season, and has seen his stock fall to 9% in October 2021. He scored at a 44-point pace over his first 83 GP in the NHL, and has a high ceiling for future production. The youngster is currently slotted on the Blues 2nd line and 2nd power play unit, scoring 2 PTS in their first game of the season. St. Louis only plays 3 games, with one of them on a busy Saturday. It’s not an ideal streaming schedule, but they’ve got the Coyotes on Monday, which has big blowout potential.
4) Eli Tolvanen, Nsh, (24% Yahoo ownership): Tolvanen is a natural sniper who takes a lot of shots on net. He’s already fired 12 shots through 2 games. The young winger is going to shoot and he’s going to score. He was a regular waiver wire target of mine in the 2nd half of last season, where he peaked at 35% owned on March 31st. If your league rewards extra points for goals, then Tolvanen becomes even more appealing. He’s currently listed on the 2nd power play unit, but he was tied for 2nd in PP ice in their last game.
5) Rickard Rakell,
Anh, (13% Yahoo ownership): Anaheim plays Mon-Tue-Thu-Sat this week, so it’s a
good opportunity to stack some Ducks on your roster early in the week. Rakell
averaged 30% ownership last season, and his current 13% is too low for someone on
the top line and top power play who provides quality shot and hit totals. He
averaged 75% ownership in 2019/20, but I’m not expecting him to reach that
ceiling again anytime soon, unless perhaps his centerman Trevor Zegras catches fire
and takes Ricky along for the ride.
Honorable Mentions: Moritz Seider, Adin Hill, Mikael Granlund, Kyle Palmieri, Kevin Labanc
Last Week: Tyler Johnson, Noah
Dobson, Chandler Stephenson, Nick Ritchie, Anton Khudobin
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