Welcome to my 2021/22 Week Five 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) Anthony Duclair, Fla, (51% Yahoo ownership): Anthony Duclair is on fire, scoring 9 PTS in his last 6 GP. Four of those points came on Saturday against the Hurricanes, with Barkov out of the line-up and Luostarinen centering the top line. Frankly it doesn’t matter who is playing center, Tony is on a heater and the Panthers play 4 games next week. I’d rather see him on the ice with Barkov, but it may not make a difference. He’s also +11 if your league counts that category. His fantasy ownership has doubled over the last month.
2) Vitek Vanecek, Wsh, (63% Yahoo ownership): It has been a decidedly mediocre season for this young netminder, posting a .908 SV% over his first 8 GP, without a win since Oct 21. That losing streak will absolutely be snapped this week, when Washington has a very favorable schedule (including games on Mon-Fri-Sun when fewer teams will be in action). Samsonov is a threat to steal starts, but he’s posted an even worse .893 SV% in 5 GP. Vanecek is still first in line for a majority of Washington’s starts.
3) Rasmus Andersson, Cgy, (41% Yahoo ownership): Andersson was among my “deepest leagues” recommendations in my 2021/22 sleepers list back when he was 8% owned, climbing all the way up to 41% thanks to seizing control of the Flames power play. He has scored 7 PTS in 11 GP (5 PTS on the PP), but is not a strong option if you need to maximize hits and shots from your streaming slots. The one peripheral category where Andersson might help you is +/-, with a +12 on the season.
4) Josh Norris, Ott, (60% Yahoo ownership): Norris is centering the top line in Ottawa with Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson, and has produced 8 PTS in his last 7 GP. Not only can he get you points, he can also help in shots and hits. He peaked at 21% owned towards the end of last season, so his stock is trading at a 52-week high. At this point the centerman may be more than just a streamer, he may be permanently good. All his linemates are on an upward career trajectory. I’d love to own Norris stock in a dynasty league.
5) Jordan Kyrou,
Stl, (53% Yahoo ownership): Kyrou’s torrid scoring pace to start the season has
slowed down, but he was pacing for over 100 PTS, so clearly that was unsustainable.
The youngster has scored just 2 PTS in his last 5 GP, so managers have started
dumping their shares. I recently added him to one of my teams as a Sunday
streamer, but am going to hang on into this upcoming week because the Blues
play 4 games. At this point Kyrou is just a streamer in standard sized leagues.
A nice potential lottery ticket when you like the schedule.
Honorable Mentions: Andrew Mangiapane, Tyler Toffoli, Jeremy Swayman, Gustav Forsling, Alex Iafallo
Last Week: Moritz Seider, Drake Batherson, Yanni Gourde, Lucas Raymond, Alex Nedeljkovic
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Jonathan Quick, LA, (11% Yahoo ownership): At age 35, Jonathan Quick is still stopping pucks, posting a .915 SV% over his first 6 GP. The Kings defense has been decimated by injury but they’re still finding ways to win games. They will play 4 times this upcoming week, and Quick should draw at least 2, possibly 3 starts (having started 4 of the previous 6 games). I’m not a big believer in Quick long-term, but you won’t find many better options this week who are available in 89% of leagues.
2) Robert Thomas, Stl, (9% Yahoo ownership): Thomas has been getting an ice time boost in the absence of Ryan O’Reilly, who is expected to return soon. But the young center was scoring PTS before O’Reilly caught Covid, and has scored 8 PTS in his last 8 GP. With Tarasenko healthy and Buchnevich added to the line-up, the Blues have more forward depth than last season, so Thomas doesn’t need to get top line deployment to be useful to fantasy managers. Though his shot and hit totals are lacking.
3) Michael Bunting, Tor, (16% Yahoo ownership): The Toronto Maple Leafs play 4 games this week and Michael Bunting is playing on the top line with Auston Matthews. His last 8 games have not exactly been impressive (3 PTS), but he’s getting linemate exposure with big upside. In 12 GP, Bunting has notched 6 PTS with 29 shots and 18 hits. The Leafs offense started slowly out of the gate, but the big blue machine has finally starting to roll. You can bank some Matthews residuals by adding Bunting, available in 84% of leagues.
4) Anton Lundell, Fla, (11% Yahoo ownership): Aleksander Barkov missed Saturday night due to injury, and Lundell got bumped up the depth chart, playing 18:54 with 2:23 on the power play. This is Lundell’s second appearance on my fantasy report this season. I was already on the bandwagon, but with Barkov banged up, that upside inches even higher. He recently missed 4 games due to injury, but has managed to score 6 PTS in 7 GP when healthy, much of that from the 3rd line. This kid has a bright future.
5) Brandon Montour,
Fla, (5% Yahoo ownership): Montour has managed to score 6 PTS in his last 6 GP,
thanks to a pair of power play points on Saturday night when he played nearly 3
minutes on the Panthers PP. His average ownership last season (mostly spent in
Buffalo) was 4%, but he finds himself in a much better situation with the
Panthers. Every line is a threat to score, so prime time deployment is not
required to get on the scoresheet. If what you need is peripheral stats, then have
a look to see if Artem Zub is available.
Honorable Mentions: Mikael Backlund, Adrian Kempe, Artem Zub, Jonathan Bernier, Andreas Johnsson
Last Week: Mikael Granlund, Tanner
Jeannot, Artem Zub, Filip Gustavsson, Robby Fabbri
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