Welcome to my 2021/22 Week Eight 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) Jakub Voracek, Cbj, (65% Yahoo ownership): There are not many options in this ownership range with more appeal this week than Jakub Voracek, who is scheduled to play 4 games and has scored 12 PTS in his last 12 GP. He’s on the waiver wire in one of my leagues, and I have submitted a claim. He might only be playing on the 3rd line with Jack Roslovic, but is doing most of his damage on the power play. You may also want to stream his BJ teammate Boone Jenner (who I just noticed has the same cool initials as the team).
2) Anthony Cirelli, TB, (46% Yahoo ownership): The Lightning offense has been gravely grounded with both Kucherov and Point out of the line-up, but that has created opportunity for other players to climb the depth chart. Enter Anthony Cirelli, who is playing on the 2nd line and the top power play. Yes, he has only netted 3 PTS in his last 7 GP, but it’s going to be a 4-game week to Tamps and I’ve got a hunch that Tony is due for some positive regression. His fantasy ownership doubled in November.
3) Reilly Smith, Veg, (46% Yahoo ownership): Vegas only plays 3 games this week, but they are all on light schedule nights that are easy to squeeze into your line-up. Smith may only be playing on the 2nd line and 2nd power play, but that hasn’t stopped him from scoring 4 goals in his last 6 GP on 17 shots (12 PTS in his last 14 GP). He’s been able to find the back of the net lately, and that has value in any fantasy league. His ownership has climbed up from 15% on Oct 31, as he has been shooting a ton this season.
4) James Reimer, SJ, (49% Yahoo ownership): I was really temped to recommend Jake Oettinger in this position, with his remarkable 4 wins and .959 SV% in Dallas, but the Stars only play twice this week and both Holtby and Khudobin are healthy. If you took my advice and streamed in James Reimer last week, may as well let it ride for one more. The Sharks are scheduled to play 4 games and Reimer has a .927 SV% on the season. The Islanders game could be cancelled, or the Sharks will get to face a weakened opponent.
5) Rasmus
Andersson, Cgy, (42% Yahoo ownership): It’s going to be a 4-game week for
the Calgary Flames, and Rasmus Andersson is currently anchoring the top power
play unit (although hasn’t posted a power play point in the past 11 games). He
has scored 7 PTS with a +9 in his last 14 GP and is pacing for a 45-point
season. Another player that I added as a streamer last week and has been too
good to drop is Rasmus Dahlin. In his last 14 GP, Dahlin has scored 10 PTS (4
PP) with 27 shots and 14 hits. He’s back!
Honorable Mentions: Boone Jenner, Trevor Zegras, Ryan Hartman, MacKenzie Blackwood, Rasmus Dahlin
Last Week: Nazem Kadri, Sam
Girard, Trevor Zegras, Pavel Buchnevich, James Reimer
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Kaapo Kakko, NYR, (11% Yahoo ownership): For back-to-back seasons, Kaapo Kakko found himself on my preseason fantasy sleeper list, and had been a disappointment. That has started to change. The young winger is suddenly slotted on the top line with Kreider and Zibanejad, scoring 6 PTS in his last 7 GP. The Rangers are only playing 3 games, but none against strong goal prevention competition. He’s someone you may want to hang on to in deep leagues and see how this deployment opportunity plays out.
2) Gustav Nyquist, Cbj, (4% Yahoo ownership): Nyquist dropped off everyone’s radar after missing all of last season due to injury, and it has taken him some time to find his stride, but it’s been found. The speedy winger has scored 6 PTS in his last 8 GP and is playing on the top line in Columbus with Jenner and Domi. It would be nice to see him get more power play opportunity, but if you’re looking at week 8 streamers in deep leagues, this guy is available damned near everywhere and has rediscovered his mojo.
3) Jesper Bratt, NJ, (19% Yahoo ownership): Bratt’s fantasy ownership is suspiciously low for a player with 14 PTS and 51 shots in 18 GP (a 64-point pace). He has found great chemistry on the 2nd line with Dawson Mercer and Andreas Johnsson. It’s not a particularly great streaming week for Devils players, but Bratt is worth a longer-term audition in deeper leagues. I really like the Mon-Wed-Fri schedule New Jersey has next week. Mercer is on pace for a 59-point season and is available in 86% of Yahoo leagues.
4) Dan Vladar, Cgy, (17% Yahoo ownership): Dan Vladar has only played 5 games this season, but in that limited action has posted a stunning .946 SV% with 4 wins and 2 shutouts. Normally a goalie with that little action wouldn’t get recommended on my weekly report, but it’s going to be a busy 4-game week for Calgary, so Vladar will get at least 1, hopefully 2 starts. You can at least safely stream him in for the Flames back-to-back. Technically he’s still on a 2-game shutout streak and hasn’t been scored on since Nov 12.
5) Vladislav
Gavrikov, Cbj, (16% Yahoo ownership): Gavrikov is certainly not a household
name among hockey fans, but he’s been posting numbers that may start turning
heads, scoring 9 PTS in his last 12 GP (adding 19 hits and a +8). He did have a rough outing on Saturday with 0
PTS and a -4 against St. Louis, but is going to have a busy week and should
provide you with some value. Another blueliner burning up the ice is Alex
Goligoski in Minnesota, with 10 PTS in his last 11 GP. Both players are solid
options.
Honorable Mentions: Alex Goligoski, Josh Anderson, Jonathan Bernier, Max Domi, Seth Jarvis
Last Week: Seth Jarvis, Hampus
Lindholm, Kasperi Kapanen, Dustin Tokarski, Brandon Saad
No comments:
Post a Comment