Monday, December 27, 2021

Fantasy Hockey 2021/22 Week 11 Waiver Wire Report

Welcome to my 2021/22 Week Eleven 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) Travis Konecny, Phi, (36% Yahoo ownership): The coaching change in Philadelphia has served to re-invigorate Travis Konecny, with the young winger scoring 7 PTS in his last 7 GP (while adding 18 shots and 11 hits). He is currently slotted on the Flyers top line (with Couturier + Farabee) and top power play unit. Travis was on my fantasy sleepers list prior to the season, with the potential to bounce back from a down year. Turns out all he needed for positive regression was a new coach. I’ve made a waiver claim myself.

2) Rasmus Dahlin, Buf, (64% Yahoo ownership): Rasmus Dahlin was among the most disappointing players in fantasy last season, with many people (myself included) expecting his career trajectory to continue shooting for the stars. Few were forecasting a strong bounce back due to the Sabres appearing to tank with their summer transactions. Yet Buffalo has been scoring more than expected, helping Dahlin produce at a 49-point pace over his first 30 GP. I’m also a Dahlin shareholder. I brought him in as a streamer, and he’s been too good to drop.

3) Jonathan Quick, LA, (62% Yahoo ownership): If anyone in the world predicted that Jonathan Quick would have a .930 SV% by Christmas, that could be actual evidence of psychic power. Many pundits have been citing Quick as evidence that forecasting goalie performance is voodoo science, but this turnaround could have more to do with health than luck. Sometimes all it takes is a new off-season workout regiment, like with James Reimer, who is another goalie you might want to add this week if he’s available.

4) Alex Killorn, TB, (65% Yahoo ownership): The Lightning are currently scheduled to play 4 games from Tuesday to Sunday, though I’m concerned that their rising Covid count might jeopardize that. Whether due to injury or Covid, the Lightning line-up is currently very depleted, so you can expect them to lean on Killorn more than usual, most notably on the top power play. You might want to wait until the last minute to claim any Tampa players, just to see if their Tuesday game against Montreal gets postponed.

5) Tanner Jeannot, Nsh, (28% Yahoo ownership): Jeannot turned heads when he was unexpectedly protected by the Nashville Predators in the expansion draft (over Calle Jarnkrok), but it turns out that may have been the right decision. Over his last 10 GP, Jeannot has produced 8 PTS with 35 hits. I added him as a streamer 2 weeks ago, and he’s been too productive to drop. He did get promoted up the line-up (currently top line) with the Predators injury/viral situation, so he’ll lose value when everyone gets healthy. But in the meantime, I’ll continue riding him for the hit totals.

 

Honorable Mentions: James Reimer, Evan Bouchard, Cam Atkinson, Jesper Bratt, Adrian Kempe

Last Week: Jaccob Slavin, Jonathan Quick, Michael Bunting, Conor Garland, Mikael Granlund

 

Best Deep League Adds (under 25% ownership):

 

1) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buf, (21% Yahoo ownership): 5 games into his season, Luukkonen has somehow managed to produce a .939 SV%, which now elevates his NHL career SV% to .923 (he’s only played 9 total games ever). I’m still not buying that the Sabres are a decent team, and I’m still not sure this goalie is someone you need to own in fantasy. But, he’s a once heralded prospect and I’m willing to gamble that he might be good until he proves otherwise, at least in deeper formats. I’m not adding him yet in a standard league.

2) Alex Tuch, Buf, (25% Yahoo ownership): Alex Tuch has yet to play a game this season, but managed to make headlines after getting traded to Buffalo as part of the package for Jack Eichel. Tuch is an excellent skater who can drive play and create scoring chances on his own, even when playing down the line-up. It may take him a few games to work his way back into shape, but he’s certainly worth adding in deep leagues whenever he starts rolling. You can add him to either your roster or your watch list, but keep an eye on his progress. Strong candidate to eventually get prime deployment.

3) Hampus Lindholm, Ana, (11% Yahoo ownership): Hampus Lindholm is a pending unrestricted free agent who is playing for his next contract, and gets a ton of ice time for a shockingly productive team offensively. You won’t find many better blueline options that are this widely available. Over his last 11 games, Lindholm has scored 6 PTS with 30 shots goal. If you need hits, you may want to try his teammate Josh Manson (31 hits in last 11 GP), who I have also occasionally streamed in a standard sized leagues when I needs hits from the blueline.

4) Taylor Raddysh, TB, (5% Yahoo ownership): The Tampa Bay Lightning sporting a loaded roster over the past few seasons delayed Raddysh’s arrival as a full-time NHL player. His 5-on-5 deployment has been lacking, currently buried on the 4th line with low ice time totals, but he’s been shockingly productive with 8 PTS in his last 10 GP. The Lightning injury situation has helped Raddysh earn a spot on Tampa’s top power play unit, making him worth a short-term stream in deep leagues. The risk is that Brayden Point is nearing return and could bump Raddysh from PP1 any day now. Just be aware of that.

5) Corey Perry, TB, (12% Yahoo ownership): Given the schedule this week, I have been gravitating to Tampa Bay Lightning players, and Perry is another who has been productive lately, scoring 8 PTS in his last 11 GP.  He’s only playing 3rd line and 2nd power play, which will make it difficult to sustain that aforementioned pace. The good news is, he has been providing solid peripheral statistics and they play 3 games in the first 4 days of the week (fingers crossed), which is why you may also want to try Ross Colton.

 

Honorable Mentions: Eeli Tolvanen, Rickard Rakell, Ross Colton, Josh Manson, Chris Driedger

Last Week: Eeli Tolvanen, Nino Niederreiter, Ondrej Kase, Charlie Lindgren, Oliver Kylington

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