Welcome to my 2021/22 Week Twelve 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) Ivan Barbashev, Stl, (61% Yahoo ownership): If you haven’t been paying attention, Ivan Barbashev is among the hottest players in the NHL, scoring 13 PTS in his last 9 GP. According to Daily Faceoff, Barbashev is playing on the 4th line and neither power play, which is odd considering he’s averaging 18:53 minutes per game over his last 9 games and has been seeing time on the power play. The most exciting thing about St. Louis this week is their streamer friendly schedule, Wed-Fri-Sun when hardly anyone else will be in action.
2) Justin Faulk, Stl, (63% Yahoo ownership): Justin Faulk isn’t exactly hot, having only played 4 games in the month of December, but he’s healthy and back in the line-up. The best thing about Faulk is that he provides strong peripherals, good for shots, hits, and blocks. As mentioned above, it will be very easy to fit St. Louis players into your roster, as Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday will be jam packed with games. Another player you might want to stream who is more widely available is teammate Colton Parayko.
3) Reilly Smith, Veg, (64% Yahoo ownership): Reilly Smith averaged 59% ownership in 2020, 46% in 2021 (where he paced for just 39 PTS per 82 GP) and started this new season only 11% owned. His stock had been declining, and celebrating his 30th birthday in 2021 certainly didn’t help. However, Smith has experienced a resurgence this season, scoring at a 62-point pace over his first 34 games. The winger has potted 10 PTS in his last 12 GP, with 3 of those PTS coming on the power play.
4) Alex Nedeljkovic, Det, (61% Yahoo ownership): I had to call a Sunday morning audible and delete James Reimer from this list after he gave up 6 goals in the first period vs Pittsburgh. As an alternative, Detroit plays San Jose, Anaheim, and LA, which are all winnable games. Nedeljkovic has cooled off lately, but is still sporting a .916 SV% on the season. The alternative might be to roll the dice on Dallas goalies, both of whom are under 50% owned. Unfortunately, 1 of them will only get 1 start given the Stars only play 3 games.
5) Tanner Jeannot, Nsh, (33% Yahoo ownership): Jeannot was featured among my recommended waiver adds last week, and he delivered. If you bought any stock and your league counts hits, you should let it ride. Over his last 10 GP, Tanner has scored 10 PTS, with 34 hits and a +7. The bad news is, he’s been bumped back to the 3rd line as Nashville’s top forwards have returned to the line-up. The scoring will regress, but he’s a fantastic source of hits if you’re in a categories league and need help in that area.
Honorable Mentions: Anthony Duclair, Jesper Bratt, Cam Atkinson, Dallas goalies, Colton Parayko
Last Week: Travis Konecny, Rasmus
Dahlin, Jonathan Quick, Alex Killorn, Tanner Jeannot
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Craig Smith, Bos, (10% Yahoo ownership): It has been a slow start to
the season for Craig Smith, scoring at a 32-point pace over his first 20 games,
a big step backwards from the 48-point pace he produced last season. The reason
that I’m getting excited about Smith was his recent promotion to the top line
in Boston with Bergeron and Marchand. While it’s no guarantee that he can hold
that position indefinitely, he absolutely needs to be owned in more than 10% of
leagues with that prime deployment. He also gets time on the power play.
2) Ross Colton, TB, (14% Yahoo ownership): The Tampa Bay forward group has finally started getting healthy, as even Nikita Kucherov is back on the ice practicing with his teammates. In the meantime, Ross Colton is playing in the Lightning top six on a line with Stamkos and Palat. The winger has scored 8 PTS in his last 11 GP, adding 18 shots and 33 hits. Colton provides extra value in leagues that count hits, and he’s going to put points on the scoreboard with his current deployment. He’ll likely be demoted when Kucherov returns.
3) Pavel Francouz, Col, (15% Yahoo ownership): Francouz is still only 1 game into his season, after a long absence recovering from injury. Assuming he’s healthy, there will come a time in the next few months where he’s the hottest add in fantasy. It may take a few weeks before we get there, but eventually Kuemper will get banged up and Francouz will get a tremendous opportunity with one of the best teams. Also, Colorado has had a lot of games postponed, so their schedule should be busy down the stretch. You might get more volume from Martin Jones or Laurent Brossoit, if your needs are more short-term.
4) Damon Severson, NJ, (5% Yahoo ownership): In the past, I’ve been a member of the Damon Severson Booster Club, touting him as an unheralded defenseman who can score points. However, the emergence of Ty Smith and the arrival of Dougie Hamilton has boxed him out of power play time, limiting Severson’s upside. But on the bright side, the Devils are leaning heavily on Damon 5-on-5, and he’s playing a ton of minutes. In his last 11 GP, Severson has scored 7 PTS with 28 shots and 12 hits. That’s really good.
5) Nicolas Roy,
Veg, (13% Yahoo ownership): Roy is currently listed on the Knights 3rd line, but also top power play as both Stone and Pacioretty are currently out of
the line-up. That has helped Roy get more ice time in December, and the young center
has parlayed that into 8 PTS in his last 11 GP, with 25 shots on goal. His
value will take a hit when everyone gets healthy (including Jack Eichel), but
in the meantime he’s been productive and worth a streaming spot in deep
leagues. Nicolas was 1% owned when the season began.
Honorable Mentions: Eeli Tolvanen, Corey Perry, Evgenii Dadonov, Travis Sanheim, Laurent Brossoit
Last Week: Ukko-Pekka
Luukkonen, Alex Tuch, Hampus Lindholm, Taylor Raddysh, Corey Perry
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