Best Standard League Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):
1) Clayton Keller, Ari, (56% Yahoo ownership): One of the low-key excellent recommendations from my 2021/22 sleeper list back in September was Clayton Keller, who has been absolutely on fire lately, scoring 17 PTS in his last 11 GP, with 21 shots and a +11 rating. What’s impressive is that of his 17 PTS in 11 GP, only 2 of them were on the power play, so he’s been succeeding at even strength. His fantasy ownership has been steadily rising since November, but is still well short of his peak (74%) from 2019/20.
2) Josh Norris, Ott, (46% Yahoo ownership): Since Josh Norris returned from injury, he has resumed his role on the top line and the top power play with Brady Tkachuk, scoring 6 PTS in 6 GP (with 4 PTS on the power play). It’s worth checking out which other Ottawa Senators might be available in your leagues, as they’ll play Mon-Wed-Fri on light schedule nights when they’ll be easy to fit into your line-up. I’m also considering adding Stuetzle, who centers their 2nd line and plays on the top power play unit.
3) Nick Schmaltz, Ari, (40% Yahoo ownership): Among the reasons Keller has been red-hot is linemate Nick Schmaltz, who has scored 21 PTS in his last 11 GP, including 25 shots and a whopping +14. The duo plays together on the top line and the top power play. Schmaltz was just 4% owned at the end of January, and has climbed all the way up to 40%. He peaked at 27% last season, so his stock is absolutely trading at a 52-week high. We’ll see what kind of scoring pace he can sustain going forward, but I’m intrigued and this is a great week to give him a shot.
4) Vitek Vanecek, Wsh, (66% Yahoo ownership): Vitek Vanecek only played twice in February due to injury, but has been fantastic since returning to action, playing 5 games with 4 wins and a .931 SV%. He’s getting most of Washington’s starts, as Varlamov is reduced to back-up duty. The Capitals are getting healthy and play 4 games in the upcoming week. Vitek did post a below .900 SV% in his last 2 starts against Vancouver and Calgary, but those are 2 hot teams, so I’m not too concerned. But I am also interested in Mikko Koskinen and Anton Forsberg, both have been playing well lately (.924 & .926 SV% in the last 30 days) and will have a busy workload this week against beatable teams.
5) Noah Dobson,
NYI, (66% Yahoo ownership): Another player from my pre-season sleeper list worth
adding this week is Noah Dobson, but the window to add him has started to
close. The Islanders will be playing their 2nd consecutive 4-game
week (he received an honorable mention here 7 days ago). In his last 15 GP, Dobson
has scored 14 PTS (7 on the power play) with 45 shots on net. Also look to see
if John Klingberg is available in any of your leagues, as he should get a bump
in power play time with Heiskanen on IR.
Honorable Mentions: Jamie Benn, John Klingberg, Mikko Koskinen, Tim Stuetzle, Anders Lee
Last Week: Michael Bunting, Rasmus
Andersson, Adrian Kempe, Petr Mrazek, Trevor Zegras
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Brock Nelson, NYI, (22% Yahoo ownership): Brock Nelson and Anders Lee are both playing together on the Islanders top line and top power play, and both are worth streaming this week where available. In his last 15 GP, Nelson as scored 11 PTS (3 on the power play) with 44 shots on goal, averaging 18:34 of ice time per game. Fellow Islanders JG Pageau, Anthony Beauvillier, and Kyle Palmieri also received consideration for this list, as all have been performing well and will be playing a busy schedule.
2) Connor Brown, Ott, (9% Yahoo ownership): You won’t find too many forwards who are under 10% owned but have averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game in the last 30 days. Players getting that type of opportunity tend to be rostered in more leagues. Brown is slotted on the top line with Norris and Tkachuk, scoring 11 PTS (3 on the power play) with 40 shots in his last 15 GP. But be warned, Brown has been a little banged up lately, so there is a little bit of risk. I just love Ottawa’s schedule this week.
3) Travis Boyd, Ari, (1% Yahoo ownership): It’s a little crazy that the player centering the hottest line in the NHL is available in 99% of Fantasy leagues, but that’s the way she goes. While Keller and Schmaltz have been shooting the lights out, Boyd only has 6 PTS in his last 11 GP (his peripheral stats aren’t very helpful either). He hasn’t scored any power play PTS over the last 30 days, but he is seeing time on the 2nd unit. I’m interested to see what he can do this week. Or you can add teammate Lawson Crouse to pad your hit total.
4) Karel Vejmelka, Ari, (9% Yahoo ownership): Whether you add Karel Vejmelka or Scott Wedgewood, there is shockingly good value in the Arizona goalies this week. They play 4 games and 3 of them are against non-playoff teams. Those are winnable games. The pair of gatekeepers have been alternating starts, delivering strong results against good teams, with Vejmelka posting a .918 SV% over the last 30 days, and Wedgewood .923. The best part is, both goalies are available in over 90% of leagues. You should be able to find at least one of them on every waiver wire.
5) Luke Schenn,
Van, (17% Yahoo ownership): If you play in a league that counts hits, Luke
Schenn should get you 20 this week, maybe more. He might be enough to win the category for
you on his own, depending on who your opponent rosters. He’s been an extraordinarily
high-volume hitter for a long time, but healthy scratches have been a threat in
the past. The Canucks are playing him every game and giving him decent ice
time. If you’re in a PTS only deep league, Ryan Suter might be worth a stream
with the Stars playing 4 games and Suter scoring 7 PTS in his last 13 GP.
Honorable Mentions: Ryan Suter, JG Pageau, Lawson Crouse, Anthony Beauvillier, Scott Wedgewood
Last Week: Noah Hanifin, Nico
Daws, Mikael Backlund, Philip Danault, Trevor Moore
No comments:
Post a Comment