Fantasy Hockey 2022/23 Week 6 Waiver Wire Report

Welcome to my 2022/23 Week Six 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.

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Best Standard League Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):

1) Carter Verhaege, Fla, (63% Yahoo ownership): Carter Verhaege has been featured on this report a few times already this season, as his ownership has climbed from 46% in week 2 up to 64% today. He has scored 10 PTS in his last 7 GP with 3 of those coming on the power play. He continues to play on the Panthers top line with Barkov and Tkachuk, so you can potentially cash some nice residuals in their upcoming 4 game slate. His teammate Sam Bennett has started rolling as well with 5 PTS in his last 3 GP (adding 14 shots and 9 hits).

2) Antti Raanta, Car, (46% Yahoo ownership): With Freddy Andersen injured, the natural reaction is for all of us to visit our waiver wire looking for Antti Raanta (who has a .911 SV% in 6 GP). He has the potential to return some fantastic numbers in Fred’s absence, but proceed at your own risk. We’ve seen multiple examples in past seasons of Raanta getting injured himself shortly after assuming a starter’s workload. Be aware. There also aren’t many better alternatives, unless you want to roll the dice with Erik Kallgren, who could lose starts to Matt Murray this week.

3) Jordan Kyrou, Stl, (60% Yahoo ownership): Jordan Kyrou was 90% owned in Yahoo on October 1st, and has seen his stock decline all the way down to 61% after a slow start. Playing on the third line can’t help, but at least it’s a good tandem with Schenn and Barbashev. The Blues have a 4-game week ahead, including matches against Anaheim and Chicago, with Kyrou scoring 4 PTS in his last 7 GP (adding 21 shots). Or you could take Robert Thomas who plays on the Blues top line with Tarasenko and Buchnevich.

4) Boone Jenner, Cbj, (31% Yahoo ownership): Boone Jenner is playing on the top line and top power play in Columbus with Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine. The Blue Jackets are in a tailspin right now which should only be exacerbated by losing Zach Werenski to season-ending injury, but that desperation has translated to big minutes for Jenner, who should also help you in hits and shots. Their 4 games this week will include Detroit and Montreal, so there is the potential for some high scoring games.

5) Radko Gudas, Fla, (57% Yahoo ownership): It was slim pickings for quality streaming options on the blueline in the 25% to 65% ownership range this week due to scheduling, and the best on the list was Radko Gudas. He’s not optimal if you’re chasing points, but he’ll give you a bump if your league counts hits. Panthers play 4 games, 3 on busy nights. It’s the same for Pittsburgh, if you’d rather take a shot at Jeff Petry instead, he has scored 6 PTS in his last 12 GP and like Gudas should give you good hit numbers.

 

Honorable Mentions: Robert Thomas, Sam Bennett, Rickard Rakell, Jeff Petry, Erik Kallgren

Last Week: Joel Eriksson Ek, Vitek Vanecek, Brock Nelson, Tyson Barrie, Jake DeBrusk

 

Best Deep League Adds (under 25% ownership):

1) Casey DeSmith, Pit, (14% Yahoo ownership): Tristan Jarry has started off this season struggling, helping the Penguins lose 7 consecutive games. During that slide, Casey DeSmith began getting more starts, including back-to-back wins to snap the skid. The Penguins appear to have regained their form (sort of) and will be playing 4 games this week. DeSmith is sporting a respectable .916 SV% in 6 GP.  Joonas Korpisalo is 96% available in Columbus and is sporting a respectable .912 SV% in his first 3 games back, which included a rare BJ win.

2) Viktor Arvidsson, LA, (16% Yahoo ownership): The Los Angeles Kings have a super user-friendly schedule in another messed up scheduling week, so VA is worth a stream in more than just deep leagues. The dual-eligible winger has scored 9 PTS in his last 10 GP playing on the Kings 2nd line. Both of Arvidsson’s linemates (Danault-Moore) were on the short list for my deep league recommendations and are also worthy of an add in deep formats where your starting line-up is jammed up on Tue-Thu-Sat.

3) Sean Durzi, LA, (24% Yahoo ownership): As mentioned above, the Kings have an incredible streaming schedule and it’s worth checking which are available in your leagues.

Sean Durzi has scored 4 PTS in his last 9 GP (buoyed by 2 goals Saturday against Detroit), so it’s not with glowing enthusiasm that I make this recommendation. The best reason to add Durzi is the schedule. You could also roll the dice on his teammate Matt Roy, who gets less ideal deployment but will also be very easy to fit into your starting line-up. 

4) Jason Zucker, Pit, (14% Yahoo ownership): Don’t look now but Jason Zucker has strung together a strong stretch of games playing on the second line with Malkin and Rakell. In his last 8 GP the winger has scored 9 PTS with 24 shots and 22 hits, including 3 assists Saturday vs Montreal. Zucker spent almost the entire 2021/22 schedule under 10% owned, so his stock is trading at a 52-week high. He does see time on the second power play unit and has collected 3 PTS with the man advantage so far this season.

5) Jonathan Toews, Chi, (21% Yahoo ownership): We certainly appear to find ourselves in the twilight of Jonny Toews career, but there may yet be a little bit of gas in the tank. If you haven’t been paying attention, he’s having a decent start to his season in Chicago, especially in the goal scoring department. Toews has scored 7 goals in 13 GP, with 4 PTS on the power play. He’s not hitting much anymore, but he’s doing a respectable job with shots and face-off wins, centering the second line with Raddysh and Athanasiou.

 

Honorable Mentions: Matt Roy, Joonas Korpisalo, Trevor Moore, Phil Danault, Ivan Barbashev

Last Week: Dylan Strome, Calen Addison, Frederick Gaudreau, Scott Wedgewood, Ilya Mikheyev