Welcome to my 2022/23 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.
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Best Standard League Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):
1) Charlie Lindgren, Wsh, (44% Yahoo ownership): Lindgren’s fantasy value will take a big hit whenever Darcy Kuemper is back in game action, but you need to jump on this train while it’s still on the tracks. Charlie has won 5 of his last 6 starts with a .928 SV% and is available in 56% of leagues. Washington is hot, Ovechkin is chasing down Gretzky, and there’s a lot to like in this situation. I’m still riding another injury replacement Pyotr Kochetkov until Freddy Andersen gets back, but he’s got a tougher schedule coming up. I might swap in Lindgren.
2) Shayne Gostisbehere, Ari, (55% Yahoo ownership): If you thought the return of Jakob Chychrun would hurt Ghost’s production, you would be wrong. The blueliner has scored 12 PTS in his last 11 GP, with only 2 of those points coming on the man advantage. Perhaps the reason his production remains so strong is that he’s been paired with Chychrun, both even strength and power play, helping his bottom line. Sean Durzi has cooled off a little, but has an appealing schedule in the upcoming week.
3) Taylor Hall, Bos, (62% Yahoo ownership): Taylor Hall is still listed on the Bruins 3rd line and 2nd power play, but that hasn’t negatively impacted his production, scoring 13 PTS in his last 13 GP, adding 50 shots. He’s shooting a ton, scoring, with good +/-. There’s a lot to like about his numbers, even if the deployment looks uninspiring on the surface. If you’d like to trade some of those shots for hits, you might want to try David Perron, 10 PTS, 37 shots, 24 hits in his last 13 GP, though he’ll face some hot goaltending.
4) Mikael Backlund, Cgy, (31% Yahoo ownership): Backlund pinged my radar last week when the Flames played 4 games, but I always need to see a little something extra before I’ll recommend a center-only player (8 PTS in his last 8 GP). What’s peaked my interest in Backlund and his teammates next week is that they are making a trip to California, which has been a goal rich environment this season. I’m personally streaming Mangiapane and may let it ride for a few more days, dual-wing eligible may be preferable.
5) Travis Konecny,
Phi, (60% Yahoo ownership): This is not Konecny’s first appearance on one of my
fantasy reports this season, and was a runner-up for my preseason draft bargain
list, back when he was 23% owned and off many people’s radar. Here we are 2.5
months later and he has 26 PTS in 25 GP, playing top line, top power play in
Philly. Meanwhile, Artturi Lehkonen is playing top line, top power play in
Colorado, which may be without Nate-dog, but that hasn’t stopped him from notching
3 PTS in 3 GP since returning from his latest injury.
Honorable Mentions: Andrew Mangiapane, David Perron, Pyotr Kochetkov, Artturi Lehkonen, Sean Durzi,
Last Week: Joel Eriksson Ek,
Pyotr Kochetkov, Blake Wheeler, Seth Jarvis, Noah Hanifin
Best Deep League Adds (under 25% ownership):
1) Brendan Hagel, TB, (25% Yahoo ownership): Brandon Hagel is playing top line and top power play in Tampa with Point and Kucherov, scoring 11 PTS in his last 13 GP. He is eligible at both wing positions, and also puts up respectable +/-, shot, and hit numbers. If this holds, his stock will continue growing. Meanwhile, Shane Pinto is healthy and finds himself in a good situation, centering Ottawa’s second line with Debrincat-Batherson and second power play. The Sens have a busy schedule leading up to Christmas (including Sat-Sun of the current week if you’re looking for streamers).
2) Erik Cernak, TB, (11% Yahoo ownership): If you play in a league that counts hits, Cernak is a fantastic deep league option. In his last 12 GP, he has scored 4 PTS with 46 hits and a +9. The points are not particularly inspiring, but he’s throwing the body around a lot. Another player who can help you in the hits category is Connor Clifton, but he put up even fewer PTS than Cernak in the last 30 days. If you need points on from your defense, there aren’t many quality options in this ownership range. Maybe try J.J Moser who sees a bit of power play time in Arizona.
3) Adam Ruzicka, Cgy, (11% Yahoo ownership): Adam Ruzicka earned an honorable mention here last week and with the Flames departing for California, my enthusiasm for anyone producing on that roster is amplified. Ruzicka is playing 3rd line and 2nd power play with Backlund (scoring 8 PTS in his last 9 GP), which has been a successful combination the last few weeks. If you want a Flame that’s 94% available, Dillon Dube is playing top line, 2nd power play with 10 PTS in his last 10 GP. He was also a finalist for this report last week when Calgary had another awesome schedule.
4) James van Riemsdyk, Phi, (7% Yahoo ownership): JVR is back from injury, scoring 5 PTS in his 5 games since returning, playing second line and top power play (though none of those 5 PTS came on the power play). This is a player who is prone to extreme hot and cold streaks, and it’s always worth boarding the bandwagon when the going is good. You could also try Conor Sheary, who plays on the top line in Washington with Alex Ovechkin scoring goals and trying to break records. Good to have the guy passing him the puck.
5) Pheonix Copley,
LA, (5% Yahoo ownership): Can’t say that my confidence in Copley is
particularly high, but he’s been decent on his latest call-up, winning 3 of 4
games with a .901 SV% (including beating the Boston Bruins). Jonathan Quick is
sporting an .860 SV% in the last 30 days, but is also the kind of goalie who
can just suddenly get inexplicably hot at any given moment, as I’ve learned
from betting. Copley is 95% available and might win you a few games in the
short-term. I also like Akira Schmid or Filip Gustavsson as possible
spot-starts, but it looks like each will only play once this week.
Honorable Mentions: Dillon Dube, Connor Clifton, Shane Pinto, Filip Gustavsson, Conor Sheary
Last Week: Dawson Mercer, Cole
Perfetti, Erik Haula, Akira Schmid, Cam Fowler
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