Welcome
to my 2022/23 Week Twenty 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) Sam Girard, Col, (32% Yahoo ownership): With Cale Makar battling concussion issues, the Avs have been leaning heavily on Girard, and the young blueliner has responded with 10 PTS in his last 10 GP (2 of those on the power play). Makar could be back in the line-up soon, but even if he is, Girard is still a good streaming target with a 4-game schedule who is widely available. I also really like Bowen Byram (7 PTS in his last 8 GP), but he’s owned in more leagues and harder to find on waivers. Another sneaky sleeper on D is Jake Sanderson, with 5 PTS (3 on the power play) in his last 6 GP. Sens also have a busy schedule.
2) David Perron, Det, (45% Yahoo ownership): 5-game week alert! The Detroit Red Wings have a very busy schedule coming up, none against a team that’s top 3 in their division. These are all opponents you can score on, and Perron is one of the better streaming targets on that roster, playing 2nd line and top power play. The winger has scored 7 PTS (5 on the PP) in his last 11 GP with 24 shots and 9 hits. You could also stream his teammate Dominik Kubalik who is eligible at both wings and plays on the top line with Dylan Larkin, scoring 3 PTS in his last 4 GP, with 7 shots and 7 hits.
3) Nick Schmaltz,
Ari, (33% Yahoo ownership): Another red-hot, widely available player with a 4-game
week ahead and multi-position eligibility is Nick Schmaltz in Arizona, who has
scored 13 PTS (4 on the power play) in his last 10 GP. He plays top line and
top power play on a Yotes team that has been exceeding expectations leading up to
the trade deadline. The Bruins must also have a 4-game week if David Krejci
popped up on my radar, as he continues to center the Pastrnak line, scoring 7 PTS
in his last 10 GP. The Bruins have some opponents on the schedule who struggle
at goal prevention, so Krejci is worthy of adding (Zacha is the 3rd wheel on that unit and also worth consideration).
4) Philipp Grubauer,
Sea, (33% Yahoo ownership): Yes Grubauer is in a time-share with Martin Jones,
but there will be plenty of minutes to go around in the week ahead. Grubauer is
substantially higher paid and has been earning a greater share by playing well
in the third quarter, posting a .903 SV% in the last 30 days (Jones is at .867
in that same window). Sure Phil got lit up for 6 goals in his last start
against Boston (otherwise that last 30 days SV% would be much higher), but the opposition will be significantly weaker next week. You
could also try Stuart Skinner (who I recently dropped from one of my teams),
posting back-to-back quality starts. The Oilers play 4 times, but all against strong
opponents who can score goals. In the unlikely event Filip Gustavsson is still
available in your league, I’d prefer him to Skinner or Grubauer.
5) Max Domi, Chi, (37% Yahoo ownership): Patrick Kane is on fire and you can bank some easy Kane residuals for their upcoming 4-game week by picking up his center on both line one and the top power play unit. Domi has amassed 13 PTS in his last 11 GP and is eligible at all 3 forward positions. Granted, this is all predicated on Kane being a Chicago Blackhawk, so if he gets traded, you can safely dump Domi in standard sized leagues. I’m also very interested in Nick Suzuki, who has 7 PTS in his last 10 GP with 27 shots, and is departing soon for an always juicy California road trip.
Best Deep League Adds (under 25% ownership):
Note: In the initial report, I mistakenly stated that the Blue Jackets played 4 games, accidently counting their Sunday game among the upcoming week. Sorry. Shit happens.
2) Juuso Valimaki,
Ari, (9% Yahoo ownership): Another red-hot player in Arizona that you might not
be aware of is Juuso Valimaki. The defenseman is playing top pair and top power
play, scoring 8 PTS (4 on PP) in his last 10 GP, averaging 22:30 of ice time
per night. He could be their power play quarterback for the rest of the season
if Chychrun and Gostisbehere get moved, but is at least a strong streaming
target in the meantime. Mike Matheson has also been playing well in Montreal
(who play 4 games this week), earning top power play deployment scoring 7 PTS
(2 on the PP) in his last 9 GP.
3) Tyler Bertuzzi,
Det, (24% Yahoo ownership): Tyler Bertuzzi is playing top line and top power
play in Detroit alongside a scorching Dylan Larkin, scoring 8 PTS (3 on the PP)
in his last 11 GP, with 23 shots and 11 hits. It looks like Detroit won’t be selling
rentals at the trade deadline, choosing instead to chase a playoff spot. That
means Tuzzi is poised to sustain that primetime deployment in the near-term.
Speaking of hot, teammate Robby Fabbri has netted 10 PTS (6 on the PP) in his
last 11 GP and also plays on the top power play unit. May as well load up Red
Wings for this 5-game week wherever you can find them.
4) Alex Killorn,
TB, (25% Yahoo ownership): The Tampa Bay Lightning play Sat-Sun of the current
week, in addition to a 4-game slate in the upcoming week. That makes Alex
Killorn a very useful streaming target, playing 2nd line and 2nd power play. The dual-eligible winger has scored 7 PTS (2 on the PP) in his last
11 GP. Another really strong option is Jordan Eberle in Seattle, playing top
line and 2nd power play, scoring 11 PTS (5 on the PP) with 27 shots in
his last 12 GP. The Kraken play 3 of their 4 games against non-playoff teams,
so don’t expect that hot streak to cool off in the next 7 days.
5) Rafael Harvey-Pinard,
Mtl, (11% Yahoo ownership): This might be the first time many of you are
reading the name Rafael Harvey-Pinard, but he’s a player deployed on the top
line and top power play with Nick Suzuki, scoring 10 PTS (2 on the PP) in his
last 10 GP with 17 hits. The Habs have an appealing schedule that includes a trip to
goal-rich California. You can get better shot and hit totals from his teammate
Josh Anderson, who also plays top line and top power play. In Anderson’s last
10 games, the winger has scored 6 PTS with 33 shots and 21 hits.
Honorable Mentions: Mike Matheson, Robby
Fabbri, Laurent Broissot, Josh Anderson, Jordan Eberle
Last Week: Dillon Dube, Dan
Vladar, Cam Fowler, Kaapo Kakko, Jimmy Vesey
Also, here is my cheat sheet for potential goalie streaming targets.
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