NHL waiver wire rankings (3/7)

Welcome to the Week 8 fantasy hockey waiver wire rankings. Below you’ll see which teams play four games for the week and which have the lightest schedule in the NHL. There are 14 different teams scheduled to play four games in Week 8, so there’s no shortage of streaming options. The schedule is pretty balanced, but I listed the team who play three games from Thursday on so you can finish the week strong.

There are only five weeks left in the fantasy hockey season for those playing in head-to-head leagues, so it’s very important to be active on the waiver wire. You don’t want to have too many players who are only scheduled to play two-to-three games. If you’re sitting pretty you can afford to hang onto struggling players or buy-low on others. You should always be scanning the wire because studs will get dropped by teams who are on the outside of a playoff spot.

I usually preach patience when it comes to fantasy sports, but this is a different season. It’s harder than ever to hold on to average players who are underperforming or players who have seen most of their games postponed. It’s important to be active on the waiver wire and the best way to take advantage of your opponents is to use your weekly adds. If they don’t reset with each passing week then you’ll want to take a more strategic approach. If they reset each week, look ahead at the schedule and identify which teams play the most during the week so you can get the most out of your adds.

I scanned the waiver wire across Yahoo, ESPN and Fantrax leagues and sought out the players owned in fewer than 60% of leagues. Keep reading to see the fantasy hockey waiver wire rankings and drop candidates as there are several teams scheduled to play twice this week. It’s easy enough to suggest a player to add, but the tough part is finding a player to drop.

Hit me up with any questions @chrismeaney. Check out Mean Streets and Fantasy Hockey Picks and Bets for more NHL content.

Rest-of-season rankings

4-game streams

Anaheim Ducks (MON vs. LA, WED vs. LA, FRI vs. SJ, SAT vs. SJ)

Rickard Rakell, LW/RW

Rakell’s starting to heat up, as the winger has three goals and nine points over a current five-game point streak. Rakell has always been a volume shooter, and that hasn’t changed this season as he enters Week 8 with 81 shots on goal and 30 over his past eight games. The Ducks don’t score a lot of goals but Rakell has two plus matchups this week against the Sharks, who are among the leaders in goals and high-danger chances allowed at 5v5 per 60 minutes.

Maxime Comtois, LW/RW

Comtois has appeared in the four-game streaming options a couple of times this season, but he’s still only a deep league add despite nine goals on the season. He enters the week with seven points over his past seven games. He leads Anaheim in goals and is tied with Rakell for the team lead in points with 16. He only has 46 shots compared to 81 from Rakell.

Cam Fowler, D

Fowler scored 10 goals and had 40 points as a rookie back in 2010 and has hit the 30-point mark in four other seasons since then, but he’s hardly been worthy of a roster spot over the past couple of seasons. He’s in play this week, though, as he’s registered eight points over his last seven games and 10 over his last 11 games. He’ll provide a few blocks and shots along the way.

Jani Hakanpaa, D

Hakanpaa has 99 hits on the season if in need of a bit of grit. He racked up 22 in his four games last week.

Arizona Coyotes (MON @ COL, WED @ COL, FRI @ MIN, SUN @ MIN)

Christian Dvorak, C

Dvorak has slowed down considerably, but he still has nine goals on the season. I wouldn’t expect much offense this week given the schedule, but if you need faceoff wins, he’s an option.

Clayton Keller, LW/RW

Keller hasn’t shown much consistency over his short career, but the upside is there despite the two games against Colorado and Minnesota. I don’t love the matchups for Keller, but he’s riding a four-game point streak in which he has three goals.

Colorado Avalanche (MON vs. ARI, WED vs. ARI, FRI vs. LA, SUN vs. LA)

Devon Toews, D

Toews has been dropped in leagues over the past week but I think he’s still a hold in standard 12-team leagues as long as Cale Makar remains out of the lineup. Toews has points in three of his past four games and is averaging 27 minutes per game over that span.

Nazem Kadri, C

Kadri’s hovering around the 60% mark in Yahoo and ESPN leagues, so double-check to see if he’s available on your wire. Kadri has played 42 minutes in his past two games with Nathan MacKinnon sidelined. MacKinnon’s expected to miss a couple of more games so Kadri makes for a great stream. Even if Nate returns, Kadri is a solid add. He has two goals and nine points in his past seven games and he’s a beast in the faceoff circle.

Columbus Blue Jackets (TUE vs. FLA, THU vs. FLA, SAT vs. DAL, SUN vs. DAL)

Boone Jenner, C/LW

Jenner is a great asset if you play with hits and faceoff wins. Jenner pretty much touches every category and he’s scoring lately as he’s totaled six points over his past eight games. I wouldn’t count on much offense, but he’ll help you elsewhere.

David Savard, D

Savard won’t give you much of anything on offense, but he’ll provide owners with hits and blocks.

Dallas Stars (TUE vs. CHI, THU vs. CHI, SAT @ CBJ, SUN @ CBJ)

I’m not overly impressed with the Stars but something has to be said about their games played. They've played a league-low 20 games so they have several four-game weeks ahead. They are having issues scoring goals at the moment so if you need offense now I'd stay clear but if you're up near the top of the standings you can afford to take a flier on some of their players. Roope Hintz can’t be trusted, as he’s been in and out of the lineup all season long, but he's a solid long-term add. Alexander Radulov is about one week away from returning to the lineup. Denis Gurianov has a ton of upside and he'd be the player I'd add first if Jamie Benn, Miro Heiskanen or John Klingberg weren't available. Gurianov skated on the top line with Benn and Joe Pavelski last night and he had six shots. He has 16 shots in his past four games and he's played a lot over that span.

Edmonton Oilers (MON vs. OTT, WED vs. OTT, FRI vs. OTT, SAT @ VAN)

Kailer Yamamoto, RW

Yamamoto broke out of his slump Saturday with a goal and two points. Edmonton put him on a line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and while I’m not sure if that line sticks but it has me intrigued.

Adam Larsson, D

Larsson should probably be rostered if you play with hits and blocks. He had a game two weeks ago with eight blocks and he had another with 10 hits.

Los Angeles Kings (MON @ ANH, WED @ ANH, FRI @ COL, SUN @ COL)

Adrian Kempe, C/LW/RW

Kempe is a decent deep league add and has triple eligibility at forward. Kempe has two goals and four points over his past four games with three of them coming on the power play. He’s on the first PP unit, which is pretty much the only reason I have any interest.

Minnesota Wild (MON vs. VGK, WED vs, VGK, FRI vs. ARI, SUN vs. ARI)

Mats Zuccarello, RW

Zuccarello’s still hanging around wires but you’re running out of time. The winger has four goals and 13 points in 11 games since returning to the lineup and has shown great chemistry with Kirill Kaprizov.

Kevin Fiala, LW/RW

Fiala is more than a stream as well, despite only having 10 points on the season. He remains on the top power-play unit and is a volume shooter who has seven goals on the season (23 last season).

Mathew Dumba, D

Dumba’s ownership is extremely confusing. This guy needs to be owned and won’t be available for long. He scored his fifth goal of the season on Saturday as he put six pucks on net in 25:57 of action. Shots, hits, blocks and offensive upside is what Dumba offers.

Joel Eriksson Ek, C

Eight goals on the season and will provide owners with hits and faceoff wins. Eriksson Ek has been quiet of late, but he’s on the first PP unit and he logs a lot of ice time. Probably only a 14-team stream if you don’t play with FOW.

Montreal Canadiens (MON @ VAN, WED @ VAN, THU @ CGY, SAT @ CGY)

Tomas Tatar, LW/RW

Tatar had an awful start to the season, but he’s picked up his game since the coaching change. He’s back on the Habs’ first line and power-play. He has five points over a current three-game point streak and has racked up six points in his last five games.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C

The Canadiens broke out for seven goals Saturday, and they have two games this week against the Canucks, who they lit up earlier in the year. Kotkaniemi’s more of a deep-league stream, but he was placed on a line with Tyler Toffoli and Josh Anderson, who are Nos. 1 and 2 in goals scored for Montreal. The move was likely made in order to provide a spark in Kotkaniemi’s game, and it seemed to work Saturday, as he picked up an assist as his line scored twice.

New Jersey Devils (TUE @ WSH, THU @ NYI, SAT vs. NYI, SUN vs. NYI)

The Devils have scored three or fewer goals in five straight games, all losses. They have three games against the Islanders this week so no thanks.

New York Islanders (TUE vs. BOS, THU vs. NJ, SAT @ NJ, SUN @ NJ)

Nick Leddy, D

Leddy continues to pile up the points as he has 16 on the season (nine in his last 11 games).

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C

FOW, hits, blocks, shots and points. JGP does it all and he’s only now getting attention in the fantasy community. He’s a must if you play with faceoff wins.

Jordan Eberle, RW

The Devils are on the schedule three times for the Islanders in Week 8, so stock up where you can. I’d maybe wait until Thursday — that way, you get all three games against New Jersey and avoid the matchup with the Bruins. Eberle has nine goals on the season and has points in three straight games. He’s been playing on the first line with Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee.

Scott Mayfield, D

Mayfield’s caught my attention due to the blocks and hits he provides each time out.

Brock Nelson, C

Nelson’s in play given the schedule. He has three goals and four points over a three-game point streak. Yes, he played the Sabres in all three of those games, but he has the Devils three times this week as mentioned.

Ilya Sorokin, G

Sorokin should get one, maybe two starts this week. I’d roster him the rest of the way given how tight New York plays. You should own him if you own Semyon Varlamov. They make for one of the better duos in the league.

Ottawa Senators (MON @ EDM, WED @ EDM, SAT @ EDM, SUN vs. TOR)

Drake Batherson, RW

Batherson checks in for the second straight week as his ownership starts to creep up to 60%. His point streak ended at seven games last time out, but don’t let that be the reason you miss out. If you see him on the wire, grab him, as he’ll only hurt you in plus/minus leagues. Batherson’s on a solid run, with eight goals and 12 points over his past 10 games. This kind of run is unsustainable, but 20 goals and 35 points are very possible for the winger.

Tim Stutzle, LW

Stutzle had a quiet week but he’s still worthy of a stream in 12-team leagues and you may find yourself holding on. The rookie continues to get plenty of ice time and has tremendous upside.

Erik Brannstrom, D

Brannstrom continues to trend in the right direction, as does his ice time. He’s seen an increase in time on ice in three straight games and has four points over his past five contests. He’s still only a deep-league play, but someone to keep an eye on.

Toronto Maple Leafs (TUE vs. WPG, THU vs. WPG, SAT vs. WPG, SUN @ OTT)

Joe Thornton, C/LW

Pretty much every Maple Leaf you want is owned. Thornton is just about the only player worth streaming due to his placement on the first line. He won’t provide owners with much, but he may fall into a couple of points.

Vegas Golden Knights (MON @ MIN, WED @ MIN, FRI @ STL, SAT @ STL)

William Karlsson, C

I have no idea why Karlsson’s available on the wire. He shouldn’t be. The Golden Knights’ center has 17 points on the season and has four multi-point games in his past eight games. He’s back on a line with Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith, and they’re starting to feel it lately.

Alex Tuch, LW/RW

Tuch was in here last week as an immediate pickup, and all he did was score five goals in his four games. He has six points and 12 shots over a four-game point streak. You’re seriously running out of time as he’s been one of the most added players this weekend. Mark Stone left Vegas’ last game and Tuch jumped up on the top line. Stone’s injury isn’t expected to be serious, so Tuch may drop back down to the third line but it doesn’t matter. He’s an absolute sniper and the Golden Knights can score with the best of them.

Chandler Stephenson, C/LW

Stephenson appeared in the deep sleeper piece in the fantasy hockey draft guide, and I was starting to feel a bit silly suggesting him after his slow start, but he’s been great of late. Stephenson also enters the week on a four-game point streak (two goals and five points). He won’t win a ton of faceoffs and he doesn’t shoot much, but he has a strong grip inside the top-six.

Reilly Smith, RW

Smith has goals in back-to-back games and the Sharks have a lot to do with that, but maybe it’s all he needed to get going. Smith scored 27 goals last season and he’s scored 20 plus four times in his career. He had a career-low shooting percentage entering the weekend so things may just start to turn up for the right-winger.

2 games

Calgary Flames

Fantasy hockey waiver wire rankings (under 60%)

Teams with three games Thursday-Sunday:

Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders – all three vs. NJ
Toronto Maple Leafs

Back-to-back goalie streams:

New York Islanders – Ilya Sorokin @ NJ
Montreal Canadiens – Jake Allen @ VAN or @ CGY
Dallas Stars – Jake Oettinger vs. CBJ
Toronto Maple Leafs – Michael Hutchinson @ OTT