NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Rankings (10/22)

Welcome to the Week 3 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire article here at FTN Fantasy. Each weekend I’ll preview the week to come in Fantasy Hockey. I’ll highlight some of the best waiver wire pickups, players to stash, players to buy low and sell high, which players to drop and who to stream. I’ll also highlight some of the injuries, what it means for you and the Fantasy Hockey landscape.

There are six teams scheduled to play four games for the week, and six teams with only two games in Week 3 (Oct. 23 – Oct 29). It’s too early to cut players included in this year’s Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide, such as my sleepers, targets and breakouts. It’s also too early to give up on players, as we’re not even two weeks into the NHL season.

It’s important to get the most out of your moves so you can take advantage of your opponents. The strategy I like to call “attacking the schedule” can be the difference in winning a championship. As mentioned, it’s a touch early to drop a player because they only play two games this week. But each week, find out which borderline players or streamers wouldn’t crack your lineup on the busy days on the schedule. Drop those players for players scheduled to play on the lighter scheduled nights. Those days are usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. If you’re in a shallow league or a roto league, this strategy may not mean that much to you. But if you’re not going to play an average player on a busy night like Thursday or Saturday, you’re better off dropping him for someone playing on those lighter days. This strategy is similar to “two-start” pitchers in Fantasy Baseball.

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My fantasy hockey rankings

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Injuries

Connor McDavid (back), 1-2 weeks
Sebastian Aho (upper body), DTD
Matt Boldy (upper body), week-to-week
Nico Hischier (upper body), DTD
Patrik Laine (upper body), DTD
Pavel Buchnevich (upper body), DTD
Jason Zucker (lower body), DTD
Alex Pietrangelo (upper body), DTD
Frederik Andersen (upper body), DTD
Devon Levi (lower body), DTD

McDavid is scheduled to be sidelined for the next 1-2 weeks. The Oilers, hockey fans and fantasy hockey owners can breathe a sigh of relief. I hate myself for this, but you may not get a better number than now for Jack Hughes to win MVP or Art Ross. Everyone mentioned above minus Pavel Buchnevich is worth holding onto in standard 12-team redraft leagues. Stash Boldy on IR if you can. It sounds like Pietrangelo could return to practice this week. Hold Andersen if you can, but you knew what you were getting into when you drafted him. Antti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov haven’t been great in relief.

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire

The waiver wire consists of players owned in fewer than 60% of Yahoo leagues. They are ranked in order of how I value them for the rest of the season. I dug deep for those playing in NFHC High Stakes leagues.

Leo Carlsson, C, Anaheim Ducks

Carlson scored a goal in his first NHL game and has been very noticeable over his first two contests. The rookie played 19 minutes in his first game and 21:33 in his second. He’s registered six shots on goal over that span and immediately started playing with Anaheim’s two best forwards Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry. It’ll be a fun trio to watch play together this season.

Joseph Woll, G, Toronto Maple Leafs

Max Domi needs to relax with the Carey Price comparisons, but he’s not wrong about the upside Woll brings to the Maple Leafs. Woll lost to the Blackhawks in his first start of the season, but he turned aside all 29 shots he faced against the Lightning when he came in for Ilya Samsonov. I believe Samsonov still has top-15 upside at the position, so I view him as a buy-low candidate. However, Woll should be rostered in case he takes the net for a bit. He’s already scheduled to start Toronto’s next game against the struggling Capitals. The Maple Leafs are going to win a lot of games this season, so it’s a decent duo to have on your team.

Last Chance

Josh Norris, OTT
Evan Rodrigues, FLA
Chandler Stephenson, VGK
Boone Jenner, CBJ
Artturi Lehkonen, COL
Jake Sanderson, OTT
Karel Vejmelka, ARI
Akira Schmid, NJ

Josh Norris, C, Ottawa Senators

Norris has two goals, three points, two power-play points and seven shots in his first two games of the season. Norris is a sniper with 40-goal upside should he stay healthy. He’s a must-own player. He’ll help Drake Batherson’s game as well.

Karel Vejmelka, G, Arizona Coyotes

We’re big Zona fans at FTN. This is your last chance to grab Vejmelka, who is off to a fantastic start. The Coyotes look very strong to start the season, and Vejmelka is an underrated goalie.

Deep League Adds

Teuvo Teravainen, CAR
Frank Vatrano, ANA
Ryan O’Reilly, NSH
Oliver Bjorkstrand, SEA
Nicholas Paul, TB
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, CAR
Scott Laughton, PHI
Sean Couturier, PHI
James van Riemsdyk, BOS
Thomas Novak, NSH
Gustav Nyquist, NSH
Alex Iafallo, WPG
Ivan Provorov, CBJ
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, FLA

Banger Leagues

Adam Larsson, SEA
Connor Murphy, CHI
Jamie Oleksiak, SEA
Brenden Dillon, WPG
Jonas Siegenthaler, NJ
Marcus Foligno, MIN
Yakov Trenin, NSH
Jack McBain, ARI
Paul Cotter, VGK

Hold

Jared McCann, SEA
Tyler Bertuzzi, TOR
Rickard Rakell, PIT
Drake Batherson, OTT
Evander Kane, EDM (bangers)
Kirill Marchenko, CBJ (14-team leagues)

Consider Dropping

Connor Brown, EDM
Jonathan Drouin, COL
Max Domi, TOR
Pavel Buchnecvich, STL
Jordan Eberle, SEA
Matt Duchene, DAL
Ivan Barbashev, VGK
Matty Beniers, SEA
Nazem Kadri, CGY

Week 3 (Oct. 23 – Oct 29)

Four games

Buffalo Sabres

(MON vs MTL, TUE @ OTT, THU @ NJ, SUN vs COL)

Casey Mittelstadt, C

Mittelstadt isn’t much of a shooter and won’t rack up many hits, but I believe in last season’s breakout, and he could help you in a deeper format with faceoff wins.

Connor Clifton, D

Mattias Samuelsson, D

For those playing in deep leagues with hits and blocks.

Eric Comrie, G

I don’t really trust Comrie, but he was very good against the Islanders over the weekend. He stopped 24 of the 25 shots en route to a win. The schedule is tough after the game on Monday against the Habs.

Minnesota Wild

(TUE vs EDM, THU @ PHI, FRI @ WAS, SUN @ NJ)

Calen Addison, D
Jonas Brodin, D
Brock Faber, D

There are a few options on the blue line in Minnesota depending on what exactly you need. Addison won’t touch a lot of categories, but he could pick up a couple of power-play assists. Brodin is on the second PP unit for now, but he’ll give you more in leagues with hits and blocks. Faber picked up a couple of points in his first two games and has racked up a ton of ice time over the first two weeks. He probably has the highest ceiling long-term.

Deep League Adds: Marco Rossi, Marcus Foligno (Hits)

Montreal Canadiens

(MON @ BUF, TUE vs NJ, THU vs CBJ, SAT vs WPG)

Michael Matheson, D

I already spent too much time on Matheson in the draft guide, so I won’t bore you anymore. He only has two assists, but he has 14 shots, and 13 blocks and is second in ice time per game (25:48).

Sean Monahan, C

Like last season, Monahan is off to a great start in Montreal. Injuries have slowed him down over the past couple of seasons, so there’s a bit of long-term risk here, but he’s worth a stream in the meantime. He’s also a sneaky good hold in deep formats with faceoff wins and special teams points. Monahan has two goals, four points, one power-play point, and one shorthanded point. He’s playing in all situations, including the first PP unit.

Alex Newhook, C

Newhook’s ceiling took a hit when Kirby Dach suffered a season-ending injury. The former Avalanche forward has three goals and seven shots over his first four games with the Canadiens. He’ll hit career-highs across the board this season, but he’ll likely be nothing more than a four-game streaming option.

Tanner Pearson, LW

Pearson paid off in a big way this week in NHL DFS, and that’s probably the only value he’ll bring you this season. However, he has two goals and points in three straight games. I’d only consider him in 14 or 16-team leagues with unlimited moves.

New Jersey Devils

(TUE @ MTL, WED vs WAS, THU vs BUF, SUN vs MIN)

Akira Schmid, G

I own Schmid in a lot of spots and I’m going to be patient. It hasn’t been the best start for him, but it hasn’t been the best start for Vitek Vanecek either. I think this could be a 50-50 split all season, and I believe Schmid has a higher ceiling. He could take over the net on a 45-50-win hockey team. He was the better goalie at 5v5 last season and in the playoffs. I’d stash where I could.

Ondrej Palat, LW

Deep league stream only. You’re just looking to get a piece of the high-octane offense in NJ. Palat could move up the lineup if Hischier misses time.

Michael McLeod, C

FOW.

San Jose Sharks

(TUE @ FLA, WED @ TB, THU @ CAR, SUN @ WAS)

Tomas Hertl, C

Hertl is a really good player on a really bad team. He probably should be owned, but he’ll go through scoring droughts this season. So far so good, as he has one goal and five points over five games. He’s a must-own in leagues with FOW.

Mario Ferraro, D

Ferraro is a great source for blocks. He also leads SJ in shots on goal.

Mackenzie Blackwood, G

Blackwood will rack up a ton of saves but could ruin all your ratios. I’ve been rostering him in NHL DFS for the save bonus and taking over on his save props.

Deep League Adds: Filip Zadina, Fabian Zetterlund, Mike Hoffman

Washington Capitals

(TUE vs TOR, WED @ NJ, THU vs MIN, SUN vs SJ)

Dylan Strome, C

Very rough start for the Capitals, and I’m not sure they turn it around. I’m confident Alex Ovechkin still has 35+ goal upside. Let’s not forget he scored zero goals in his first three games last season and still went on to score 40. He looked more like himself in hid last game. Dylan Strome played on his line and scored twice. Strome has more to offer than Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov, especially if he’s with Ovechkin.

I don’t really care for the following players but they are streaming options this week:

Tom Wilson
Nicklas Backstrom
Evgeny Kuznetsov
T.J. Oshie

It’s possible a few of the guys listed above break out Sunday against San Jose.

Two games

Arizona Coyotes
Chicago Blackhawks
Dallas Stars
Florida Panthers
Nashville Predators
Tampa Bay Lightning

I’d hang onto Evan Rodrigues, Brandon Hagel, and Sean Durzi despite the fact they only play two games this week. I’m also holding onto Barrett Hayton where I can, especially in leagues with shots, hits, and faceoff wins. He’s been all around the net, but he hasn’t been able to buy a goal. His linemates Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz are off to a great start. Hayton will start to hit the score sheet soon. I’d also hold Logan Cooley where I could. All four of his points so far have come on the power play. I had to cut him in one of my 12-team redraft leagues. I may regret it. I don’t believe he’ll take Hayton’s spot on the first line but it’s possible.

Attack The Schedule

Monday – 1 Game
Tuesday – 16 Games
Wednesday – 1 Game
Thursday – 11 Games
Friday – 6 Games
Saturday – 9 Games
Sunday – 4 Games

As always, it’s all about Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The NHL continues to amaze me with their scheduling. The following teams have the most games on those days.

New Jersey Devils (TUE, WED, FRI, SUN)
Washington Capitals (TUE, WED, FRI, SUN)
Buffalo Sabres (MON, TUE, FRI, SUN)
San Jose Sharks (TUE, THU, FRI, SUN)
Montreal Canadiens (MON, TUE, TUE, SAT)
Vegas Golden Knights (TUE, FRI, SAT)
St. Louis Blues (TUE, THU, FRI)
Vancouver Canucks (TUE, FRI, SAT)

New Jersey and Washington have three games on the light schedule and also play four games this week. Having a couple of players in your lineup on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday could be the difference in winning the week for those playing H2H.

Back-to-Backs

Buffalo Sabres
Carolina Hurricanes
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Montreal Canadiens
San Jose Sharks
St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Washington Capitals

Buy-Low Candidates

Jason Robertson, DAL
Tage Thompson, BUF
Timo Meier, NJ
Alex Ovechkin, WAS
Alex Tuch, BUF
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA
Jordan Kyrou, STL
Igor Shesterkin, NYR
Ilya Samsonov, TOR

Sell-High Candidates

Brock Boeser, VAN
Joel Eriksson Ek, MIN
Chandler Stephenson, VGK
Seth Jarvis, CAR
Evan Rodrigues, FLA
Teuvo Teravainen, CAR
Nicholas Paul, TB
Carter Hart, PHI
Jordan Binnington, STL

Boeser is a stud when he’s on the ice, but injuries have been an issue for him. I’d hold Eriksson Ek in leagues with shots, hits and faceoff wins. I’d sell in a league with only goals and points. Rodrigues is probably worth holding onto, but he could lose his spot on the first PP when Sam Bennett returns.