NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Rankings (11/12)

Welcome to the Week 6 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 seven teams scheduled to play four games for the week, and 11 teams with only two games in Week 6 (Nov. 13 – Nov. 19). There’s also one team with just one game this week. Week 6 is a great week to take advantage of players who play four games, but don’t drop good players just because they have two games. People will be active on the wire and owners may get desperate and drop good players. 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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Rankings update at 11 PM ET

My fantasy hockey rankings

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Injuries

Jack Hughes, NJ
Nico Hischier, NJ
Alex Tuch, BUF
Chandler Stephenson, VGK
Trevor Zegras, ANA
Artturi Lehkonen, COL
Taylor Hall, CHI
Jordan Eberle, SEA
Adam Fox, NYR
Thomas Chabot, OTT
Brandon Montour, FLA
Igor Shesterkin, NYR
Frederik Andersen, CAR
Darcy Kumper, WSH

Montour will be a full participant in practice this week. Expect him back in the lineup soon. When he returns, he’ll be a top-12 fantasy hockey defenseman. That’s at least his ceiling. It sounds like Lehkonen will miss some time. The rest of the players listed above besides Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle are worth stashing. Hall just can’t seem to stay healthy.

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.

Last Chance

Cam Atkinson, PHI
Sean Couturier, PHI
Owen Tippett, PHI
Mason McTavish, ANA
Evan Rodrigues, FLA
Matt Duchene, DAL
Vincent Trocheck, NYR
Pavel Zacha, BOS
Tom Wilson, WSH
Travis Sanheim, PHI

Deep-League Adds

Ryan O’Reilly, NSH
Oliver Bjorkstrand, SEA
Quinton Byfield, LA
Sean Monahan, MTL
Robert Thomas, STL
James van Riemsdyk, BOS
Nicholas Paul, TB
Evgeni Kuznetsov, WSH
Alex Iafallo, WPG
Brendan Gallagher, MTL
Kaiden Guhle, MTL
Ivan Provorov, CLS
Pyotr Kochetkov, CAR
Connor Ingram, ARI
Joel Hofer, STL

Banger Leagues

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

Hold

William Nylander, TOR
Adrian Kempe, LA
Tage Thompson, BUF
Jesper Bratt, NJ
Jared McCann, SEA
Mason McTavish, ANA
Seth Jarvis, CAR
Quinn Hughes, VAN
Mike Matheson, MTL
Adin Hill, VGK
Cam Talbot, LA

Consider Dropping

Arturri Lehkonen, COL
Jordan Eberle, SEA
David Perron, DET
Dylan Strome, WSH
Jonathan Huberdeau, CGY
Jake DeBrusk, BOS
Vladimir Tarasenko, OTT
Josh Norris, OTT
Devon Toews, COL
Luke Hughes, NJ

Week 6 (Nov. 13 – Nov. 19)

(Four games)

Anaheim Ducks

(TUE @ NSH, WED @ COL, FRI vs. FLA, SUN vs. STL)

Leo Carlsson, C

Carlsson picked up a hat trick this past week against the Flyers and logged 20:44 of ice time. Trevor Zegras has been sidelined, but Carlsson’s ceiling will only rise when Zegras returns. Carlsson is a must-own player in keeper and dynasty leagues, and he’s certainly worth your attention in redraft leagues. The Ducks have an appealing top six, and Carlsson is part of it. We mentioned the rookie in the early waiver wire articles this season, but that there could be frustrations here and there because Anaheim plans on limiting his work throughout the season. He could miss a couple of games along the way. He has six goals already and three power play points in his last two games,

Ryan Strome, W

Strome isn’t a big shooter, but he’s part of a really impressive line this season with Mason McTavish and Frank Vatrano. Strome has 14 points in his first 13 games and has picked up a couple of power-play points of late. When everyone is healthy he’ll move to the second PP unit, but I don’t think he’ll lose his spot next to McTavish or Vatrano. This is a really good line atm.

Alex Killorn, W

Killorn was overpaid and overdrafted in fantasy, but he’ll have some moments on this Anaheim team. There are several skilled players inside the top six, and Killorn will contribute because of that. I don’t believe he’ll be anything more than a streaming option or a cheap NHL DFS play.

Make sure the following are owned:

Mason McTavish
Frank Vatrano
Troy Terry
Pavel Mintyykov
Cam Fowler
John Gibson

Columbus Blue Jackets

(TUE vs. FLA, WED vs. ARI, SAT @ WAS, SUN @ PHI)

Adam Fantilli, C

The rookie scored his fourth goal of the season Sunday in New York. He has goals in back-to-back games and points in three straight. He’s starting to create some chemistry with Kirill Marchenko. Both players have more appeal in keeper and dynasty formats than in redraft leagues. They have a couple of decent matchups this week for those in 14-team redraft leagues. Patrik Laine and Boone Jenner have much higher ceilings. Ivan Provorov and Erik Gudbranson can provide some grit if you need it.

Kirill Marchenko, RW

Marchenko was one of our breakout candidates in the draft guide, but the slow start made him hard to keep. He has three goals and five points over his last six games. He loves to shoot and I think he has 30 30-goal upside.

New York Islanders

(MON @ EDM, WED @ VAN, THU @ SEA, SAT @ CGY)

Scott Mayfield, D

If you want blocks Mayfield can pile them up. There’s nothing about the Islanders that really excites me. Noah Dobson is a stud. Bo Horvat, Brock Nelson, and Mathew Barzal are the only NYI skaters up front to own.

Pittsburgh Penguins

(TUE @ CBJ, THU vs. NJ, SAT @ CAR, SUN vs. VGK)

Bryan Rust, Reilly Smith, Rickard Rakell

I think these three are owned in competitive leagues, but all three have a sub-60 % ownership in Yahoo! Leagues. Rust is linked to the top line, so you take the inconsistent performances that come with his game. Smith is off to a great start in PIT and has been playing on the first PP. Rakell probably deserves to be on the wire, although he’ll get going at some point. He’s worth a stream in deep leagues.

Seattle Kraken

(MON vs. COL, WED @ EDM, THU v.s NYI, SAT @ VAN)

Jaden Schwartz, C/LW

A hot waiver-wire pickup, especially when Jordan Eberle went down. Schwartz already has eight goals and 14 points in 15 games. He’s scored in four straight and has points in nine consecutive games. He’s an easy sell-high candidate, but you could also just ride this out. He could score 25 goals.

Eeli Tolvanen, Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand

This has been a fun line to play in NHL DFS, dating back to last season. All three are super cheap, and rostering them allows you to spend up on some of the bigger players on the slate. Tolvanen has points in four straight games and six of his last seven games. Bjorkstrand is my favorite of the three because of his scoring touch. He loves to shoot the puck and has six goals on the season. Gourde doesn’t get PP time, but he touches other categories. It’s a good line!

Others to consider

Matty Beniers
Jamie Oleksiak
Adam Larsson

St. Louis Blues

(TUE vs. TB, THU @ SJ, SAT @ LA, SUN @ ANA)

Robert Thomas, C

Thomas enters the week on a six-game point streak. He had our assists in his last game and has goals in five of his last six games. Thomas broke out a couple of seasons ago but has been quiet since. Thomas and Pavel Buchenvich seem to be feeling it again. You’ll want a piece if STL when they play SJ.

Brayden Schenn, C/LW

Schenn has more value in leagues with shots, faceoff wins, and hits. He’s also linked to Jordan Kyrou, who is the Blues’ best player. These two have been quietly strong of late.

Vegas Golden Knights

(TUE @ WAS, THU @ MTL, SAT @ PHI, SUN @ PIT)

Alec Martinez, D

A great source for blocks, and he has some offensive touch.

Ivan Barbashev, C/LW

I’d consider Barbashev in deep leagues given the matchups this week.

Two games

Boston Bruins
Carolina Hurricanes
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Ottawa Senators
San Jose Sharks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals

One game

New York Rangers

Attack The Schedule

Monday – 2 Games
Tuesday – 9 Games
Wednesday – 4 Games
Thursday – 9 Games
Friday – 3 Games
Saturday – 13 Games
Sunday – 5 Games

It’s all about Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday

Anaheim Ducks (TUE, WED, SAT, SUN)
New York Islanders (MON, WED, THU, SAT)
Seattle Kraken (MON, WED, THU, SAT)
Colorado Avalanche (MON, WED, SAT)
Edmonton Oilers (MON, WED, SAT)
Philadelphia Flyers (WED, SAT, SUN)
Toronto Maple Leafs (FRI, SUN)

Back-to-Backs

Anaheim Ducks
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Minnesota Wild
New York Islanders
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Seattle Kraken
St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Winnipeg Jets

Buy-Low Candidates

Connor McDavid, EDM
Leon Draisaitl, EDM
Jack Hughes, NJ
Jason Robertson, DAL
Tage Thompson, BUF
Timo Meier, NJ
Alex Tuch, BUF
Carter Verhaeghe, FLA
Alexandar Georgiev, COL
Ilya Samsonov, TOR

Sell-High Candidates

Jonas Johansson, TB
William Karlsson, VGK
Mark Stone, VGK
Jaden Schwartz, SEA
Teuvo Teravainen, CAR
Sean Monahan, MTL
Frank Vatrano, ANA
Brock Boeser, VAN