NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Rankings (12/3)

Welcome to the Week 9 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 14 teams scheduled to play four games for the week, and just two teams with only two games in Week 9 (Dec. 4 – Dec. 10). This is a very busy week in fantasy hockey, so managers shouldn’t have issues in terms of games played.

The strategy I like to call “attacking the schedule” can be the difference in winning a championship. 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 – updated at 11 p.m. ET.

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Injuries

Tage Thompson, BUF
Rickard Rakell, PIT
Mason McTavish, ANA
Cale Makar, COL
Shea Theodore, VGK
Dougie Hamilton, NJ

More below on Simon Nemec who had quite the NHL debut this week as the Devils prepare for life without Dougie Hamilton.

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

Matt Duchene, DAL
Owen Tippett, PHI
Patrick Kane, DET
Robert Thomas, STL
Pavel Buchnevich, STL
Pavel Zacha, BOS
Tyler Seguin, DAL
Travis Sanheim, PHI
Simon Nemec, NJ
Connor Ingram, ATI

Make Patrick Kane available in your league. He’s a big-name player, but he’s near the end of his career and he’s coming off hip surgery. You don’t necessarily have to sell high, but see what you could get.

Deep-League Adds

JJ Peterka, BUF
Quinton Byfield, LA
Eeli Tolvanen, SEA
Wyatt Johnston, DAL
Lawson Crouse, ARI
Cole Perfetti, WPG
Dawson Mercer, NJ
Ondrej Palat, NJ
Alexander Holtz, NJ
Alex Iafallo, WPG
Logan Cooley, ARI
Torey Krug, STL
Kaiden Guhle, MTL

Banger Leagues

Radko Gudas, ANA
Adam Larsson, SEA
Connor Murphy, CHI
Pavel Mintyukov, ANA
Jamie Oleksiak, SEA
Brenden Dillon, WPG
Jonas Siegenthaler, NJ
Marcus Foligno, MIN
Yakov Trenin, NSH

Hold

Alex Tuch, BUF
Jesper Bratt, NJ
Jared McCann, SEA
Mason McTavish, ANA
Quinn Hughes, VAN
Mike Matheson, MTL

Consider Dropping

Andrei Kuzmenko, VAN
David Perron, DET
Jaden Schwartz, SEA
Patrik Laine, CLS
Vladimir Tarasenko, OTT
Tyson Barrie, NSH

Week 9 (Dec. 4- Dec. 10)

Four games

Carolina Hurricanes

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

Teuvo Teravainen, W

Teuvo has 11 goals and 18 points in 23 games. He’s most likely owned, especially after eight points in his last seven games.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C

Kotkaniemi quietly has eight goals on the season. He has good wingers, so he could fall into a couple points this week.

Michael Bunting, LW

Bunting isn’t doing much, but he’s getting a chance on the top line. Having said that, the Hurricanes shuffle their lines more than any team in the NHL.

Chicago Blackhawks

(TUE vs. NSH, THU vs. ANA, SAT vs. STL, SUN vs. WAS)

Phillipp Kurashev, C

Kurashev appeared in the waiver wire article last week. He’s a deep league streaming option only.

Connor Murphy, D

Hits and blocks.

Columbus Blue Jackets

(TUE vs. LA, THU @ NYI, FRI vs. STL, SUN vs. FLA)

Kent Johnson, C/LW

Johnson finally got the recall this week. He skated on the top line but he only picked up 12 minutes of ice time. He’s not an automatic pickup, but the ceiling is high and he’s certainly worth monitoring. I have him in a couple of keeper leagues and I’ll be watching him closely this week. Right now he’s not getting much power play time, but I believe in the talent.

Kirill Marchenko, RW

His ice time is up and down, but he has the ability to score a couple of goals and rack up a few shots. I’d stream Patrik Laine over him.

Others to consider

Adam Fantilli, C
Ivan Provorov, D

Dallas Stars

(MON @ TB, WED @ FLA, THU @ WAS, SAT vs. VGK)

Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin, Mason Marchment

I’m surprised Duchene and Seguin are available in as many leagues as they are. Make sure those two are owned. Consider their linemate Marchment. This line has been very good this season. Machment has five points in his last three games and four multipoint games over the past two weeks.

Wyatt Johnston, C

Johnston is so good. I’d be willing to be patient with the ups and downs. He was in our breakout portion of the fantasy hockey kit. He’s been nearly plus money all season for three shots and he’s been hitting more times than not.

Los Angeles Kings

(TUE @ CLS, THU @ MTL, SAT @ NYI, SUN @ NYR)

Quinton Byfield, C/LW

Linked to Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. This has been one of the better lines at 5v5 this season.

Trevor Moore, LW

Moore is an underrated volume shooter who could score two-four goals any given week. He has 11 goals on the season and three multipoint games in the past four.

Minnesota Wild

(TUE @ CGY, THU @ VAN, FRI @ EDM, SUN @ SEA)

Marco Rossi, C

The Wild have won three straight since firing their coach. They’ve outscored their opponents 13-3 over that span. Buy the big boys in the offense and grab Marco Rossi where you can.

Jared Spurgeon, D

Points in three straight games and two came on the power play.

Montreal Canadiens

(MON vs. SEA, THU vs. LA, SAT @ BUF, SUN vs. NSH)

Sean Monahan, C

With all the injuries up front, Monahan is on the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield.

Kaiden Guhle, D

A good source for hits and blocks.

Nashville Predators

(TUE @ CHI, THU vs. TB, SAT @ TOR, SUN @ MTL)

Gustav Nyquist, LW

This marks the third straight week Nyquist has been in the waiver wire article. He continues to skate on the top line and he continues to rack up points. Ryan O’Reilly should be owned over Nyquist.

Jeremy Lauzon, D

Hits and blocks.

New Jersey Devils

(TUE @ VAN, THU @ SEA, SAT @ CGY, SUN @ EDM)

Simon Nemec, D

Nemec racked up 22:38 in his NHL debut. He has two assists and one came on the power play. He also had three shots and a hit. That’s a very encouraging start for one of the better prospects in the game. Nemec skated with Luke Hughes at 5v5 and he received top power play time. Dougie Hamilton could be lost for the season, so Nemec has a great opportunity on a strong offensive team.

Dawson Mercer, C/RW

Mercer may lose his spot on the top line with Timo Meier back, but the Devils are loaded on offense. He’s been great with Jack Hughes since he returned to the lineup.

Ondrej Palat, LW

Playing in a top six role and getting power play time. I prefer Mercer long term.

Alexander Holtz, RW

Grab as many Devils as you can. Holtz should absolutely be rostered in every keeper and dynasty league.

Seattle Kraken

(MON @ MTL, THU vs. NJ, SAT vs. TB, SUN vs. MIN)

Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW

Elli Tolvanen, W

These two have been awesome for most of the year. They both like to shoot the puck and Tolvanen can contribute a few hits and blocks.

St. Louis Blues

(MON @ VGK, WED vs. VGK, FRI @ CLS, SAT @ CHI)

Jake Neighbours, LW

Neighbours should definitely be owned, but consider selling high. He won’t keep this up. Nonetheless, he has seven goals in his last eight games, and he’s on the top line. I’d roster Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas over Neighbours.

Kevin Hayes, C

A deep league add since he’s moved up on the second line.

Tampa Bay Lightning

(MON vs. DAL, WED vs. PIT, THU @ NSH, SAT @ SEA)

Tanner Jeannot, W

Hits and blocks. Nicholas Paul if you’re looking for a point or two.

Vegas Golden Knights

(MON vs. STL, WED @ STL, SAT @ DAL, SUN vs. SJ)

Ivan Barbashev, C/LW

Only nine points on the season, but he’s linked to the top line at 5v5. For the time being anyway. I’d definitely stream Chandler Stephenson over him if he’s available.

Brayden McNabb, D

McNabb is a great source for hits and blocks.

Washington Capitals

(MON @ ARI, THU vs. DAL, SAT vs. NYR, SUN @ CHI)

Tom WIlson, RW

Wilson has been in the previous few articles. Four of his eight goals have come over the last two games, so don’t get too carried away. However, Wilson is on the top line and he can provide owners with shots and hits.

Rasmus Sandin, D

Logging heavy minutes and piling up counting stats.

Two games

Boston Bruins
Toronto Maple Leafs

Attack The Schedule

Monday – 6 Games
Tuesday – 8 Games
Wednesday – 4 Games
Thursday – 13 Games
Friday – 3 Games
Saturday – 12 Games
Sunday – 8 Games

Teams

STL – MON, WED, FRI, SAT
VGK – MON, WED, SAT, SUN
CAR – MON, WED, THU, SAT
DAL – MON, WED, THU, SAT
TB – MON, WED, THU, SAT
PIT – MON, WED, FRI

Even though the Pens only have three games, all three of their games are on the days you want them to be on.

Back-to-Backs

Buy-Low Candidates

Jason Robertson, DAL
Roope Hintz, DAL
Andrei Svechnikov, CAR
Miro Heiskanen, DAL
John Carlson, WAS

Sell-High Candidates

Brock Boeser, VAN
William Karlsson, VGK
Mark Stone, VGK
Frank Vatrano, ANA
Leo Carlsson, ANA
Erik Gustafsson, NYR
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, FLA