Week 12 NHL Waiver Wire Rankings (1/3)

Welcome to the Week 12 fantasy hockey waiver wire article. Below you’ll see a list of the top fantasy hockey waiver wire pickups for the week. I’ll highlight those who should be owned as well as a few streaming options for the week. I also provided a few buy-low and sell-high candidates for your fantasy hockey leagues.

There are nine more weeks until the fantasy hockey playoffs, so it’s not time to panic yet, but it is time to be active on the wire. I still think we can be patient with our rosters. Don’t drop any big name players because they are on the COVID-19 list or their team is on a COVID-19 break. If you see any top performers get dropped, pick them up. Especially if you’re in a great spot in the standings.

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in the NHL with several players and teams missing games due to COVID-19. There aren’t many teams playing four games this week, but there are several scheduled to play three games and there are a couple of teams who won’t play at all this week. It’s more important than ever to get the most out of your weekly moves. You’ll also see teams who play the least during the week and which teams have back-to-backs for those in need of goalie streams.

Finally, something that I like to do in head-to-head leagues that I feel can be the difference in the week is stream players playing on light nights in the NHL. 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, then you’re better off dropping him for someone playing on those lighter days. This is a strategy that will pay off when you get closer to fantasy hockey playoffs. However, this week is a balanced schedule, so focus on targeting four-game and weekend streams.

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Week 12 Waiver Wire

Noah Dobson, D, New York Islanders

The Islanders don’t play this week, but don’t let that be the reason you fail to grab Noah Dobson. The 12th pick in the 2018 NHL draft just matched his career-high in points with 14 and he’s averaging 20:23 per game in Year 3 compared to 16:24 last season. He’s certainly benefited from Ryan Pulock’s absence, but Dobson has a high offensive ceiling and we’re seeing it now. I think we’ll see him stick on the first PP even when Pulock returns. Anders Lee is another player trending up in New York. More on him below.

Alex Tuch, W, Buffalo Sabres
Tage Thompson F, Buffalo Sabres

Forget the fact both of these skaters play for the Buffalo Sabres. They both should be rostered, and I’m seeing Alex Tuch get dropped in leagues since making his debut last week. Maybe Tuch’s expectations were too high, but he has a goal, three points, four shots and five hits in his three games. He’s skating on the first line with Tage Thompson and the first PP. Thompson has 12 goals on the season and four points with seven shots in his three games with Tuch. The Sabres only play once this week, so I get the hesitation. With that said, I think Tuch could be a league-winner. Thompson has triple eligibility and can provide owners with faceoff wins.

Adrian Kempe, W, Los Angeles Kings

Adrian Kempe’s roster percentage dropped to 34% as of Monday morning, which is odd because he has three goals and four points in his last four games. He has 12 goals on the season and he’s skating on the first line and first PP. He’s also starting to shoot the puck more as he’s put at least three pucks on the net in seven of his past nine games. Playing with Anze Kopitar is great for anybody’s game.

Nino Niederreiter, W, Carolina Hurricanes

The Hurricanes change their lines more than any team in the league so it’s tough to feel great about Nino Niederreiter long term. He needs to stay on line one for me to stay interested but he’s there for now. The winger has four goals and 13 shots in his last four games skating with Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Nino scored 20 last season and he’s scored 20 in three other seasons in the league, so his 10 right now are not a fluke, despite a career-high 18.5% shooting percentage.

Check to see if rostered

Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Patrik Laine, Columbus Blue Jackets
Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins
Jordan Kyrou, St. Louis Blues
Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils
Ivan Barbashev, St. Louis Blues
Mikael Granlund, Nashville Predators
Jesse Puljujarvi, Edmonton Oilers

Deep league adds

Tanner Jeannot, Nashville Predators
Ryan Johansen, Nashville Predators
Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
Yanni Gourde, Seattle Kraken
Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken
Paul Stastny, Winnipeg Jets
Corey Perry, Tampa Bay Lightning
Calle Jarnkrok, Seattle Kraken
Bowen Byram, Colorado Avalanche
Damon Severson, New Jersey Devils
Noah Hanifin, Calgary Flames

Looking for hits and blocks?

Radko Gudas, Florida Panthers
Brayden McNabb, Vegas Golden Knights
Tyler Myers, Vancouver Canucks
David Savard, Montreal Canadiens
Zach Whitecloud, Vegas Golden Knights
Connor Murphy, Chicago Blackhawks
Matt Roy, Los Angeles Kings
Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken
Jake Middleton, San Jose Sharks
Andrew Peeke, Columbus Blue Jackets
Jonas Siegenthaler, New Jersey Devils

Drops

Alexander Radulov, Dallas Stars
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
Brendan Gallagher, Montreal Canadiens
Dominik Kubalik, Chicago Blackhawks
Eeli Tolvanen, Nashville Predators
Sonny Milano, Anaheim Ducks
Ondrej Kase, Toronto Maple Leafs
Mike Smith, Edmonton Oilers

Buy low

Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
Max Pacioretty, Vegas Golden Knights (if you’re in a good spot)
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders
Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals
Robin Lehner, Vegas Golden Knights
Semyon Varlamov, New York Islanders

Sell high

Chandler Stephenson, Vegas Golden Knights
Andrew Mangiapane, Calgary Flames
Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks
Tyler Bertuzzi, Detroit Red Wings
Ivan Barbashev, St. Louis Blues
Ryan Johansen, Nashville Predators
Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
Tanner Jeannot, Nashville Predators
Corey Perry, Tampa Bay Lightning

3-game streams

Anthony Duclair, W, Florida Panthers

Anthony Duclair is still hanging around waiver wires, despite 12 goals and 22 points on the season. He’s playing inside the top six on one of the most potent offenses in the league, so he’s a no brainer. Duclair has three goals, five points and six shots in his last three games. He missed some time due to an injury and the Panthers had several games postponed. Those are the only reasons I can see why he’d be on the wire. Grab him now before it’s too late.

Yegor Sharangovich, F, New Jersey Devils

Sharangovich was a sleeper of mine heading into his sophomore year after he scored 16 goals and added 14 assists as a rookie. It was a very disappointing start to the season for Sharangovich, as he only had three goals and seven points in his first 18 games. He’s on a run now, though, as he has goals in three straight games and points in four straight. The winger has three goals, five points and 12 shots over that span. He also has triple eligibility and he’s playing on one of the hottest lines in the league with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. Sharangovich is someone I expected to score around 25 goals and I believe he can still get to that number. Bratt should be rostered before Sharangovich, but both should be rostered.

Evan Rodrigues, C/RW, Pittsburgh Penguins

Evan Rodrigues lost his spot on the No. 1 line with the return of Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel, but there are still reasons to hang onto him. Rodrigues is fresh off a hat trick and six shots on goal in Pittsburgh’s 8-5 win over San Jose on Sunday. He has a career-high 13 goals and five on the power play. His 26 points are three off his career-best, which he set with the Buffalo Sabres back in 2018-19. 26 points in 31 games is a remarkable pace that I don’t think he’ll be able to keep up and the power play production will come down as Pittsburgh gets healthier, but Evegeni Malkin is expected back soon, and I expect Rodrigues to play with the talented center. If it’s not Malkin it’ll be Crosby.

Craig Smith, RW, Boston Bruins

Craig Smith may not stay on the Bruins’ top line for long, but he’s on there for now. He has a goal, one assist and five shots in his two games playing with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. He only played 12:21 on Sunday, though, after playing 17:29 on Saturday. It’s a risky stream, but one with upside given his current linemates. He’s also someone to consider in DFS given his cheap price tag.

Alexander Barabanov, W, San Jose Sharks

Alexander Barabanov is probably only worth your time in a salary cap league or a 14-team format, but I’m interested. He has two goals, three points and eight shots in his last three games. He’s currently skating on the top line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier, which is significant for his outlook as both of those players are top 50 skaters in fantasy. The Sharks get the Red Wings, Sabres, Flyers and Red Wings over their next four games.

Rasmus Andersson, D, Calgary Flames

I had to cut ties with Rasmus Andersson a couple of weeks ago when the Flames missed about two weeks of action due to COVID-19. I quickly added him when they returned to action, and I’ve been thrilled with his game. He has four points and 11 shots in his last four games. One of his points came on the power play and he had another while shorthanded. He doesn’t have a goal in his 30 games, but he’s quarterbacking a very strong PP and the Flames are great. Get a piece where you can.

2 games

Carolina Hurricanes
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets

1 game

Buffalo Sabres
Seattle Kraken
Vancouver Canucks

The Kraken don’t score a lot and only have one game this week, so I don’t think you need to rush to the waiver wire for any of their players. That said, Jared McCann, Yanni Gourde and Calle Jarnkrok are on my radar. I have shares of all three in deep leagues, I consider all three in the NHL DFS world and in the shot prop game.

As for Elias Pettersson, I wouldn’t drop him just yet. The Canucks only have one loss in nine games since Bruce Boudreau took over as a lot of their players have turned the corner, including Pettersson. He only has six goals and 17 points on the season, but five of them have come with Boudreau. Pettersson is also shooting a career-low 8% (16% for his career).

0 games

Montreal Canadiens
New York Islanders

There’s no reason to roster anyone on the Montreal Canadiens these days. I’d hold Nicholas Suzuki in keeper formats and deep leagues, but everyone else can be let go. The Islanders are trending up after a brutal start to the season. I’d hold Mathew Barzal and I’d pick up Anders Lee and Noah Dobson. Lee has goals in back-to-back games and points in seven of his past eight. Six of his 10 goals have come over his last eight contests.

Attack the schedule

Monday – 1 game
Tuesday – 8 games
Wednesday – 2 games
Thursday – 12 games
Friday – 2 games
Saturday – 12 games
Sunday – 1 game

Below are a few teams who play Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. I started with the teams that play the most on those lighter scheduled nights in the NHL. Streaming players on those nights will give you an edge on your opponent in head-to-head formats.

3 Games

St. Louis Blues (WED @PIT, FRI vs. WAS, SUN vs. DAL)

Robert Thomas, C/RW

Thomas returned to the lineup Wednesday and took the second line center role with the Blues. He scored a goal and picked up two assists in the Winter Classic Saturday. I’d imagine Thomas starts the week between Vladimir Tarasenko and Jordan Kyrou, which is great for his outlook. Thomas only has three goals on the season, but he has 22 assists. Consider Justin Faulk, Brandon Saad and Colton Parayko in deeper formats.

2 Games

Edmonton Oilers (MON @NYR, WED @TOR)

Kailer Yamamoto, RW

The Oilers only have two games this week, but they’re on key days. They’re one of two teams to have a game Monday and they’re one of four to play Wednesday. Both matchups are difficult, but Yamamoto has two goals and five points in his last three games. He’ll always be worthy of a stream as long as he’s in the top six. The winger has at least 19 minutes in three of his past four games.

Duncan Keith, D

Keith is more of a DFS punt than anything, but he has popped off of late. The veteran has three points, eight shots and five blocks in his last three games. He doesn’t get any power play time though.

Back-to-back streams

Calgary Flames (@TB, @CAR)
Carolina Hurricanes (CGY, FLA)
Pittsburgh Penguins (STL, @PHI)
Washington Capitals (@STL, @MIN)

Saturday/Sunday streams

Dallas Stars (PIT, @STL)