Welcome to the new Daily Fantasy Hockey weekly waiver wire report. Each week I will be updating some of the players we should targeting on the waiver wire to help us build a championship fantasy hockey team. The recommendations will focus on, for the most part, standard Yahoo Hockey leagues with the following stat categories:
- Goals
- Assists
- Powerplay Points
- Short Handed Points
- +/- Rating
- Shots on Goal
- Hits
- Faceoffs Won
- Goalie Wins
- Saves
- Save %
- Goals Against Average
- Shutouts
Only players who are under 50% owned in Yahoo Fantasy Hockey will be considered for the waiver wire report. If you have specific questions about how a player fits your league settings please hit me up on Twitter(@Jager_Bombs9)
Let us now take a look at this week's low owned waiver wire options:
Fantasy Hockey Sleepers and Waiver Wire Pickups at Defense and Goaltender
Defense
Nick Leddy (DAL, D) 50% Owned
With Johhny Boychuk placed on IR and set to miss four to six weeks, Leddy has seen a bump in ice time and responsibilty for the Islanders. He has seen his value go in fantasy and won't be on waivers for long. He has points in five straight games with two points coming on the powerplay. The Islanders are ranked 10th in scoring and Leddy will play a big role and helping them make the payoffs in the second half of the season.
Shayne Gostisbehere (PHI, D) 44% Owned (-3% Change from last week)
Don't let the three game pointless streak bother you. Gostisbehere is the future of Flyers defense and an up and coming stud in the NHL. He takes a ton of shots attempts (15.1 shot attempts/60) and is averaging over 18:00 a game with over 3:00 on the #1 powerplay unit. Mark Streit has returned to the lineup but with Ghosts play in his rookie year, there shouldn't be a change in ice time going forward.
Michael Stone (ARI, D) 15% Owned
With just 16 points on the season, he isn't going to provide a ton of offensive upside for your fantasy team. He is, however, going to provide the peripheral stats which is what you should be hunting for at this point in the season. In the last 14 days he has five points, six penalty minutes, 10 shots, 15 hits and 20 blocked shots. He makes a valuable addition to a fantasy team in 10+ person leagues.
Also Available - Calvin De Haan (NYI, D) 5% Owned
Goaltenders
Cam Ward (CAR, G) 39% Owned (No Change)
He has made two starts since last weeks waiver article. He lost to the Devils on the road 3-2 making 21 saves in a game where he wasn't very sharp. He came back yesterday and took a tough loss on the road in Edmonton making 26 saves on 26 shots while the Canes couldn't provide any offense. He has an upcoming game in Vancouver and then back to back matchups vs. Columbus.
Connor Hellebuyck (WPG, G) 48% Owned
He has taken a firm grasp as the #1 goalie in Winnipeg. He has won three of his last four games allowing only four goals in total and is now 8-4 on the season with a .929 save percentage. The Jets have been a much better team at home so if you have two solid options he makes a great streaming third option off the bench.
Also Available - Thomas Greiss (NYI, G) 48% Owned