We’ve officially arrived at the halfway point of the 2021-22 NHL season. It’s been a whirlwind of activity, including adjusting to updated Covid-19 protocols, which gave all teams an extra week to rest before resuming play. Teams continue to battle within their divisions while also adapting to the return of interdivisional play. These arduous road trips with fully-packed arenas have an increasingly adverse impact on the road teams, regardless of their record or skilled personnel.
Colorado, Tampa Bay, and the New York Rangers are currently the hottest teams in the league entering the Week 15 slate this weekend. Other teams like Edmonton, Philadelphia, and Anaheim find themselves mired in losing skids, which drives down the demand and increases the value for some of their second and third-line players. The waiver wire prospects I’ve gathered for Week 15 are on good and bad teams, but they all share momentum generated from recent success in previous games. Some can be treated as Utility options, while others should be stashed for future deployment if you have an available roster spot. Let’s take a deeper dive into these Week 15 waiver wire prospects.
Rostered percentages courtesy of ESPN.
View our expert consensus fantasy hockey rankings 
Center
Jeff Carter (C – PIT): 21.8%
Jeff Carter has been cooking on Pittsburgh’s third-line attack across the last two games. The 37-year old veteran has netted two assists against Vegas and Ottawa, busting his previous two-game point slump. Asides from the assist momentum, Carter earns additional minutes on the Penguins’ second powerplay unit, which provides quality man-advantage opportunities to contribute to scoring possessions. Carter is heavily involved in the offensive zone, taking from four to seven shots on goal during most matchups. Carter is over 20 percent rostered but scour the waiver wire to see whether or not he is available to add to your roster. Carter can be treated as a safe Utility option due to the high floor he offers via shots, assists, hits, and blocked shots.
We’ve officially arrived at the halfway point of the 2021-22 NHL season. It’s been a whirlwind of activity, including adjusting to updated Covid-19 protocols, which gave all teams an extra week to rest before resuming play. Teams continue to battle within their divisions while also adapting to the return of interdivisional play. These arduous road trips with fully-packed arenas have an increasingly adverse impact on the road teams, regardless of their record or skilled personnel.
Colorado, Tampa Bay, and the New York Rangers are currently the hottest teams in the league entering the Week 15 slate this weekend. Other teams like Edmonton, Philadelphia, and Anaheim find themselves mired in losing skids, which drives down the demand and increases the value for some of their second and third-line players. The waiver wire prospects I’ve gathered for Week 15 are on good and bad teams, but they all share momentum generated from recent success in previous games. Some can be treated as Utility options, while others should be stashed for future deployment if you have an available roster spot. Let’s take a deeper dive into these Week 15 waiver wire prospects.
Rostered percentages courtesy of ESPN.
View our expert consensus fantasy hockey rankings
Center
Jeff Carter (C – PIT): 21.8%
Jeff Carter has been cooking on Pittsburgh’s third-line attack across the last two games. The 37-year old veteran has netted two assists against Vegas and Ottawa, busting his previous two-game point slump. Asides from the assist momentum, Carter earns additional minutes on the Penguins’ second powerplay unit, which provides quality man-advantage opportunities to contribute to scoring possessions. Carter is heavily involved in the offensive zone, taking from four to seven shots on goal during most matchups. Carter is over 20 percent rostered but scour the waiver wire to see whether or not he is available to add to your roster. Carter can be treated as a safe Utility option due to the high floor he offers via shots, assists, hits, and blocked shots.
Casey Cizikas (C – NYI): 0.4%
Casey Cizikas is much more of a stash-and-see prospect when compared to Jeff Carter. He is buried on the New York Islanders’ fourth-line but has been heating up in a recent stretch, scoring goals in back-to-back games against the struggling Philadelphia Flyers. Cizikas doesn’t earn any extra minutes on either powerplay unit for the Islanders, but he is hitting his stride, so it’s an excellent time to get on board before his demand rises. Cizikas is available on virtually all waiver wires, so if you find yourself with a free roster spot on the bench, Cizikas is worth a flier.
Wing
Tyler Toffoli (LW – MTL): 18.8%
Montreal may be sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Division, but the recent return of first-line winger Tyler Toffoli has made a massive difference in just two games. The 29-year old has scored a goal in both contests and added an assist against Vegas in a game that wound up in a shootout, rewarding the Canadiens with a much-needed point. This is just Toffoli’s second season with the club, and after an 11-game absence due to a hand injury, he appears ready to light up the lamp and dig the team out of the bottom of the division. Take advantage of your league’s waiver wire if he was dropped during his stint on IR and immediately improve the depth of your roster. Toffoli is a robust Utility or Wing player in most matchups moving forward.
Anthony Beauvillier (LW – NYI): 10.4%
Heading back to Long Island to dip further into the New York Islanders depth chart is 24-year old second-line winger Anthony Beauvillier. He has played his entire career for the Islanders and has solidified a role on the second powerplay unit as a result. The Islanders have been improving as a collective unit across the last couple of weeks, which can be seen in Beauvillier’s production. The 24-year old winger has a point in four of his previous five games and earns roughly 17 minutes average time on ice. He should continue to produce for a team that appears to be shaking off its losing ways. Value Beauvillier as a low-end Utility option who can generate a solid floor against most goaltenders.
Defense
Oliver Kylington (D – CGY): 9.7%
Oliver Kylington’s availability has spiked thanks to a three-game point slump. The 24-year old Calgary Flames defenseman earns roughly 19 minutes average time on ice and sees additional minutes on the second powerplay unit, which is always a plus for a player’s upside. Kylington has 15 assists through 34 games played and will eventually turn his slump into a streak. Get ahead of this progression and stash Kylington before he gets hot again. Kylington should be stashed in most leagues, but he does offer a decent floor with a couple of hits and blocked shots in most games.
Damon Severson (D – NJ): 8.6%
In his eighth year in the league, all spent with the New Jersey Devils, 27-year old Damon Severson is making noise on their top defensive line. This season, he has double-digit assists but has only one assist in his previous three games. Despite taking five shots on goal against Arizona on Wednesday, Severson could not rack up a point. The inability to manufacture points consistently is the primary reason why Severson is so widely available on waiver wires at the moment. However, the Devils have a capable offense, allowing Severson to find Jack Hughes (C – NJ) and company on the first-line attack to connect and score. He isn’t the type of defenseman to rack up five blocked shots and hits per game, but he does get quite a bit of run on offense and the Devils’ top powerplay unit. Therefore, Severson is ultimately worth rostering and can be deployed into lineups with a low floor and moderate ceiling.
Goalie
Kaapo Kahkonen (G – MIN): 11.9%
This season, one of the strongest reserve goaltenders in the league has been 25-year old Kaapo Kahkonen. Minnesota has benefitted immensely from his presence, as Kahkonen has accrued seven wins across 11 starts. Not only does Kahkonen succeed, but he also defends the crease despite facing 30-plus shots in three of his previous four starts. Goaltenders that can flourish under heavy shot volume and come out with a win are rare, so add Kahkonen as quickly as possible if he is available on your league’s waiver wire.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
