The fantasy hockey season churns along as the calendar nears its flip to November.
It’s Monday morning, which means it’s time for another edition of FantasyPros’ “Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Advice”! As usual, we’ll do our best to highlight a goaltending option for the week ahead while also highlighting some skaters who can help now and into the future!
Let’s dive in and check out this week’s top waiver wire options.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Advice (Week 4)
(Rosterships courtesy of ESPN)
Karel Vejmelka (G – ARI) | 20.4% rostered
Here is a player who can help now and moving forward.
In the short term, Karel Vejmelka has a nice week ahead of him. He takes on the 26th-ranked offense of the Chicago Blackhawks Monday on home ice, while the Coyotes also take on the weak Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks this week, albeit in back-to-back. Nonetheless, he has another game on his schedule versus the Winnipeg Jets to conclude his week.
That’s likely a three-start week for the 28-year-old, and two are against poor teams. The Jets matchup on Saturday is more of a wild card, but at least Vejmelka has been stellar to begin his season.
He’ll enter Monday’s contest against Chicago sporting a 2.51 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage across five appearances despite yielding five goals to the Kings his last time out. That Kings’ offense is far more dangerous than the groups he will face this week.
He is an excellent lock option this week while acting as a very nice streaming option on Monday and one of the games against the Ducks and Habs mid-week.
Mason McTavish (C, LW – ANA) | 24.6% rostered
The Anaheim Ducks remain a non-contender, but they have some nice, young pieces to work with. Mason McTavish is among them, and he’s enjoyed a strong start to his season.
Just 20 years old, McTavish has tallied three goals and eight points in as many games. He has managed 20 shots on goal in that time while working to a plus-four rating with 10 penalty minutes to boot. This type of production shouldn’t be terribly surprising, considering he notched a healthy 17 goals and 43 points as a 19-year-old rookie on a poor Ducks offense last season. He also managed 44 penalty minutes a season ago.
His ice time is up to 17:45 per game as the team’s second-line center. He has gelled nicely with Frank Vatrano on that line and should be able to remain productive in a top-six role. Power-play production hasn’t been there, with just one man-advantage point on the season, and he is currently skating on the second power-play unit.
We have a potential dynasty league stud on our hands with McTavish.
Nick Schmaltz (RW, C – ARI) | 35.4% rostered
The rostership of Arizona’s Nick Schmaltz is a bit of a head-scratcher.
After all, the 27-year-old has tallied 45 goals and 117 points across 126 games over the last two seasons, good for a hearty 0.93 points per game. He’s done so while skating on the top line and top power-play unit alongside the club’s best offensive player, Clayton Keller.
If that weren’t enough, he’s off to a hot start this season with two goals and eight points in seven games. His 16 shots and zero hits aren’t much, and his minus-two rating isn’t great. However, he does have three power-play points and is averaging a career-high 20:32 of average ice time per game.
This is a player just entering his prime. He’s doing so on an improved Coyotes roster with some nice young pieces up front. He’s part of a power play that sits sixth in the league with a 26.7% clip, which should lead to continued power-play production.
He’s not going to shoot the puck a ton. Still, if you’re in search of a steadily producing option on the waiver wire, you should do a whole lot worse than a player averaging nearly a point per game over the last two-plus seasons.
Cam Atkinson (RW – PHI) | 19% rostered
Considering he missed the entire 2022-23 season, it’s unsurprising to see Cam Atkinson losing some love in the fantasy hockey community. However, if we can put aside his absence last season, there’s little reason why he should be just 19% rostered.
He sure looks healthy, with five goals and eight points across eight games to start the season. He’s put 21 shots on goal while collecting a pair of power-play points. He may not be in his prime at age 34, but this is still a player who scored 41 goals in the 2018-19 season while he has routinely recorded heavy shot totals, maxing out at 295 shots in that same 41-goal campaign.
With Sean Couturier, who interestingly also missed the entire 2022-23 season, back in the fold and a nice young player in Owen Tippett alongside him on the Flyers’ top line and top power-play unit, Atkinson should remain productive.
Perhaps the year off can help rejuvenate his career as a goal-scoring winger who gets plenty of pucks on goal. He will have no shortage of opportunities with the Flyers and should be a strong consideration for your roster, even if he isn’t seeing much love overall.
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