For some, bye weeks and the subsequent NHL All-Star break have arrived. Other teams continue to play into the month’s final week and receive an extended rest following the All-Star festivities.
For fantasy hockey managers, it’s a time to analyze where your roster sits in the grand scheme of things. It’s also a good time to see how some of your bubble players compare to those sitting for free on the waiver wire.
Let’s dive in and have a look at the best players available at or around the 50% rostership threshold in ESPN leagues.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Targets (Week 17)
(Rosterships courtesy of ESPN)
Michael Bunting (LW – CAR) | 20.4% Rostered
Last week, I noted that line combinations should not be the sole reason a player should be added from the waiver wire. Line combinations change constantly. However, playing in an increased role can help players find their game, as has been the case with Carolina’s Michael Bunting.
The gritty winger sits with a solid 10 goals and 31 points across 47 games on the season, his first in Carolina. However, he has recently been bumped to the top line alongside Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen and has responded with one goal and four points over his last five games.
Bunting doesn’t shoot the puck much at all, with just 75 shots across 47 contests, and he’s a weird minus-15 on the season. However, he has also racked up 41 penalty minutes and has a hefty 14 power-play points (nearly half his season total), as he’s getting top-unit power-play minutes. That is a massive boon to his fantasy stock.
A 23-goal, 63-point player in top-line duties (and only second-unit power play minutes) with the Maple Leafs two seasons ago, this winger is used to playing with talented offensive weapons. He has looked in place alongside Aho on the Hurricanes’ top group of late.
Casey Mittelstadt (C – BUF) | 17.7% Rostered
I’ll admit that Buffalo’s Casey Mittelstadt is far from a perfect fantasy hockey player. He doesn’t contribute across the board, that’s for sure.
After all, he has just 79 shots on goal in 49 games and only seven hits. His six power-play points are certainly nothing to write home about either. However, plenty of players boasting far superior rosterships have not recorded 42 points on the season.
Sure, he has just 12 goals, but 30 assists and a plus-nine rating should carry some weight. Again, this is a player at roughly 18% rostership with a 0.86 points-per-game clip. The Sabres have often put their lines into a blender this season, but Mittelstadt is currently skating with the productive Alex Tuch on the Sabres’ third line.
Perhaps assists and plus-minus are the only departments where Mittelstadt is truly standing out in his breakout season but you could do a lot worse (and many managers are) given just how productive he has been this season.
Sean Monahan (C – WPG) | 16.9% Rostered
I never thought I’d mention this player in a waiver wire piece again, but you have to tip your cap to veteran Jets forward Sean Monahan.
He has battled through injuries and wear and tear to have a very fine season on a poor Canadiens roster and now lands in a much better situation with Winnipeg. The former Flames star has registered 13 goals and 35 points in 49 games while getting 104 pucks on goal in that time. That said, Monahan has been a power play weapon with a whopping 16 man-advantage points on the season. He was a big piece of that top power-play unit in Montreal.
Outside of his power-play production, Monahan isn’t having an explosive season. He has just 11 hits and is a minus-10 on the campaign. However, plenty of fantasy managers could use those man-advantage points to their advantage, if only on a streaming or short-term basis.
If you are in need of some special teams production, Monahan is likely your best option on the wire.
Jonathan Drouin (LW – COL) | 13.5% Rostered
Avalanche forward Jonathan Drouin has enjoyed a bit of a bounce-back season.
After recording just two goals and 29 points in 58 games with the Canadiens last season while dealing with off-ice issues, he has notched 10 goals and 28 points across 47 games with the Avs this time around. However, his spot in the lineup is key right now, at least for the short term.
Valeri Nichushkin is currently being treated in the NHL/NHLPA Players Assistance Program, which left the Avalanche needing to promote a left winger to skate with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Nichushkin didn’t skate with the two Avalanche superstars on a full-time basis, and Drouin has held that role himself at times, but that’s where he is right now.
Additionally, he is also a member of the top power-play unit, a big boon to his fantasy hockey stock. He has a healthy 11 power-play points on the season in his 17:09 average ice time per game, a steep increase from his 14:54 usage per game last season in Montreal. He has an assist in each of his last three games (one on the power play) and a plus-three rating in that time, skating at least 19:36 and as much as 22:45 four times in his last five games.
This is a player on the rise right now. He may not be a long-term solution, but if he’s on the top line and top power-play unit, he can be a useful player while the club has elevated him into a prime position.
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