2018 Fantasy Hockey: Waiver Wire Report -- Week 2
Published: Oct 14, 2018
The NHL season is in full swing and that means fantasy hockey is as well! It’s a long grind to get to the playoffs and an even tougher challenge to win it all. Like every year, injuries are going to happen to key players, which means we need to be active on the waiver wire. The waiver wire can help you win a championship, so it’s important to add the right players at the right time. Let’s take a look at which players are worth adding for the upcoming week.
Paul Byron - Montreal Canadiens - Winger
This isn’t a homer pick. Outside of Carey Price, Paul Byron has been one of the best players for the Habs this season. There’s no question he has speed, but he’s also able to score goals and pick up some points. He’s 19% owned on Yahoo! and only 9.2% on ESPN. He’s not getting any power play time, but he is seeing time on the penalty kill, so if your league rewards you for SHP/SHG, Byron can be an asset. He’s not a sexy add, but he’s a good candidate to help fantasy owners stay afloat while injuried players are out.
Kasperi Kapanen - Toronto Maple Leafs - Winger
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the hottest team in the NHL thanks to Auston Matthews. For some reason, nobody seems to care that Kasperi Kapanen is playing on the top line with the hottest player in the league. He’s 10.6% owned on ESPN and 30% owned on Yahoo! He’s not getting any power play time, but as long as he’s on the top line, he’s going to pick up points. One day the Leafs will come back down to earth and cool off, but right now, Kapanen isn’t just a depth player, he’s fantasy relevant.
Elias Lindholm - Calgary Flames - Winger
For whatever reason, Elias Lindholm is only 45% owned on Yahoo! and 28.3% owned on ESPN. That’s absurd for a player who’s playing on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. The 23-year-old has six points in four games and is averaging just over 20 minutes a game. He should be close to 75% owned on both sites, so if he’s still lying around on the waiver wire, scoop him up!
Jeff Petry - Montreal Canadiens - Defence
Once again, this isn’t a homer pick, but Petry is literally the best defenceman the Habs have on the ice. He plays a bunch of minutes every night and is on the top power play unit. His ownership is below 30% on both sites, so if you didn’t draft him in your league, you should at least pick him up till Shea Weber comes back. He’s only got four points on the season, but he’s getting opportunities, which is what we are looking for in fantasy hockey. You can never have too many defenceman on your fantasy team, so pick up Petry and wait for him to get hot.
Thomas Chabot - Ottawa Senators - Defence
Only 54.7% owned on ESPN, Chabot has had a pretty solid start to the season, collecting eight points (2G, 6A) in five games. As far as defencemen go in Ottawa, he’s the only fantasy relevant option. He’s not going to be able to maintain this pace, but he may be able to surpass the 45-point mark by the end of the season, which isn’t too bad for a player who went undrafted in a lot of leagues. Let’s buy into the hype now and see what he does over the next couple of weeks. At worst, he becomes and excellent sell-high candidate to someone in need of points from the blue line.
Joonas Korpisalo - Columbus Blue Jackets - Goalie
It’s no secret that head coach John Tortorella wants to give Korpisalo more games but just how many more games is what fantasy owners want to know. Bobrovsky got absolutely demolished by the Tampa Bay Lightning in his last start and how has a 4.39 GAA and a .860 SV%. It’s still early in the season, but Korpisalo already has two wins and he’s going to challenge Bobrovsky for that starting job. Is this a long term solution? No way, but for fantasy purposes, it’s always good to have goalies who are hot and starting games, including backup goalies. If you have a deep bench and you can hold onto Korpisalo for a few weeks, he’s worth the risk.
Jack Campbell - Los Angeles Kings - Goalie
You don’t need to be a genius to figure this one out. He’s 51% owned on Yahoo! but only 10.8% on ESPN. That’s a crazy huge gap for a goalie that isn’t that terrible. With Jonathan Quick on IR and “week-to-week”, Campbell is going to get every chance to lead this team. The Kings aren’t a power house team, but they are still a pretty good hockey team. Campbell picked up his first career shutout earlier this week against Montreal and has a nice .938% SV% on the season. If the Quick owner in your league hasn’t already added Campbell, make sure to pick him up!
Player News
David Montgomery rushed 12 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the Lions’ Week 3 win over the Ravens, adding 13 yards on one reception.
Montgomery played well behind backfield mate Jahmyr Gibbs as far as snap rate and opportunity count are concerned. He put the Lions on his back when it mattered most, however, with carries of 72 yards and 31 yards in the fourth quarter, the latter of which put the Lions up by 14 points with under two minutes to play as he found paint for the second time. The bulk of Montgomery’s fantasy value remains tied to his high touchdown expectancy in one of the league’s top offenses, making him a more difficult weekly start than others drafted around him this offseason.
Jared Goff completed 20-of-28 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown in the Lions’ 38-80, Week 3 win over the Lions, adding six yards on four carries.
Goff’s 28 pass attempts were a product of the team’s successes on the ground, with David Montgomery (151 yards and two touchdowns) and Jahmyr Gibbs (67 yards and two touchdowns) taking over the game in the second half. The veteran signal caller made numerous elite throws, the highlight of which came on fourth down with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when he dropped a dime into the bread basket of alpha wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. That drive would eventually culminate in a 31-yard Montgomery touchdown to push the lead to 14 points, a lead the Lions would not relinquish as they vault into a tie atop the NFC North with the Packers and Vikings. Up next for Goff and the Lions is a matchup against the surprisingly stout Cleveland defense in Week 4.
Ronald Acuña Jr. walloped his 19th home run of the season and walked three times, leading Atlanta to an 11-5 blowout win over the Nationals.
Acuña has caught fire down the home stretch following a prolonged slump coming out of the All-Star break, homering four times in his last 11 games. The 27-year-old generational talent took Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore deep in the opening frame and wound up reaching base safely in four of his six plate appearances in the one-sided affair. He’s looked like a fantasy superstar again of late, batting an absurd .346 (18-for-52) with four homers, 13 RBI and two steals over his last 15 games.
Nasim Nuñez went 3-for-4 with a solo homer in Monday’s blowout loss to Atlanta.
Nuñez walloped his first career leadoff homer when he took Atlanta ace Chris Sale deep to right field. It was his fourth round-tripper since returning to the big leagues back in early September. He came a few feet shy of his second big fly on the night a couple frames later and finished the one-sided affair with a season-high three hits, reaching base safely in four of his five plate appearances. He’s shown enough down the home stretch to be considered a serious contender for an everyday role next spring.
Michael Harris II went 3-for-5 with three RBI and three stolen bases in Monday’s lopsided win over the Nationals.
Harris kicked off an impressive three-hit performance with a 109-mph line-drive to right field that brought home Ha-Seong Kim from second base in the second inning. He scorched a run-scoring single as part of Atlanta’s five-run outburst in the ensuing frame. He wasn’t done yet as he drove in another run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth before adding a sixth-inning single. The three steals matched his previous career-high mark set back on July 16, 2022 during his stellar rookie campaign. It also puts him one theft shy of reaching the 20-steal threshold for the third time in the last four seasons.
Chris Sale was charged with five runs over five innings on Monday in a win over the Nationals.
Sale received a touchdown and a two-point conversion worth of run support from Atlanta’s offense by the fifth inning and was cruising along, despite coughing up early solo homers to Nasim Nuñez and Dylan Crews, before Andrés Chaparro delivered a bases-clearing three-run single with two outs in the frame that slashed the deficit to three runs at the time. He managed to wriggle out of the jam without any further damage, finishing with six strikeouts and two walks in the shortened outing. He’ll close out the season on Sunday with a home matchup against the offensively challenged Pirates.