Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report-- December 27
Published: Dec 27, 2019
Welcome back to another fantasy hockey season! As usual, every week, the weekly waiver wire report will help you target some players that you should be adding, or monitoring, on the waiver wire. You can’t win a championship with the team you drafted, which means, you’ll need to be active on the waiver wire to help replace injured players, and others who are just not getting the job done. Let’s get right into it for this week.
Erik Gustafsson - Chicago Blackhawks - Defence
After setting a career high with 17-goals and 60-points, Erik Gustafsson has gone from breakout defenseman to top waiver wire add in one season. It’s been rough for the 27-year-old, but things could be turning around for him. With DeHann and Seabrook ruled out for the remainder of the season, the Blackhawks will need Gustafsson to find that magic from last season. He’s 51% owned in Yahoo! leagues, so he might just hanging around on the waiver wire waiting to be claimed. He’s been disappointing through the first half of the season, but there’s still time for him to turn it around.
Kevin Stenlund - Columbus Blue Jackets - Winger
The Columbus Blue Jackets are so beat up, Kevin Stenlund is currently playing on their top line. The 23-year-old is getting a golden opportunity to prove that he can play in the NHL. In five games this season, the former second-round pick has two goals, and is seeing some time on the top power play unit. He’s obviously a target in deeper formats, and fantasy owners who are desperate for help up front can do worse than Stenlund. As long as he continues to get the opportunity to play meaningful minutes, he should be a player to consider.
Ilya Mikheyev - Toronto Maple Leafs - Winger
After four seasons in the KHL, Ilya Mikheyev decided to make the jump to the NHL and signed with the Leafs. In 39-games, the 25-year-old has eight goals and 23-points. He’s been promoted to the top line with John Tavares and William Nylander and has seen his ice time increase by almost three minutes in the last five games. He has goals in four of his last six games and is averaging over three shots on goal per game. Despite all the recent success, he’s only 10% owned on Yahoo! As long as he continues to see top-6 minutes, he should be on a fantasy hockey roster.
James Van Riemsdyk - Philadelphia Flyers - Winger
It’s amazing that Van Riemsdyk is only 33% owned despite his high fantasy hockey ceiling. The veteran forward has been a fixture on the third line for a large portion of the season, but he’s been promoted to the second line and continues to see a healthy amount of power play time. He also has 11 points in his last eight games, so the former second overall pick is as hot as any other player in the league. If you need some scoring depth , JVR is a great player to add. If he keeps this scoring goals at this pace, you may not be able to drop him again.
Tyler Toffoli - Los Angeles Kings - Winger
I know we’ve already talked about Toffoli in a previous waiver wire report, but at some point, the Kings are going to figure out that playing him in the bottom six is just a #NotGood idea. With Dustin Brown out of the lineup due to illness, Toffoli has been promoted to the top line with Iafallo and Kopitar, while also getting an opportunity to play on the top power play unit. The hope here is that the 27-year-old will go on a tear and force the Kings to trade him before the deadline. He has 21-points in 38-games playing bottom six minutes on a trash hockey team. If he’s on the waiver wire, adding him now would be a good idea. Let’s all hope that he gets traded to a contender that will appreciate his skill.
All stats provided by NHL.com
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Miguel Vargas went 2-for-5 with a homer, three RBI and two runs scored on Tuesday evening, propelling the White Sox to a 5-1 victory over the Reds in 10 innings.
Vargas smacked a leadoff double off of Andrew Abbott in the fourth inning and scored the game’s first run on an RBI knock by Edgar Quero. He then broke it open with a 373-foot (101.7 mph EV) three-run blast off of Emilio Pagan in the 10th inning that increased the White Sox’ lead to 5-1. Vargas has picked up the pace considerably since his brutal start to the season and is now hitting .221/.314/.350 with three homers and 15 RBI on the season.
Chase Meidroth delivered a go-ahead RBI single in the 10th inning on Tuesday night as the White Sox bested the Reds.
The 23-year-old rookie infielder had been hitless in four at-bats entering the 10th inning, but he saved the best for last, smacking a two-out, two-strike offering from Emilio Pagan for an RBI single that gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish. With his 1-for-5 night, Meidroth is now slashing .242/.333/.273 with zero homers, three RBI and three stolen bases over 75 plate appearances in his first 20 games with the White Sox.
Steven Wilson picked up his second blown save of the season on Tuesday night, serving up a game-tying solo homer to Elly De La Cruz in the ninth inning.
Wilson was called upon to face the heart of the Reds’ lineup with the White Sox clinging to 1-0 advantage on Tuesday. He wound up giving up that game-tying blast to De La Cruz after a six-pitch battle, then rebounded to retire each of the next three hitters in order. Wilson was then the beneficiary of the White Sox scoring four times in the home half of the 10th as he snagged his first victory of the season. Cam Booser, who had received the White Sox’ previous save chance, worked a scoreless 10th inning in this one and may be the arm to speculate on in the White Sox’ bullpen for those desperate in saves.
Jonathan Cannon was brilliant in a no-decision against the Reds on Tuesday, allowing just four hits over six innings of shutout baseball.
The 24-year-old right-hander racked up six strikeouts on the night and didn’t walk a batter. He exited with a 1-0 lead and in line for a hard-earned victory, but the White Sox’ bullpen was unable to hang on for him. Cannon got seven swings and misses on 96 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 25 percent. He’ll see if he can build off of this success as he carries a 3.60 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and a 39/17 K/BB ratio (50 innings) into Sunday’s battle against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Elly De La Cruz swatted a game-tying home run in the ninth inning on Tuesday, but the Reds would wind up falling to the White Sox in extra innings.
The Reds entered the ninth inning facing a 1-0 deficit until De La Cruz clobbered a leadoff 435-foot (114.9 mph EV) solo shot off of Steven Wilson that tied the game. The superstar shortstop also singled in the contest, finishing the night 2-for-4. On the season, he’s slashing .250/.324/.405 with seven homers, 30 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
Andrew Abbott was terrific in a no-decision against the White Sox on Tuesday night, piling up seven strikeouts over six innings of one-run baseball.
The 25-year-old southpaw scattered just four hits on the evening and did not walk a batter. The only run that the White Sox were able to muster against him came on an RBI single by Edgar Quero in the fourth inning. Abbott generated 13 swings and misses on 96 pitches on the night — eight of those on his fastball — while posting a CSW of 29 percent. He’ll bring a pristine 2.10 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and a 38/12 K/BB ratio (30 innings) into Sunday’s tilt against the Guardians.