Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report-- November 9

Published: Nov 09, 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 other who are just not getting the job done. Let’s get right into it for this week.
Robby Fabbri - Detroit Red Wings - Winger
I was a huge fan of Robby Fabbri getting move out of St. Louis. There’s no question that the kid has a ton of talent, but he just wasn’t able to stay healthy. He made an impact in his first game for the Red Wings, scoring two goals in just over 13 minutes of ice time. Even before the two goals, Fabbri was a waiver wire target because of his ability to score goals and the fact that he won’t have to compete to find a spot inside the top-6. If he can stay healthy, maybe he can finish with 20-goals and over 40-points. He’s my top waiver wire pick up of the week.
Robert Thomas - St. Louis Blues - Winger
Last week, Sammy Blais was the winger to add because he was playing on the top line.This week, it’s Robert Thomas that is getting an opportunity to showcase his skill on the top line. It’s hard to tell which player will have a better season, but we will continue to target whoever is playing on that top line. If you were a reader last season, you know that we tried to do that a lot with whoever was playing on the top line in Edmonton, and to an extent, it worked out pretty nicely. Thomas is widely available across most fantasy hockey platforms.
Anthony Duclair - Ottawa Senators - Winger
The Senators may be a terrible hockey team, but they have some players that are worth targeting on the waiver wire, and one of them is Anthony Duclair. The 24-year-old is playing on the top line and has totaled eight points (6G, 2A) in 15 games. He may not keep up this goal scoring pace, but if he does, he could finish the season with 25-plus goals, which would be a new career high. He’s 8% owned in Yahoo!, so in deeper leagues, he’s a nice option to consider adding to your lineup. Will this success continue all season? No one knows, but he’s playing well to start the season and deserves to be on a fantasy hockey team.
Denis Gurianov - Dallas Stars - Winger
I would love to trust Denis Gurianov all season, but Jim Montgomery is in love with changing his lines almost every game, and that makes owning the 22-year-old very frustrating. He has six points in 13 games, but he’s skating on the top line with Tyler Seguin and Alexander Radulov and he’s seeing top power play minutes. That certainly bodes well for Gurianov and his ability to rack up goals and points. There will always be the fear that Jamin Benn regains his spot on the top line, but for fantasy owners who need a goal scoring solution, the Russian forward can potentially provide that. The reward certainly outweighs the risk.
Esa Lindell - Dallas Stars - Defence
With John Klingberg out for a few weeks, the Dallas Stars are going to need someone to step up, and that player will be Esa Lindell. Miro Heiskanen is also going to see an expanded role, but you probably won’t find him on the waiver wire. Lindell only has three points this season, but in the last two games, he’s play over 28 minutes twice. As you all know, I love to target players who see a lot of volume, and Lindell is going to see a lot of ice time, which should lead to more goals. He probably won’t be on your roster all season, but as a short-term fix, he’s one of the better options.
All stats provided by NHL.com
Player News
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that Zach Eflin (lat) is likely to return and start Sunday against the Angels
It was assumed that Eflin would be back this weekend, but now we have a concrete date. The 31-year-old may not be at full strength after throwing fewer than 60 pitches in his rehab start, but the Orioles feel confident enough to have the right-hander back on the bump for the series finale against the Angels.
Riley Greene is not in the lineup for the first game of a doubleheader against the Rockies on Thursday.
Greene will get a break and likely return to the lineup for the second game of the twin-billing. Zach McKinstry will get the start in left field while Greene rests.
Panthers released TE Jordan Matthews.
Matthews converted to tight end a few years ago and hasn’t made much noise at the position. The change has, however, likely kept him in the league for a few more seasons. He appeared in four games with the Panthers last year but didn’t record any stats on offense. The Panthers also released or waived WR Dax Milne, C Andrew Raym, and TE Colin Granger.
Yu Darvish (elbow) is facing live hitters on Thursday.
Darvish has been throwing bullpen sessions and traveled to the team’s complex in Arizona to face live hitters on Thursday. It will be his first time facing live batters since a spring training appearance on March 13th. He will likely need a few sessions like this before the Padres can map out a rehab appearance timeline for him.
Adael Amador is starting at second base and batting ninth for the Rockies on Thursday.
Amador has now started three of the last four games at second base for the Rockies. He’s gone just 7-for-43 this season with 15 strikeouts in 16 games. He’s just 22 years old, so there is plenty of time for him to adjust to the MLB level, but he doesn’t need to be on redraft radars right now.
Jackson Holliday is playing second base and batting second for the Orioles on Thursday against the Twins.
With Cedric Mullins sitting out on Thursday, Gunnar Henderson will bat lead off, and Holliday will jump up from sixth in the order to second. Holliday is riding a hot streak right now, and the Orioles are taking advantage. This is likely just a one-game sample with no Mullins or Adley Rutschman in the lineup, but Rutschman has been struggling, so perhaps it could become a more permanent spot in the lineup for Holliday moving forward.