Welcome to another edition of the Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report. The NHL season is in full swing, which means we need to start looking at the waiver wire. This part of the year is critical to be able to claim players that might have been missed in drafts. Some of these players will help you win a championship, so make sure you aren’t asleep at the helm of your fantasy team. Let’s take a look at some players worth targeting this week.

 

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Pickups

Gabriel Vilardi - Winnipeg Jets - Winger

He’s only played 11 games this season, but Gabriel Vilardi is up to four goals and five assists and is seeing time on the top line. He’s been on a tear and we could see him keep up his strong play from now until the end of the season. Winnipeg is going to need his production with Kyle Connor out of the lineup, so if he’s on the waiver wire, it might be a good time to scoop him up before anyone else notices.

Robert Thomas - St. Louis Blues - Centre

For whatever reason, Robert Thomas doesn’t get enough love. He has 32 points in 30 games this season yet he’s only 62% owned in Yahoo! leagues. It’s crazy that a player who is averaging over a point-per-game two months into the season is still pretty much available. He should be north of 90% at all times, but here we are. If he’s hanging around the waiver wire, just go ahead and add him. He’s too good to be this disrespected.

Josh Anderson - Montreal Canadiens - Winger

Before you call me delusional and a homer, just let me cook! Josh Anderson scored two goals last game and now has three on the season. Is that great? Of course not, but we know that Anderson is better than this. He’s shooting just 4.3% this season, which is well below his 10.9% career average. At some point, his puck luck is going to change and maybe this is the first sign. He has 18 shots in the last four games, so the effort is there. He continues to skate in the top six and see time on the power play, so he’s getting every chance to produce. I’m not saying he’s a long-term solution, but right now, there’s no risk in adding him.

Conor Timmins - Toronto Maple Leafs - Defence

Connor Timmis quietly has five points in the last five games and is seeing a decent amount of minutes. He’s having all this success playing less than 20 minutes and night and seeing second power play minutes. His upside is limited, but he’s collecting points and that’s all fantasy owners really care about. If he can help a team struggling with injuries, why not add him? 

Pyotr Kochetkov - Carolina Hurricanes - Goalie

It seems like Pyotr Kochetkov is going to have the starting job to himself until someone takes it away from him. Frederik Andersen is nowhere close to being ready to return and Antti Raanta was just demoted to the AHL, so who’s left? Aaron Dell is on a PTO, but that means absolutely nothing. There is no one else to fight for the starting job, so Kochetkov has a real chance of running away with the starting job. He’s been slightly better of late, so that’s a good sign, but right now, we’re banking on him starting close to 80% of the games until something changes. 

All stats provided by NHL.com