Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report-- October 13
Published: Oct 13, 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.
James Neal - Edmonton Oilers - Winger
What a crazy start to the season for James Neal. After scoring a total of seven goals last season in Calgary, he has equaled that total in just five games. We all know that the veteran forward can fire the puck, but this hot start, no one expecting it. If you were lucky to draft Neal, congratulations, you beat everyone to him. He will slow down at some point, but until then, he deserves to be 100% owned in fantasy hockey.
Zack Kassian - Edmonton Oilers - Winger
If you weren’t able to get your hands on Neal, you can always turn to Zack Kassian. The 28-year-old has totaled 5 points (3G, 2A) in his first five games of the season. He’s skating on a line with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and so far, he’s making a case to stick with those two moving forward. At some point, Kassian will be moved off that top line, but for now, he’s only 17% owned on Yahoo! and is an excellent waiver wire add if you need a winger.
Jordan Weal - Montreal Canadiens - Center
I really don’t like recommending Jordan Weal as a fantasy hockey option, but here we are. For whatever reason, Claude Julien has decided to give Weal second line minutes and top power play minutes. In his career, the 27-year-old has a total of six power play goals, but here he is, playing on the top unit. In fantasy hockey, it’s all about volume and opportunity, and Weal is getting the opportunity to do something. I hope that this trend ends sooner rather than later, but for now, in deeper formats, Weal is worth the risk.
Colin Miller - Buffalo Sabres - Defence
What a start to the season it has been for the Buffalo Sabres. They are off to a 4-0-1 start and are looking like serious contenders to make the playoffs. Colin Miller is in his first season with the Sabres after spending the last two seasons in Las Vegas, and he’s collected a cool three assists in five games. The 26-year-old is also a plus-4, has seven shots on goal, six hits and five blocked shots. In short-- he’s doing a lot of things that fantasy owners like. In his last three games, he’s played over 18 minutes in all of them. If you’re in a deeper format that counts hits and blocked shots, Miller is a nice option to consider.
James Reimer - Carolina Hurricanes - Goalie
Veteran goalie James Reimer was expected to be a mediocre backup heading into this season, but up till now, he’s looking like the guy that could run away with the starting job. The Hurricanes are off to a fantastic start to the season and so is Reimer. The 31-year-old has a 2.65 GAA and a .933 SV%. A save percentage that high means he is stopping a lot of pucks, and it’s true. He stopped 47 of 50 shots earlier in the week against Florida, in what was clearly a “revenge” game for him. Petr Mrazek has been #NotGood to start the year, posting a 2.57 GAA and a .882 SV%. It’s funny that Mrazek has a better GAA, but the SV% is miles apart. If this trend continues, Reimer will be the top goalie in Carolina, and he’s only 13% owned in Yahoo! leagues. No brainer to add him at this point.