Welcome to another edition of the Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report. The NHL season has just begun, 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.

 

NHL Week 2 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Pickups

Teuvo Teravainen - Carolina Hurricanes - Winger

Teuvo Teravainen has skill, but he often gets forgotten in such a talented Carolina offence. He has four goals in only two games this season, including four hits and a short-handed point. He’s not going to be a goal-scoring machine all season, but right now, he deserves to be on a fantasy team. There’s a good chance he’s on the waiver wire in most fantasy leagues.

Alex Newhook - Montreal Canadiens - Center

The Montreal Canadiens will be without Kirby Dach for an extended period of time, so Alex Newhook is moving back to centre between Josh Anderson and Juraj Slafkovsky. The former Colorado forward has two goals in as many games and he’s playing in between two big players who can go into corners and dig pucks out. Newhook has a ton of speed, which is what gives him an edge in most games. He’s going to be counted on to score goals and is going to see a healthy amount of minutes, so there is upside here to adding him.

Artturi Lehkonen - Colorado Avalanche - Winger

With Jonathan Drouin in town, everyone seems to have forgotten about Artturi Lehkonen. He may not be skating on the top line anyone, but he is still on the top power play unit and already has 11 shots on goal in just two games. He’s not going to maintain that pace, but he is going to rack up points and provide value. Grab him now before others start to wake up and realize that he’s just floating on the waiver wire.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Florida Panthers - Defence

The Florida Panthers are 0-2 starting the week, but that doesn’t mean that everyone on their team is bad. With Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour sidelined due to injury, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the go-to guy for this team. The veteran defenceman isn’t the player he once ones, but until the first two return from injury, he’s going to be seeing a ton of ice time. He’s played over 26-minutes in both games this season but doesn’t have any points to show for it. Those will come, along with his blocked shots and shots on goal, so for now, grab him if you need help on the back end and take advantage of this small window. 

MacKenzie Blackwood  - San Jose Sharks - Goalie

I know we are talking about a San Jose Sharks goalie, but let me cook! When you put together a 51-save performance in a 2-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche, you’ve earned yourself a second look. MacKenzie Blackwood is a good goalie, but he’s never been able to stay healthy. Are we expecting him to stop over 50 pucks every time he’s in action? Of course not, but right now, he’s going to get a chance to become the starting goalie on a bad team. San Jose has some matchups that they can at least stay competitive in, so it wouldn’t shock me to see Blackwood put up some decent numbers this week. He’s going to be a risk every time he’s in action, but right now, I’d rather have him on my team than start for someone else’s team. 

All stats provided by NHL.com