The Waiver Wire

Welcome back to another week of The Waiver Wire!  For most leagues, it is the second week of playoffs.  If you made it, congrats!  If not (like me, ugh), enjoy having that extra hour at work every day.  Just like last week, we are going to bypass the disappointments (because they hardly matter anymore) and look at some fringe players that may be able to get you a couple extra points this week or may be able to replace any players of yours that just got injured, assuming you still have some add/drops available to use.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, so keep rotating those fringe players to get more games each week.

Mark Scheifele – WPG – C – 29% owned

Mark Scheifele is starting to show that he’s a legit top 6 player this year.  Recently, he’s been paired with Drew Stafford and Blake Wheeler and continues to blossom with more ice time.  In the past week, while averaging 20:12 per game (a full two minutes more than his season average), he’s put up 2-3-5 while being +5 in 4 games.  Winnipeg has been on fire recently, having won five straight against opponents of varying degrees of competition.  Scheifele could be a good pick-up for a game here or there, but he is facing a few tough opponents this week in Montreal and Chicago.  Linemate Drew Stafford (14% owned) has also been hot, having 2-4-6 in that same span.    

Jean-Gabriel Pageau – OTT – C – 1% owned

Really, when it comes to Ottawa, picking up anyone in their top nine will probably be advantageous.  They are arguably the hottest team in the NHL right now, riding some hilariously good goaltending, luck, etc. while being winners of 7 straight.  Jean-Gabriel Pageau has put up 2-1-3 in the past week while being even over four games.  The best part about any Ottawa player is that they have a very nice back to back this week at Toronto and then home against Florida.  They could put up some serious goals against those two teams, as that second half of a back to back requires barely any travel.  Mark Methot (1% owned) is another candidate to be a solid pick up in this stretch.

Brian Gionta – BUF – RW – 2% owned

Picking up any player on Buffalo is high risk, high reward.  They can tank your team or be the difference in winning a week.  Gionta is seeing loads of ice time, while playing with confidence.  In the last four games he is 2-2-4 while being an expected -2.  Over those four games he has seen over 21 minutes of ice time per game and seems to capitalize on the power play, where three of his four points came from. 

Marco Dano – CBJ – C, RW – 7% owned

Last week I debated listing this talented Slovakian, but he got beat out by a couple others.  He has kept up his good play in the past week and could prove to be a valuable asset in the long run.  In the last four games, he is 2-1-3 while being +3.  One drawback from Dano is that he does have a tough schedule at the end of the week.  They are winners of 3 straight, but Chicago and St. Louis aren’t chumps either. 

Patrick Eaves – DAL – RW – 1% owned

Usually, I would almost never tell you to pick up Patrick Eaves.  He’s not all that great of a player, and doesn’t do much for most fantasy leagues.  This week, however, is different.  Not only has he been hot as of late, putting up 2-2-4 while being +4 in his last two games, but this week, he has a game against Edmonton, which sometimes is better logic than having the best player.

Let’s be honest, these types of players are a dime-a-dozen.  There’s a reason not many leagues own them, and why they typically are bottom six players, but there are two different things you should take into consideration when adding players quickly like this.  These are short term adds, so the two types of teams you want to add players from are teams that are hot, and teams that play bad teams.  Maybe a lesser player has a better match up against Buffalo, Toronto, Edmonton, etc. rather than seeing a better player match-up against a tougher goalie or a better team.  Add them for the game, then drop them the next day, hopefully you get lucky and get a goal here or there. 

Well folks, this will be the last regular installment of The Waiver Wire for the year.  For those of you that start discussion, I’ve really enjoyed it and for the many lurkers out there, I appreciate you reading my writing!  I will be doing an awards article in the coming weeks, and probably a couple other random articles as well.  If you have any requests, let me know!