We’ve just passed the two-month mark into the season, which feels like it flew by. New talents continue to emerge, and some quality players remain on the fantasy hockey waiver wire ripe for the picking.
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Week 9 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire
Forwards
LW/RW Alex Killorn, TBL (60% Ownership): The Tampa winger just had a three-game point streak snapped, but has eight points in his past eight games. He’s playing on a line with Steven Stamkos and has a spot on the top power-play unit. Overall Killorn has 18 points in 28 appearances, with 59 shots on goal and 31 hits. He’s a fairly reliable source of secondary scoring who has plenty of talent around him to help generate scoring chances.
C/LW Carter Verhaeghe, FLA (55%): Are you still waiting for his production to drop off? It’s not likely to happen. He has 11 goals and 11 assists in 28 contests and is currently riding a four-game point streak that’s seen him rack up six points. Verhaeghe has been an excellent addition for the Panthers, finding chemistry on the top line with Aleksander Barkov. He’s already nearly doubled his point total from last year in just over half the number of games. Many have likely remained hesitant to pluck him from the waiver wire due to thoughts of early-season overachieving. Note that the Panthers are halfway through their season, so he should be considered a safe bet to add to your lineup.
C/LW/RW Dillon Dube, CGY (28%): Dube collected his first career hat trick earlier in the month, giving him seven points in his past six outings. He has seven goals and seven helpers in 26 games thus far. He’s scoring at a better pace than last year, when he netted 16 points in 45 meetings. The 22-year-old is playing on a line with Matthew Tkachuk and Elias Lindholm, and sees time on the Flames secondary power-play unit. He’s in a great position to succeed, as long as he can retain the trust of new Head Coach Darryl Sutter.
LW/RW Kieffer Bellows, NYI (23%): Bellows hadn’t played in nearly a month, then Anders Lee went down with a lower-body injury. Bellows fills in as a result, but this time he’s thrust onto the top line. Playing with Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle, Bellows has made the best of his opportunity. In three games since joining that line, he’s scored three goals, with one being a game-winner. He brings physicality to that line, dishing out nine hits in the three contests, and has 27 hits through 11 games in total. The 2016 first-round pick has waited a long time to make an impact at the NHL level. It was announced that Lee will miss the remainder of the regular season, which makes Bellows a great option to grab from the waiver wire.
C Travis Zajac, NJD (6%): This one’s for the deeper leagues. After netting 25 points in 69 games last year — a drop off of 21 points from the year prior — it’s easy to think Zajac’s offense has dried up. He’s bounced back quite nicely though, collecting 10 points in 22 contests. He plays on New Jersey’s third line and doesn’t see time on the man advantage. He’s not going to go on a season-long tear and produce like he did in years past. However, six points in the past five games is a nice stretch for the 35-year-old, and he could provide value in the right league.
Defensemen
D MacKenzie Weegar, FLA (58%): Weegar has an active five-game point streak, scoring a goal and six assists along the way. He’s on fire right now, and his ownership rate should be much higher. In 28 games, he has 17 points, 50 shots on goal, 63 hits, and a plus-10 rating. Those numbers would put him in the top 15 defensemen rankings if your league uses those categories. If we’re to look strictly at points, he’d rank 23rd. That’s ahead of bigger names such as Torey Krug, Miro Heiskanen, and Brent Burns (this would still be the case if going by points per game). He’s in some good company. The only thing he’s missing would be power-play points. If he were to get a chance on the man advantage, he would surely climb even higher.
Goalies
G Casey DeSmith, PIT (34%): While he’s the backup to Tristan Jarry, DeSmith has given the Penguins quality goaltending. He has a 6-3-0 record, with a 2.22 GAA and .915 save percentage. In his past four starts, he’s gone 2-2-0 but has posted a save percentage of .933 or better in each outing. He’s allowed just five goals against during that span, which includes notching a shutout. The problem is that the team in front of him only scored a combined one goal in the two losses. If he can continue stopping the puck like he has been, the Penguins boast enough talent to score enough to secure DeSmith more victories.
Enjoy Brandon’s Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire? For more help with your roster check out Mark Hillier’s Week 9 Goalie Streams.
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