Being an active fantasy hockey owner is one of the keys to success. While it’s always advisable to give some time at the beginning of the season to allow the players to grow into the season, it’s past the point of saying “it’s still early.” Playing the waiver wire is one of the ways owners have to stay active.
Here are some players, and their accompanying ownership rates, who can help fantasy hockey owners either this week, or for the rest of the year.
Centre
Lars Eller (Montreal): 19 percent owned on ESPN, 1 percent owned on Yahoo!
The first thing that needs to be explained about Eller is that he’s not used on the power play in Montreal. For that reason, if fantasy hockey owners are looking for a boost in power play points, then Eller is not the player to own.
For fantasy owners looking for contributions elsewhere, Eller may be a good target. Of late, Eller has been playing his even-strength time with off-season signee Jiri Sekac. While the sample size to this point is too small to make final determinations, Sekac and Eller control 55.9 percent of the shot attempts that occur on the ice at even strength when they’re together. Understanding that the .848 save percentage Eller has enjoyed from his goalies so far this year will rise as well, and he should help owners in the plus/minus department going forward.
Eller is shooting a bit more than normal. Until this year, Eller had averaged 1.51 shots per game; so far this season that mark is 1.93 shots per game. He may not be a solution for the rest of the campaign, but Montreal does get games against a hobbling Bruins team and an even more hobbled Flyers team this week.
Left Wing
Marcus Johansson (Washington): 15.8 percent owned on ESPN, 11 percent owned on Yahoo!
Johansson has been a player that both fantasy owners and hockey fans in general have been waiting to see break out for a few years now. It appears that’s happening this year as he’s already at six goals on the season in just 14 games (Johansson had eight goals in 80 games last year). Part of that is shooting percentage as he’s at 20.7 percent for the season. That said, Johansson shot 14.2 percent from 2010-2013 before shooting 7.5 percent last year, so this year could be the yin to last season’s yang.
There are two reasons why Johansson is carrying a lot of value right now in most fantasy formats:
1. Johansson is shooting a lot more. Until this season, Johansson had averaged 1.29 shots on goal per game and 8.21 shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 for his career. This year, those numbers are 2.07 shots on goal per game and 13.61 shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. He hadn’t shot much before, but is shooting a lot more often now.
2. He’s playing almost all of his power play time on the top unit with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom.
Considering how his game is evolving for the better, and his opportunity on the power play, there are few fantasy formats where Johansson shouldn’t be owned. He could be a great add for not only this week, but the entire season.
Right Wing
Patrick Eaves (Dallas): 0 percent owned on ESPN, 0 percent owned on Yahoo!
This is a waiver wire add that is purely for this week, and not a long-term fix for the rest of the season. Fantasy hockey owners looking for season-long help at right wing should look elsewhere.
Valeri Nichushkin is a supremely talented young winger for the Dallas Stars, but to this point of the season he can’t stay healthy. Nichushkin had returned from a groin injury that kept him out of the lineup for most of the season, but is back on the injured reserve with the same injury. That left a hole on the top line in Dallas with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. The replacement appears to be Patrick Eaves, as 15 of his 19 shifts in Dallas’s most recent game saw Eaves with that duo.
There is nothing special about Eaves as far as fantasy goes, and he won’t carry much value for the rest of the season. With Dallas playing four games this week, though, fantasy owners looking for a temporary fill at right wing should look at Eaves.
Defence
Morgan Rielly (Toronto): 7 percent owned on ESPN, 10 percent owned on Yahoo!
Toronto defencemen – notably Rielly and Jake Gardiner – have been frustrating to own this year because of usage. Both have been healthy scratches, while Rielly specifically has seen three games with under 15 minute of ice time, three games with over 21 minutes of ice time, and eight games somewhere in the middle.
What makes Rielly particularly appealing is his shooting. At 2.36 shots per game, Rielly is one of 22 defencemen with at least 2.3 shots per game this year. That creates a nice fantasy floor for him. Despite just one goal and five points, Rielly is the 64th-ranked defenceman in a rotisserie league, just on the edge of usefulness in a 12-team league. Should he ever get consistent ice time, Rielly should be a consistent defenceman in any league 12 teams or bigger.
Good luck this week!
*Some stats courtesy of Hockey Analysis, Hockey Reference, ESPN, Yahoo, Behind The Net, and NHL.com