Jordan Staal – The Fantasy Sports Coach

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Week 24

With playoffs underway for most leagues, it’s important now more than ever to maximize on weakness of schedule and the amount of games played per week. What you want to stay away from is players with a low number of games this week as well as tough matchups which would limit their fantasy value. Below in my Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Week 24 outlook, I’ll break down who you should pick up and who you should drop for your playoff matchups.

Must Add:

Charlie Coyle – C,RW – Minnesota Wild
13% Owned
OPP: OTT/NJD/CAR/CHI

Charlie Coyle has seemingly cemented himself on the first line and first powerplay unit with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise. The 24 year old has shown tremendous growth this year and has almost doubled last years goal output with 23 games left to play. Coyle is a perfect play up until Sunday night when the Wild face the Blackhawks. For the other three opponents, you need Coyle on your roster.

Jori Lehtera – C – St. Louis Blues
8% Owned
OPP: CGY/EDM/VAN

Jori Lehtera has got to be the biggest beneficiary of the linemate lottery. For most of the last two years he’s played along side Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko to form the “STL” line. Playing with those two, Lehtera has massive potential this week to snag you some points. He’s also produces on the faceoff dot (Over 400 wins). The Blues boast one of the easiest schedules this week and Lehtera is someone you can use to exploit that.

Ben Hutton – D – Vancouver Canucks
2% Owned
OPP: WPG/COL/EDM/STL

You might be thinking, Ben who? That’s perfect. Ben Hutton is a player nobody is even focusing on and I can’t figure out why for the life of me. Hutton is getting every opportunity to show Vancouver he can be the go-to guy at the backend for years to come. He’s gobbled up a ton of minutes (20:36 has been his lowest TOI dating back to February 15th) and he’s producing offensively (six points in his last seven games). He’s on the first pairing with Luca Sbisa and is on the backend of the first powerplay unit. Hutton is a converted forward playing defence and has the potential to chip in some serious points as a blueliner.

Reilly Smith – LW,RW – Florida Panthers
26% Owned
OPP: NYI/MTL/TOR/DET

What’s better than being on a hot streak? Being on a hot streak and getting the opportunity to play Montreal and Toronto in the same week. Reilly Smith has been more successful lately because he’s actually been firing the puck on net a lot more (12 shots over his last three games) compared to the rest of the season. He already has 23 goals but look for him to add to that tally against some weak teams this week.

Drops:

Louis Domingue – G – Arizona Coyotes
24% Owned
OPP: NJD/NYR/BOS/WPG

First of all, don’t roster a goalie from Arizona if you want wins. Second of all, Mike Smith is back and looks excellent after posting a 44 save shutout. With the former Olympian back in the crease, it looks like Domingue’s days of carrying the load between the pipes is over.

Jordan Staal – C/LW – Carolina Hurricanes
30% Owned
OPP: WSH/PIT/MIN

People are still holding onto Staal hoping that he’ll gobble up all the offence left behind by his brother Eric. That hasn’t happened since he left and it’s definitely not going to happen against Washington and Pittsburgh. Cut ties with Staal fast.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions regarding Fantasy Hockey or DFS Hockey, feel free to reach out to me via Twitter @BESTofMATT

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Week 21

With the trade deadline quickly approaching on Monday, February 29th, now is the time to lock in some players who may see a rise in production due to trades surrounding them or being traded themselves. Below, I’ll outline who these players are as well as providing you with some other adds and drops for the fantasy hockey waiver wire week 21.

Must Add

Rickard Rakell – C – Anaheim Ducks
13% Owned
OPP: CAL/EDM/VAN/CAL

Rickard Rakell has been thriving playing with Corey Perry. Rakell has already shattered his career highs in every category. At the time of writing this – in 16 less games played compared to last year, Rakell has 30 more shots and his shooting percentage is up to 11.1% from 8.6% last year. In his last five games Rakell has only played less than 17 minutes just once. The Ducks are high on Rakell and you should be too in your fantasy leagues.

Jordan Staal – C/LW – Carolina Hurricanes
32% Owned
OPP: WPG/OTT/SJS/TBL

Jordan Staal is a perfect example of someone whose production will sky rocket due to a trade. If his brother Eric is traded (And he doesn’t seem to care if he does or not) Jordan will almost certainly jump to the first line in Carolina. Already the points leader for the Hurricanes, a bump to the top line with more minutes would almost guarantee that he finishes the season the leading point getter in Carolina. A plus player with a 14.30% shooting percentage to go along with 100+ hits, Staal is a perfect fantasy stat stuffing machine.

Jason Pominville – RW – Minnesota Wild
16% Owned
OPP: VAN/CAL/EDM/CHI

Jason Pominville is literally at the hands of the Minnesota Wild in the best ways possible. Pominville and the Wild are hot right now (Pominville – three goals over his last three games. Minnesota – winners of four straight) and they have to decide if they want to be buyers or sellers at the deadline. If they’re buyers – they’ll almost certainly get a complimentary player to help Pominville keep putting the puck in the net, but if they’re sellers – Pominville is definitely a big trading chip.

Michael Stone – D – Arizona Coyotes
16% Owned
OPP: MTL/DAL/STL

Mostly known as a shot blocker, Michael Stone has really been chipping in offensively as of late. With six points in his last five games, his trade value has never been higher. With the Coyotes five points out of a wildcard spot, it’s looking more and more like they’ll be sellers at the deadline. Stone is a perfect fit on a contending team looking for blocked shots with a bit of an offensive upside.

Drops

Mark Streit – D – Philadelphia Flyers
42% Owned
OPP: NJD/MTL/TOR

With Shayne Gostisbehere as the go-to guy in Philadelphia, Mark Streit is basically fantasy irrelevant. He might be on the second powerplay unit, but it’s with nobody special (Sam Gagner is the biggest name on the unit). If he’s not scoring – he’s not helping you out fantasy wise.

Lee Stempniak – LW/RW – New Jersey
48% Owned
OPP: PHI/NYI/WSH

Lee Stempniak was good for providing some offence with Mike Cammalleri out of the lineup but at the end of the day, Stempniak can’t be relied on for a long period of time to do so. He’s cooled off considerably with no goals in his last nine games with only two assists across that span as well.

Thanks for reading! If you have any NHL DFS or season long questions, feel free to contact me via Twitter @BESTofMATT