Ryan Callahan – The Fantasy Sports Coach

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Week 25

The playoffs are still underway for most leagues and in order to advance into the next round – you need some strategic adds and drops. I will not only cover what players you should add and drop but also mix in some strategy in this week’s Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire.

It’s easy. Games played equals opportunity. Opportunity equals stuffing your categories with points. Points equals wins. If you haven’t checked weekly schedules for teams, I suggest you start immediately in the playoffs. I always recommend picking players up on four game streams but this week it’s definitely worth noting how many games some teams have. This deep into the season, it’s not worth picking someone up that plays two games just because they’re a name of value. Punch your ticket into the next round and then worry about re-adding players.

Must Adds

Vincent Lecavalier – C,LW – Los Angeles Kings
6% Owned
OPP: NSH/MIN/WPG/EDM

Out of all the teams that have four games this week (CAR, LA, NYI, NYR, PHI, VAN) none have an easier schedule than the Kings. Vincent Lecavalier has looked like “Old Vinny” from years ago since being moved to LA from Philadelphia. Talk about a revitalizing trade. He has eight goals in 32 games since being traded (puts him on pace for about 21 goals in a full season) and has been hot as of late. Dating back to March 5th, he’s only been held off the scoresheet in two games.

Rickard Rakell – C – Anaheim Ducks
18% Owned
OPP: MTL/TOR/OTT

The Anaheim Ducks have the easiest schedule this week. Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa are all inside the bottom ten of the league when it comes to the standings while Toronto and Ottawa have the honour of being in the top ten of giving up the most goals per game (Montreal gets an honourable mention at 11th). Rickard Rakell is getting fed a steady diet of minutes as well as playing on the same line with a former Rocket Richard winner in Corey Perry. It wouldn’t be far fetched to say Anaheim could score five or more against these three teams with Rakell definitely getting in on the action.

Frans Nielsen – C – New York Islanders
30% Owned
OPP: PHI/OTT/TBL/CAR

Frans Nielsen has quietly been having a great season for the Islanders. Currently third on the team in points, he’s been very under-owned in fantasy. Over his last 12 games he’s only seen his minutes dip below 16 twice while being above 20 minutes four times. He’s really clicked well recently with Ryan Strome and Nikolay Kulemin and should continue to this week with a relatively easy schedule.

Radko Gudas – D – Philadelphia Flyers
24% Owned
OPP: NYI/CBJ/COL/ARI

Don’t be fooled by his two recent goals. That is not why you’re picking up Radko Gudas. Sure, if he scores – that’s just icing on the cake. Gudas is great when it comes to other categories such as blocked shots or hits. In fact, he’s a monster when it comes to that. Gudas is fourth in hits in the NHL while having over 100 blocked shots. If you’re needing those stats padded, Gudas is the go-to guy.

Drops

Lee Stempniak – LW,RW – Boston Bruins
47% Owned
OPP: NYR/FLA/TOR

Lee Stempniak is back to doing what Lee Stempniak does when he’s not the number one option on a team. Disappear. Pointless in his last six games and seeing back-to-back nights with less than 13 minutes of ice time, it’s time to cut ties with Stempniak. At the pace he’s playing right now in Boston, with a full season with the B’s he’s projected to score 9 goals. He scored 16 in 63 games for the Devils this year. The last time he had 16 or more goals in a full season was in 2010-2011 with the Coyotes.

Ryan Callahan – RW – Tampa Bay Lightning
32% Owned
OPP: DET/NYI/FLA

It’s a shame Ryan Callahan had to find himself on this list. He was producing so well after the All-Star break (14 points in 22 games). He’s on here because he’s been recently dealing with an “undisclosed injury”. I don’t like the sounds of that at all and I don’t want to run the risk of missing games and having his production fall off when he comes back. There are much safer options out there.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to contact me via Twitter @BESTofMATT

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire – NHL Trade Deadline Week 22

I figured it’s a safe time to write this Trade Deadline article before the actual day wraps up because in all honesty, the Trade Deadline “day” is almost useless now. With a bunch of fantasy relevant names already on the move, I’ll list some of the biggest names you should be on as well as other players you should just pick up and drop. Also, watch for me on Twitter (@BESTofMATT) to break down the fantasy relevance of trades that happen to break throughout the day

Must Add

Teddy Purcell – RW – Florida Panthers
7% Owned
OPP: WPG/COL/ARI

This is risky, but risks win weekly matchups. Purcell is going to get every opportunity to keep being a top six forward in Florida and some strange part of me thinks he’s going to flourish. There’s two things that are going to push Purcell. First – he’s finally on a contender. Secondly – but most importantly; he’s on his contract year. Purcell is a high risk, high reward add this week and I’m in.

Zack Kassian – RW – Edmonton Oilers
1% Owned
OPP: BUF/PHI/CBJ/WPG

I can already hear it. “Why Zack Kassian?” It’s simple, with Teddy Purcell gone someone has to play on the second line. He hits and he’s starting to find the score sheet. Kassian has simply been impressing and now he’ll have an even bigger chance to impress playing alongside Leon Draisaitl and Taylor Hall.

Ryan Callahan – RW – Tampa Bay Lightning
33% Owned
OPP: ARI/NJD/BOS

Ryan Callahan is very much a second half player and he’s delivering on that premise. With five points in the last three games, Callahan has looked excellent on the ice. He’s stapled himself on the first line and the first powerplay unit. At 33% owned, if he’s still there – grab him quickly.

Dmitry Orlov – D – Washington Capitals
9% Owned
OPP: ARI/MTL/MIN/CHI

Dmitry Orlov has now scored more goals than his last three seasons combined. The rise of Orlov (sounds like a movie title, I should probably trademark it) has been paying dividends for owners who have stuck with him. With John Carlson out for 2-3 weeks, Orlov will get a bigger opportunity to shine in Washington. He has hits in five straight games, goals in two straight and a huge jump in playing time, scoop up Orlov before it’s too late.

William Nylander – C/RW – Toronto Maple Leafs
13% Owned
OPP: TBL/WSH/MIN/OTT

William Nylander represents the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The young Swede racked up 45 points in 37 games with the AHL’s Marlies and is going to get a big shot up with the Leafs. Already put on the second powerplay unit, Nylander is also slotted to be on the second line with Zach Hyman and Michael Grabner. His dual eligibility between C and RW offers you a fantastic flex opportunity as he’ll be mainly centering and racking up the faceoff wins.

Drops

Lee Stempniak – LW/RW- New Jersey Devils (Even if he gets traded, drop him)
44% Owned
OPP: NYR/CBJ/TBL

Lee Stempniak was only producing because nobody else in New Jersey is a threat to be a bigger offensive threat than Stempniak. He’s slumping there and will be a bottom six forward if/when he gets traded. He won’t get near enough time on ice with a new team and even if he sticks around with the Devils, like I said – he’s slumping.

James Reimer – G – San Jose Sharks
33% Owned
OPP: STL/COL/BUF/VAN

James Reimer had it good in Toronto when it came to getting starts. In San Jose he’ll take the backseat to Martin Jones and get some spot starts here or there (which makes him a great DFS play when the time comes). As of now, the Sharks are unsure as to when he’ll even join the team due to possible visa issues. It’s safe to cut ties with the former Leaf.

As the trades trickle in throughout the deadline – follow me on Twitter (@BESTofMATT) for all the latest fantasy hockey analysis.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions regarding NHL Fantasy or DFS, feel free to tweet me!