Fantasy Hockey Week 2 Waiver Wire Picks & Preview

Fantasy Hockey Hacks

Fantasy Hockey Week 2 Waiver Wire Picks & Preview

In the 30th episode of the Fantasy Hockey Hacks Podcast, the FHH team discusses the second week in the NHL, covers fantasy hockey week 2 waiver wire picks, schedule notes, and provides the details on our recent giveaway! We’ll cover players to focus on in week 2 (and beyond), what the schedule looks like for each team this week, and get you up to date on the latest hockey news, injury updates, and more! Subscribe to our podcast on all major directories; and stay up to date with the latest in fantasy hockey news and fantasy hockey advice.

Highlights:

Max Pacioretty out for 6 weeks, Mark Stone could be up to 4 weeks
Nikita Kucherov may require surgery, could be out long-term
Nathan MacKinnon missed time with COVID-19, appears set to rejoin the Avs on road trip
Jesse Puljujarvi and the Edmonton Oilers off to a hot start
Columbus goaltender, Elvis Merzlikins, and Dallas Stars netminder, Braden Holtby, off to impressive starts
Brady Tkachuk signs long-term in Ottawa
Nick Suzuki signs long-term in Montreal

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Hockey News & Injury Updates | October 12 – 18

October 12

Nick Suzuki signed an 8 year contract extension with a $7.875M AAV.

The Canadiens have agreed to terms on an eight-year, $63 million contract extension (2022-22 to 2029-30) with forward Nick Suzuki.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/6P7fyND1VU
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 12, 2021

Mitch Marner left practice as a precaution after a collision with teammate Wayne Simmonds.
The Washington Capitals placed center Niklas Backstrom on LTIR (hip injury), he will miss at least 10 games.
Nathan MacKinnon is in COVID-19 protocol after testing positive for COVID-19, missed practice on Tuesday. Mackinnon will NOT play in the season opener against Chicago.
Jake Oettinger was reassigned to the AHL, leaving Anton Khudobin and Braden Holtby in net for the Stars.
Ryan Donato scores the first goal in Seattle Kraken history. Jared McCann and Morgan Geekie also scored for the Kraken in a 4-3 loss to the Golden Knights. Max Pacioretty scored twice for Vegas. Chandler Stephenson looked good too, playing over 20 minutes, producing 1 goal, 1 assist.
NHL Hashtags are back!
- #FlyTogether
- #Yotes
- #NHLBruins
- #LetsGoBuffalo
- #Flames
- #LetsGoCanes
- #Blackhawks
- #GoAvsGo
- #CBJ
- #TexasHockey
- #LGRW
- #LetsGoOilers
- #TimeToHunt
- #GoKingsGo
- #MNWild
- #GoHabsGo
- #Preds
- #NJDevils
- #Isles
- #NYR
- #GoSensGo
- #BringItToBroad
- #LetsGoPens
- #SJSharks
- #SeaKraken
- #STLBlues
- #GoBolts
- #LeafsForever
- #Canucks
- #VegasBorn
- #ALLCAPS
- #GoJetsGo

October 13

Vitek Vanecek gets the starting nod in the Washington Capitals season-opener. This is probably a good indication that we’ll see a 50/50 split between Vanecek and Samsonov this season.
Alex Ovechkin has a 4-point (2 goals) game to move past Marcel Dionne, and into sole-possession of 5th on the all-time goals list.
Jonathan Toews makes his return for the Hawks, a 4-2 loss to the Avs. Bowen Byram scores his first NHL goal and adds an assist. Played 16:33, +2, 2 SOG, 1 Hit. Just 28% rostered.
Jesse Puljujarvi had a great start to the season –
Ryan Pulock signs an 8-year, $50M ($6.25M AAV) extension with the Islanders.

Hearing the New York Islanders and Ryan Pulock have agreed to an 8 year extension. Just under $50 million total.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) October 14, 2021

October 14

Gabriel Landeskog was suspended 2 games for boarding Kirby Dach late in the game against Chicago on October 13th.

Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog has been suspended for two games for Boarding Chicago’s Kirby Dach. https://t.co/glWKL7DAgq
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 14, 2021

Zach Bogosian (TB) is our 4-6 weeks.
Brady Tkachuk signed a 7-year ($8.214M AAV) contract extension worth $57.5M total. Per the Senators, here’s the breakdown:
- $4.0M in 2021-22
- $6.5M in 2022-23
- $10.5M in 2023-24
- $10.5M in 2024-25
- $10.5M in 2025-26
- $8.5 in 2026-27
- $7.0M in 2027-28
- Full NMC in UFA years.
Casey Mittelstadt left Thursday night’s game against Montreal with an up-body injury. He will be out for approximately 2 weeks.
John Klingberg suffered a lower-body injury, and Miro Heiskanen scored the game-winning goal in OT to add to his 1 assist in nearly 26 minutes of ice-time. Braden Holtby left the Stars season-opener against the NYR in the 3rd period. It was later reported that Holtby was dehydrated. Before he left, he made this save: INSERT TWEET
Mark Stone left the game in the second period with an apparent injury. No update at this point beyond DTD.
TB vs. Det game was a fun one! TB came back to win 7-6 after being down 6-3 in the third period. Things got nasty early as Mathieau Joseph hit Dylan Larkin from behind. Larkin retaliated by punching Joseph as he skated away. Detroit’s #1 center was later suspended 1 game for roughing. Tyler Bertuzzi had a monster game with 4 goals. Moritz Seider had 2 assists in his debut with the Red Wings (20:21 TOI, 5:26 PPTOI), and Lucas Raymond picked up his first assist as well.

Joseph hits Larkin from behind, Larkin gets up and punches Joseph as he’s skating away.
Mayhem in Hockeytown. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/xR5UgWoZH5
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) October 15, 2021

Cal Petersen and the Los Angeles Kings looked good against the Vegas Golden Knights. Petersen finished with a .920 SV% and 2.01 GAA.
The Columbus Blue Jackets crushed the Arizona Coyotes, 8-2. Oliver Bjorkstrand had an impressive game with 2 goals and 2 assists. Elvis Merzlikins had a very solid game, stopping 36 shots for a .947 SV% and 2.01 GAA. Surprisingly, Max Domi had 1 goal and 2 assists in just 13:52 TOI! Bounce-back appeal?
The Seattle Kraken defeated the Nashville Predators 4-3 for their first franchise win.
Petr Mrazek left the game with a groin injury, will miss the next two weeks at least.

October 15

Charlie McAvoy signed an 8-year $76M contract with a $9.5M AAV.
The Jack Hughes breakout tour started on Friday night as he scored 2 goals, including one highlight-reel OT winner!

October 16

Max Pacioretty to miss extended time, status is week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Updates from Pete DeBoer:
– Max Pacioretty is out week-to-week
– Mark Stone is out day-to-day and is being evaluated
– Nicolas Roy, Brett Howden and Will Carrier are skating and hope to be back in practice Monday
– Mattias Janmark remains in COVID-19 protocol #VegasBorn
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) October 16, 2021

Nikita Kucherov left Saturday’s game against the Capitals in the 3rd period. Status unclear at this point.

Hearing the initial word on Nikita Kucherov is not positive and surgery could be involved. Assuming that’s accurate, I’d expect him to miss some time moving forward, should know more later today #GoBolts #TBLightning
— Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) October 18, 2021

Marc-Andre Fleury and the Blackhawks lost 5-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Through 2 games, MAF has a 7.06 GAA and .826 SV%. 😬

October 17

Auston Matthews set to return to the Leafs lineup on Monday.
Kappo Kakko placed on IR due to an upper-body injury.
Nathan MacKinnon had another positive COVID-19 test and will not travel with the team on Monday. It’s possible he will miss the next three games until the team returns on October 26th.

October 18

According to Erik Erlendsson, initial word on Nikita Kucherov’s injury is not positive. Could be out long-term, waiting for an official update from the team.
Blake Wheeler is in COVID-19 protocol, missed practice today.
Bryan Rust is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. The Penguins lineup continues to get thinner. Yikes.
Evander Kane suspended 21 games for violating COVID-19 protocols.

NHL announces 21-game suspension for Evander Kane, for violation of COVID protocols
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 18, 2021

Edge Work | NHL Schedule, Week 2

Teams With 4 Games: ANA, DET, NSH, NYI, SJS

- Team Of Interest | The New York Islanders should be on the radar of fantasy managers for next week as they face off against Chicago (0-2-1), Columbus (2-0-0), Arizona (0-1-1), and Vegas (1-1-0). The Isles are off to a slow start themselves, but I would expect a solid week from this team. Oliver Wahlstrom is just 13% owned (Yahoo), and could be a great pickup for next week.
- Team Of Interest | The Detroit Red Wings have looked surprisingly good to start the season, and Dylan Larkin will hopefully return this week after serving his 1 game suspension. Even better, Detroit plays CBJ (2-0-0), CGY (0-1-0), MON (0-3-0), and CHI (0-2-1) – except for Columbus, all teams that have started the season slowly. Tyler Bertuzzi (49% Rostered In Yahoo), Lucas Raymond (8%), Robby Fabbri (6%), Filip Zadina (3%), Moritz Seider (22%), and Nick Leddy (8%) are all widely available, and could be productive next week.

Teams With 3 Games: ARI, BOS, BUF, CBJ, CGY, CHI, COL, EDM, FLA, LAK, MIN, MON, NJD, NYR, PHI, SEA, STL, TOR, VAN, VGK, WPG, WSH

- Teams Of Interest | The Boston Bruins are of particular interest next week as they face Philadelphia, Buffalo, and San Jose. Carter Hart’s career numbers against the Boston Bruins are: 4-4-2 with a .879 SV% and 3.74 GAA, and I would expect more of the same next week. Buffalo may be off to a good start, but both the Sabres and the Sharks are non-playoff teams this season.
- Teams Of Interest | The Edmonton Oilers are another team that should be on your radar for next week as they face Anaheim, Arizona, and a Vegas Golden Knights team that will be without Max Pacioretty and possibly Mark Stone. The Ducks are very likely a non-playoff team this season, and may be without John Gibson for the upcoming week as well.

Teams With 2 Game: CAR, DAL, OTT, PIT, TB

Team Of Interest | The Dallas Stars are of interest to me for the teams that play only 2 games next week. Dallas takes on a banged-up Pittsburgh team, and a rebuilding LA Kings squad. The Stars have no back-to-backs, and Braden Holtby is 1-1-0 with a .939 SV% and 2.26 GAA!

Edge Work | NHL Week 2 Waiver Wire Targets

Waiver wire targets will be focused on players with ownership ~50% or less.

Top Waiver Wire Targets

Chandler Stephenson had a great game to kick-off the 2021-2022 season; a 4-3 win of the expansion Seattle Kraken. Pacioretty also had 3 points (2 goals). As long as Stephenson maintains the 1C role, he will be worth rostering in most/all formats. Vs. SEA (October 12): 1 G, 1 A, +2, 2 SOG, 2 PIMS, 1 Hit, 4 Blks, 20:20 TOI, 42.9 FOW%, 28% PP Share.

Anthony Cirelli finds himself in a prime position this season, playing alongside Alex Killorn and Steven Stamkos on the TB second line. Cirelli’s 3 year averages for hits and FOW are 107 and 462 respectively, so he should carry extra value in leagues that count those categories. Vs. PIT (October 12): 1 G, 1 A, 2 SOG, 3 Hits, 17:38 TOI, 66.7 FOW%, 22.5% PP Share.

After winning two Stanley Cups as a member of Tampa Bay’s 3rd line, Blake Coleman finds himself on the top line in Calgary next to Elias Lindholm and Johnny Gaudreau (after serving a suspension). Coleman will be particularly valuable in leagues that count penalty minutes and hits; as his 3 year averages are 63 and 203 respectively! Additionally, Coleman has the ability to chip in some offense with 20+ goals and 20+ assists.

Tyler Bertuzzi may miss some games due to his vaccination status, but the games he does play should be productive. Playing with Dylan Larkin and rookie Lucas Raymond at even-strength has already proven to be beneficial, as Bertuzzi scored 4 goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 14th. Bertuzzi’s PDO (1500), IPP (83%), and SH% (66.7%) should be ignored at this point; but obviously his production can’t continue at its current pace.

Jeff Carter has taken advantage of injuries to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Assuming the 1C role for the Pens, Carter has been impressive thus far with 4 points (1 goal) in 3 games played. Carter’s PDO is inflated, but his SOG/GM, IPP, SH%, 5V5 SH%, and OZ Start% are all within normal levels. Carter’s PP Share (66%) will decline upon Crosby’s return, but enjoy the production while it lasts. With Malkin out for at least the first two months of the season, we shouldn’t see a huge drop off when the Penguins captain returns.

Philadelphia plays 3 home games next week, 2 will be difficult matchups; but the Flyers also play 2 games on off-nights. Against Vancouver on Friday, Yandle produced 2 assists (one on the PP), 2 SOG, and 2 Hits in just 14:47 TOI. Yandle’s overall ice-time may not increase much, but he’s a power-play specialist and being deployed as one. Yandle received 53.4% PP Share and his OZ Start % was 71.8.

Merzlikins made 38 stops against Arizona this week, putting up a .947 SV% and 2.01 GAA. Over the past 3 seasons, Merzlikins SV% (all situations) is 11th overall at .920! His 2.54 GAA is 20th. Columbus plays 2 home games, and has no back-to-back games, so Merzlikins should see at least two starts next week.

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2021 How To Win Your Fantasy Hockey League Series

August 8th (Ep. 19) – Guide To Wingers
August 12th (Ep. 20) – Guide To Centers
August 19th (Ep. 21) – Guide To Defencemen
August 29th (Ep. 22) – Guide To Goalies & Zero G Draft Strategy
September 7th (Ep. 23) – 2021 Fantasy Hockey Guide & The Perfect Draft

BONUS: Dom Luszczyszyn’s (The Athletic) Fantasy Hockey Rankings & Cheat Sheet