John’s List
If you’re a regular listener of this podcast, you’re undoubtedly familiar with “John’s List” – John’s shit list of players past and present. We throw in the occasional Commissioner, GM, Coach, or newsworthy topic from around the hockey world.
Andrew Mangiapane, CGY – Details.
Fantasy Lock Of The Week | Week 4 – Oct. 30 – Nov. 5, 2023
🔥Quinn Hughes, D, 100% Rostered (Yahoo), 100% Rostered (Fantrax)
Quinn Hughes had 8 points (1 Goal) this week in 3 games played. 2 of those points came on the power play where Hughes played 4:18 PPTOI/GM (71% PP Share). Interestingly, the Canucks Dman fired 11 shots on goal in just 3 contests (3.67 SOG/GM) – well above his career average of just 2.0 SOG/GM. Hughes leads ALL NHL defencemen in goals (4) and points (16)!
Edge Work | NHL Schedule – Week 5
The segment where we put in the work to give you the EDGE in your fantasy hockey leagues! Each week the Hacks will cover the NHL Schedule and Waiver Wire Targets to guide you to victory.
Need To Know:
It’s hard to believe, but we are already entering week 5 of the NHL regular season! Week 5 follows a familiar format, with Tuesday (10), Thursday (11), and Saturday (12) being the full days on the schedule. The remaining days of the week feature 6 or fewer games – so optimizing for games played will present a challenge throughout the week.
There are a total of 51 games on the schedule, with 4 “light days” (50% or fewer NHL teams in action) during week 5.
In terms of attempting to optimize the schedule for games played, there are a total of 9 teams (CBJ, DAL, FLA, MIN, MTL, SJS, TB, TOR, VAN) next week that do provide an advantage with 4 games played. Of those teams, FLA is the only club to play all four of their games on “off-nights”; followed by Toronto with 3 games on light days.
No teams play fewer than two games this week, with 8 teams playing just twice.
- Monday – 4 Games
- Tuesday – 10 Games
- Wednesday – 3 Games
- Thursday – 11 Games
- Friday – 6 Games
- Saturday – 12 Games
- Sunday – 5 Games
Teams With 4 Games: CBJ, DAL, FLA, MIN, MTL, SJS, TB, TOR, VAN
Teams With 3 Games: ANA, ARI, BOS, BUF, CAR, CGY, COL, DET, EDM, LAK, NSH, NYI, NYR, OTT, PHI, PIT, SEA, STL, WPG, WSH
Teams With 2 Games: CHI, NJD, VGK
Teams With 1 Games: N/A
Edge Work | NHL Waiver Wire Targets For Week 5
Waiver wire targets will be focused on players that are rostered in ~50% or less of Yahoo (or Fantrax) leagues. When considering players to target, we review recent performance, player deployment, upcoming schedule and more.
Forwards
🎯Marco Rossi (C), Minnesota
Rostered: 6% Yahoo (46% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (@NYI, @NYR, @BUF, Vs.DAL) | Line: X (w/ Kirill Kaprizov & Matt Boldy, PP1)
Marco Rossi hit the deployment jackpot, centering Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, in addition to a role on the top power play unit. Rossi played 22:43 TOI and 5:43 PPTOI on Saturday against the Rangers, deployment that can’t be overlooked. 6 points (4 goals) in his last 6 games played, and 4 games on the docket for Minnesota in week 5.
🎯Ryan O’Reilly (C), NSH
Rostered: 28% Yahoo (64% Fantrax) | GP: 3 (@CGY, @WPG, Vs.ARI) | Line: 1 (w/ Filip Forsberg & Gustav Nyquist, PP1)
The Hacks mentioned in the summer that Ryan O’Reilly was a bounce-back candidate, based on the fact that he would receive prime deployment in Nashville. Through 11 games this season, ROR has 11 points and 7 goals while playing 20:17 TOI/GM and 4:00 PPTOI/GM (62% PP Share). It is almost unbelievable that the 32-year old is still available in over 70% of Yahoo leagues.
🎯Jaden Schwartz (C), SEA
Rostered: 25% Yahoo (35% Fantrax) | GP: 3 (@ARI, @COL, Vs.EDM) | Line: 2 (w/ Alexander Wennberg & Jordan Eberle, PP1)
Jaden Schwartz is off to a hot start for Seattle – 10 points, 5 goals in 12 games to date this season; including 8 points in his last 6 contests. Schwartz’s 68-point pace is his best since 2017-2018; and his 9.5 SOG/60 is a career high. An 83.3% IPP and 14.7 iSH% are red flags to be sure, but ride the hot hand while it makes sense.
🎯Reilly Smith (LW/RW), PIT
Rostered: 54% Yahoo (55% Fantrax) | GP: 3 (@ANA, @LAK, Vs.BUF) | Line: 2 (w/ Evgeni Malkin & Rikard Rakell, PP1)
Reilly Smith is off to a tremendous start in Pittsburgh – currently on-pace for 90 points with 11 points (6 goals) through 10 games played! Smith has been particularly hot recently with 7 points (4 goals) over his last 4 games; and claiming time on the top power play unit in the last two contests.
🎯Sean Monahan (C), MTL
Rostered: 30% Yahoo (59% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (Vs.TB, @DET, Vs.BOS, Vs.VAN) | Line: 2 (w/ Tanner Pearson & Brendan Gallagher, PP1)
We mentioned Sean Monahan in a previous episode, but it bears repeating, as the 29-year old has points in 5 straight games and 10 points (6 goals) in 11 games so far this season. With Kirby Dach out long-term, Monahan has been presented with an opportunity in the top 6, and he has made good on that role to date. 4 games on the schedule this week make the former Flame a no-brainer.
ALSO: Matthew Knies, LW (TOR, 15%) – Practicing at LW1 with Matthews and Marner.
Defensemen
🎯Erik Gustafsson (D), NYR
Rostered: 14% Yahoo (43% Fantrax) | GP: 3 (Vs.DET, Vs.MIN, Vs.CBJ) | Line: 2 (w/ Ryan Lindgren, PP1)
Adam Fox (lower-body) left Thursday’s game against the Hurricanes in the first period, and did not return. Erik Gustafsson filled in for Fox on the team’s top unit – 5:04 PPTOI (56% PP Share); and should the former Norris Trophy winner be out for any length of time, Gustafsson could be a valuable add as part of the NHL’s 3rd-best power play (32.4%).
Gustafsson has 4 points (2 goals) in 10 games played this season, but has been held off the scoresheet the last 4 games.
UPDATE: Adam Fox has been placed long-term IR.
🎯Filip Hronek (D), VAN
Rostered: 68% Yahoo (85% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (Vs.EDM, @OTT, @TOR, @MTL) | Line: 1 (w/ Quinn Hughes, PP2)
We talked at the top of the show about how good Quinn Hughes has been, well how about his D partner, Filip Hronek? The 26-year old has 11 points in 11 games played so far this season while playing over 24 minutes per night, including 1:48 PPTOI/GM (30% PP Share). Available in over 30% of Yahoo leagues, Hronek is an impactful fantasy asset that plays four games this coming week.
🎯Calen Addison (D), MIN
Rostered: 5% Yahoo (57% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (@NYI, @NYR, @BUF, Vs.DAL) | Line: 3 (w/ Daemon Hunt, PP1)
The Minnesota Wild play 4 games in week 5, and Calen Addison is manning the top power play for the wild. Averaging over 17 minutes per game, nearly 70% PP Share, and 5 points in 11 games played, this has been Addison’s most promising season so far in his young career.
Goaltenders
🎯Joel Hofer (G), STL
Rostered: 4% Yahoo (36% Fantrax) | GP: 3 (Vs.WPG, Vs.ARI, @COL) | Role: Backup (N/A Net Share)
We’ve talked at length about the inconsistent play of Blues starter Jordan Binnington. Conversely, Joel Hofer has strung together consecutive quality starts and presents a viable streaming option whenever he gets the starting nod. Due to the contract situation of Binnington, it’s unlikely that Hofer completely claims the crease, but with two wins in his last two starts, along with a 1.50 GAA and a .950 SV%, expect to see a larger net share moving forward.
🎯Jake Allen (G), MTL
Rostered: 25% Yahoo (40% Fantrax) | GP: 4 (Vs.TB, @DET, Vs.BOS, Vs.VAN) | Role: Tandem (50% Net Share)
Jake Allen is off to a fantastic start for the Montreal Canadiens; sporting a 3-1 record, and in his last 4 appearances has a .940 SV% and 2.22 GAA. Allen has been the better netminder in Montreal to date in what has been a clear cut tandem. With a four-game schedule coming up, expect at least two starts for the 33-year old.