The Waiver Wire: Return Of The Mule

The Waiver Wire – For the Week of November 2nd – November 8th

Even Better Than You Think

Johan Franzen W, DET – With ownership rates in the mid-60s, it's astounding that he's not valued more than he is. In the four games he's played this year prior to his groin injury, he has five points with eight PIM and a plus-one. If you consider that he's currently penciled in for second-line duty with a red-hot Gustav Nyquist, and also resuming his spot on the second unit power play, he's a bargain that should not be overlooked. He is a strong contributor in all categories that, if acquired off waivers, will be fantastic deeper down your roster. If he remains healthy, there's no reason he won't hit mid-50s in points, mid-plus-teens in plus-minus, about 40 PIM, and a healthy 200 shots.

Jonathan Bernier G, TOR – The Leaf fan in us pains to mention Bernier in this category – mainly for fear of cursing our current streak – but the analyst in us holds firm on the belief that the Toronto netminder is actually better than many think. Following a brutal start to the year where he allowed 17 goals in his first six starts for a 2.83 GAA and a .904 SV% - which wasn't completely his fault – he has allowed one goal in the last two games, backstopping a much better looking Leaf squad in victories over Buffalo and Columbus. Granted, Buffalo has looked so bad this year that their own coach has compared them to a Pee Wee team, and Columbus has been decimated by injury, but Bernier's numbers should continue an upward trajectory, and his ownership rate is around 70%. If you're in a mid-depth pool, and he's available, get him.

Hidden Gems

Matt Cullen C, NAS – After last week's column, you would be forgiven if you believed we were big Predator fans. We're not (sorry) but we can identify opportunities when they present themselves – namely, that many people (ourselves included) had the Predators performing far lower than they currently are. Cullen has been perennially undervalued; barring injury, he's always good for the exact same stats every year – 40 points (roughly 15 goals and 25 assists) with 30 PIM and 150 shots. Consider that his ownership rate is 1% and you can understand how hidden a gem he is. For deep pools, a solid contributor like Cullen should not be overlooked.

Patrick Maroon W, ANA – Entering his second full NHL season, Maroon was seeking to solidify his placement atop the first line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. His first three games, he was rewarded with three points, and a solid showing for fantasy owners. An MCL sprain resulted in him missing the following eight games, and in his absence, neither Matt Beleskey nor Devante Smith-Pelly were able to find solid chemistry with the top two. As a result, Maroon is relatively set in his top line status, and if fully healthy, should be able to easily exceed his rookie campaign numbers. Considering he's 5% owned thus far, he's a steal for mid-to-deep pools.

Joel Ward W, WAS – While he's never been a big fantasy performer, Ward is currently poised to have a big year. His familiarity with coach Barry Trotz from his playing days in Nashville have given him a head-start on what to expect from the new system that Washington is employing this year. He's been very consistent on the second- and third-lines, recording six points in nine games. As a reward, Trotz has given him the wing with rookie Andre Burakovsky and Alex Ovechkin – a coveted spot for any player. While this line stays intact, and Ward continues to patrol the wing on the top power play unit, he will be poised to break his current career-high 49 points.

Good Risks

Roberto Luongo G, FLA – Fair warning: Florida is a bad team, and taking Luongo is not likely to result in very many wins this season. But, what Luongo offers this year is rubber. Lots and lots of rubber. He's averaging well over 30 shots a game this season, and has a .926 SV% to show for it. Many fantasy GMs have greatly lower expectations for Luongo as a result of his storied injury history and current team; when paired with another goalie such as Marc-Andre Fleury on your team, who will get you the wins but not the save percentage, they could very easily form a powerful one-two punch.

Andrej Sekera D, CAR – Carolina got ravaged by injuries very early on this season, losing Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, and Jeff Skinner within the first week. Considering they are easily the best three players on the team, it's little wonder that the team lost their first seven games in a row; few teams in the NHL could remain competitive with that loss. Players such as Sekera were prime victims to fantasy GMs massively devaluing the entire team. The Carolina defenseman tallied 44 points last season and a plus-four on a team that has largely stayed the same. His ownership rate is well below where it should be at 23%. If you have an opening on your back end for a good gamble, we think Sekera's stock is set to rise.

Seth Griffith W, BOS – Sometimes it's advisable to ride a hot hand: Griffith currently has five points in five games, and is riding alongside Milan Lucic and David Krejci on the top line for Boston. He's an interesting gamble because he wasn't even expected to crack the Boston lineup this year; he was set to spend the 2014-2015 season in AHL Providence refining his game. He's small – listed optimistically at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds – but he's fast and skilled on the wing, and he's got good chemistry with the top unit. While he continues to perform, he's an easy risk to take; acquire him but watch for any doubt, as he could find himself demoted in very short order should he falter.

Watch

Jason Zucker W, MIN – He just might be the best player you've never heard of before. In his first three seasons in the league, he's seen sparse playing time, as his production hasn't warranted it. This season, however, he's landed a spot alongside Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle, and is paying dividends: he has five goals and two assists to go along with six PIM and a plus-three in nine games for the Wild. None of that has come in spurts either – he has points in six of the nine games so far. He even has a shorthanded goal. While we would gladly raise him in our rankings should he start to receive some power play time, deep pools would benefit by grabbing him now before he becomes too well known; his ownership rate is only 2%.

Curtis McElhinney G, CLS – While we're not sure about his long-term viability, the injury to Sergei Bobrovsky in Columbus opens up an opportunity for McElhinney to start for the near future. Many deep pools have starters at a premium, and the career backup only has an ownership rate of 6%. While many pools have other viable alternatives, don't count him short. While he got lit up against Toronto on Hallowe'en, he wasn't really at fault for any of the goals. The injury problems plaguing the Blue Jackets are more the reason for the poor numbers than any of his own doing. We think he may be better than his numbers indicate; keep an eye on him.

Anthony Mantha W, DET – We'll mention it now, mainly because we like being the first place you heard things: this kid is going to be a monster when he breaks in to the NHL. He's big, mean, and wickedly skilled, and if it wasn't for a broken tibia, he'd probably already be turning heads on the wing with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. He scored 120 points in 57 games in the QMJHL last year, while putting up 75 PIM and a plus-34. He also tallied 38 points in 24 games in the playoffs. He's going to be a gem; if you're in a deep keeper league, take a flyer on him. If he's as good as we think, it will be evident very early on, and you'll thank us for the next decade.

Be Careful

Jakub Voracek W, PHI – We have long been a fan of the play of the big, bruising Czech, but it should be readily apparent to fantasy GMs that this level of production cannot continue for much longer. With 15 points in his first ten games this year – including eight in his last four – some folks might want to bite the bullet early and make a trade to acquire him in the thoughts of riding the hot hand. We would actively dissuade you from such foolishness. All the key indicators – power play time, time on ice, and shot count – all indicate he's in an overperform situation right now, and should cool off soon. If you were lucky enough to draft him, try to move him to someone naïve enough to believe he'll put up 120 points this year.

Any Sabre – There's normally a lot of value to be had grabbing top-line players in the free agent pool from lower-tier teams. Often, there's such a team bias against good players that fantasy GMs miss strong performance in many categories. If you pick a player with a bad plus-minus, you can sometimes reap huge rewards in points and power play totals. The Sabres thus far have been such a calamity that we would advise any fantasy GM to be careful picking any of them. At the time of writing, they have 13 goals in 12 games, while allowing 41. While Carolina is currently behind them in the standings, that's only by virtue of the Hurricanes playing three less games. Right now, there is zero value to be had in Western New York; steer clear until much later, and possibly, next year.