The Waiver Wire: Flaming Hot

The Waiver Wire – For The Week of November 16-22

Better Than You Think

Mark Giordano D, CAL – One of the most surprising stories thus far in the young season has been the exceptional play of the Calgary Flames. Very few analysts – ourselves included – had Calgary even near the top eight in the West, but here they are a month and a half into the season as the third seed in the Pacific division. No small part of that success has been the play and leadership of Giordano; at the time of writing, he has 20 points in 18 games, is a plus-seven, and has 17 PIM. Since the start of November, he has four goals and seven assists in six games. Based on his play, he is the early-season favorite to win the Norris, certainly a statement that we would not have guessed we would be making at the start of training camp. While we cannot attest to his long-term keeper status, we think that – barring injuries of course – he's on pace to crush his career-highs in all categories, which he set last season. He's not available in many leagues, but our guess is that he may be available via trade. If you can get him for a reasonable price, we would recommend pulling the trigger.

Vladimir Tarasenko W, STL – Another surprise of the year, Tarasenko's success this year comes as a shock to everybody except those who play with him. Teammates often tout the young Russian's work ethic and maturity that far exceeds his 22 years, but that's not to diminish his exceptional talent that he's shown. He's the finish on the newly minted "STL Line" that includes long-time KHL linemate Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz. Currently, he is first in Yahoo rankings for his performance this year, with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points with a plus-14 rating in 16 games, and has an active seven game point streak. While it's unlikely that he'll finish the year with such lofty numbers, if you're playing in a keeper league, his stock is incredibly valuable. Ironically, he's not unanimously owned – currently hovering around 90%, which is criminal – so if he's free, grab him and laugh uncontrollably. If he is owned, try to pry him free – while his owner is unlikely to want to move him immediately with his performance, he probably won't value him as much as he should.

Antoine Roussel W, DAL – While certainly not as productive as the previously mentioned players in this article, Roussel certainly falls into this category – with an ownership rate of 23%, he is much better than people think. His position in Dallas affords him a fantastic opportunity to be an extremely valuable fantasy commodity – a goon who can score in all categories. Right now, he's getting time on the top power play line alongside Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza and Jamie Benn – which is giving him a ton of chances to pot valuable power play points – while serving on the fourth line with Ryan Garbutt and Vernon Fiddler or Cody Eakin – which is giving him a ton of penalty minutes. He's a respectable minus-two, and currently has nine points in 16 games. That has him sitting among the top 100 in Yahoo rankings, a place we expect him to stay for the foreseeable future. Go get him.

Hidden Gems

Mark Arcobello C, EDM – The primary beneficiary of the injury to Taylor Hall has been Mark Arcobello. His game log shows a very significant TOI spike the game following Hall's injury, and the young center has not wilted under the increased exposure. In fact, in those six games, he has three points and has looked more poised each game he gets. We have been big fans of his for a while now, and we think he has the chops to be a big time puck distributor. There is a fair bit of risk here – Edmonton is not a great team, and while the coaching staff are doing their best, most players are a slam dunk minus rating, combined with the fact that Arcobello was notoriously streaky last year. We think though that he may be worth the chance. If you're in a deep pool, grab him – we think it'll be worth it.

Linden Vey W, VAN – Many fantasy GMs on the East coast have never heard of him, he's so far under most radars. That's why we love this job. His ownership rate is at an incredible 2%, and while his four goals and five assists in 17 games is anything but astounding, he's playing on the top line power play alongside the Sedin twins, and has three power play points so far. He also has three points in the last five games – none of which came on the man advantage. We think he's about due for a big breakthrough; he has every opportunity afforded to him, and typically in the NHL, patience is rewarded. If that alone doesn't sell you on him, consider flagging him and watch him from a distance. We think he's going to be a solid add in the coming weeks.

Ryan Strome C, NYI – While our prediction of him finishing in Calder contention last year was undoubtedly premature, our belief in this 21-year old is unwaivering. He has succeeded at every level of hockey he's played in thus far, and the Islanders have taken their time in ensuring that his development was sound. Now that he's in the big leagues, he's showing that he's ready for big time responsibilities. Sixteen games into the season, he has 11 points, is a responsible plus-five, and is on both the top penalty kill and the top power play unit – a rarity around the league. His early performance and diligence has been rewarded recently with more ice time, averaging close to twenty minutes a game. In return, he's provided four points in four games to reward his coach's faith in him. At 9% ownership, we think he's undervalued in many leagues, and it would be prudent given his ability and opportunity to grab him now, before he really goes off.

Good Bets

Andre Burakovsky W, WAS – We've already mentioned him once before in the first week of the season, and we're reiterating our position: keep an eye on this kid. He's shown himself to be as skilled as we thought, and even more productive. So far this season, he has 12 points in 16 games, which puts him on pace for a 61 point rookie campaign – surely enough for a Calder nomination. Considering that he has an ownership rate in the mid-teens at the time of writing, it's criminal that he hasn't received more consideration by fantasy GMs. In deep or keeper leagues, he should have been well gone by now – if he's available, you should get him.

Josh Harding G, MIN – Despite a number of setbacks in the last 18 months – including medication problems relating to his MS, and a broken foot after kicking a wall – Harding will be suiting up for the Wild at some point in the next handful of games. Wise GMs will have already snatched him and placed him on the IR, but his 26% ownership rate shows many have not. Harding's numbers last year (when healthy) were Vezina-worthy. With a 1.66 GAA and a .933 SV%, he was exceptional playing behind a solid Minnesota defensive system, and we don't think that's merely a hot streak. When he gets into his groove, he should be among the league leaders in goals-against, and near the top in save percentage. If you have room on your IR and need to bolster your goaltending, he's the best chance you have.

Nikolay Kulemin W, NYI – When he signed with the Islanders in the off-season, the belief by many was that Kulemin would be paired up with former linemate Mikhail Grabovski; instead, coach Jack Capuano has slotted the defensive-minded winger on the top unit with Kyle Okposo and wunderkind John Tavares. This bodes well for fantasy GMs looking for a longshot option, as Kulemin has only ever had one year where he's surpassed 40 points (57 in 2010-2011 with Toronto). He's currently on pace for 46 if he stays up on the Tavares line, as he has nine points in 16 games.

Watch

Sergei Gonchar D, MTL – Many were puzzled with the trade last week that saw defensive-minded forward Travis Moen head to the Lone Star State in exchange for the offensive-minded Gonchar. Montreal already has P.K. Subban and Andrei Markov – it's curious what their purpose is going to be for bringing on another offensive defenseman, but we suspect that Gonchar will be boom or bust for the Habs. If he finds a productive spot on the Canadiens, he'll be in demand very early on. Otherwise, he could be another veteran defenseman in the twilight of his career looking to act as mentor to a group of young impressionable players. Watch his points and TOI numbers to get a gauge for which is which.

Cedric Paquette RW, TBL – After showing that he deserves a shot with the big club, Paquette was benched for the game on Thursday against San Jose in favor of Alex Killorn who has returned from injury. In his eight games, he has four goals – but important to note was that those four goals game in the last four games he played in. Once he settled into his role, he found success, which is promising. Right now, he's far too green to invest in yet, and there's a plethora of options like him available, but considering that he now has five points in his first ten games in the NHL, along with a respectable plus-five and nine penalty minutes, we suspect he'll be sticking with the big club as soon as a spot opens for him, either via injury or trade.

Be Careful

Nazem Kadri C, TOR – There are times we dissuade people from investing in a player due to lack of talent. Sometimes, it's lack of opportunity. Sometimes, it's bad attitude, bad team, or even bad habits. This time, it's bad luck. Lots and lots of bad luck. Kadri is a fantastic player that we enjoy watching play for our favorite team, but this year, he's snake bitten. We've watched him miss open nets. We watched him ring three pucks off the crossbar in the same power play. His go-to line mate, Joffrey Lupul, with whom Kadri has had the most success, broke his hand in practice. At the time of writing, he hasn't scored since November 1st, and only has two points since. We're sure he's going to break out of this slump soon, but all signs do not point to a great year for him. Invest with caution.