Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Pickups: 6 players to consider adding for Week 11
Give them what they really want this holiday season — six useful fantasy hockey players they can add to their fake team today.
Gabriel Vilardi, C/RW, Winnipeg Jets (38% rostered)
You never know when the light will go on for struggling prospects. The Kings took Vilardi with the 11th overall pick in 2017 and gave him four years to show something. Nothing popped, so it was no surprise when Los Angeles moved Vilardi to the Jets over the summer.
Vilardi's first two months in Winnipeg didn't show much, but he has come alive in December, pushing his way onto the first line and the first power-play unit. Vilardi has a nifty 4-3-7 line his past four games, including six points in two games last week. We like betting on post-hype sleepers. We also like betting on guys who shoot the puck, and Vilardi has 13 shots in his past four games. He's making his own luck.
Torey Krug, D, Blues (30% rostered)
Maybe a coaching change will get the Blues moving, as they've won two in a row since Drew Bannister replaced Craig Berube. Krug has been a part of the rally, with three assists in the Bannister games — giving Krug a sneaky 1-14-15 line through 30 games, along with 70 shots on goal. Krug doesn't have the defensive chops to log marathon minutes, but he's going to be a power-play staple and his high-scoring heyday (three seasons over 50 points) wasn't that long ago.
Troy Terry, RW, Ducks (39% rostered)
The Ducks have been a tough watch this year, off to a poor start with so many young players (Trevor Zegras, Mason McTavish, Jamie Drysdale) on the injured list. But Terry would like your attention. He's on the top line and top power play, and he has started to get better puck luck after being snake-bitten the first couple of months. Terry has two goals and four points in his past three starts, and that 9.3 shooting tag should start to correct, somewhere closer to his 13.1 career mark. You'll have to mind your plus-minus elsewhere, but we're talking about a player who scored 37 goals just a couple of seasons ago. Terry shouldn't be this widely available.
Martin Jones, G, Maple Leafs (25% rostered)
Toronto never viewed Joseph Woll as a 65-start goalie, and he's dealing with an ankle injury besides. So there has always been opportunity for an emerging goalie on this roster. The Maple Leafs were patient with Ilya Samsonov, but he has been a mess through 13 starts (3.51 GAA, .878 save percentage). That's simply not good enough.
Enter Jones, a 34-year-old veteran who was added as a depth signing in the summer. Jones wasn't doing anything great in the minors (3.37/.870 over five games), but he has hit the ground running in the YYZ, winning his first three starts and bagging a shutout. Jones hasn't seen a positive save percentage in six years, so this could be a screaming fluke, but Toronto figures to run with this until Jones cools off. He's the best of a messy crease, and anytime we can get a No. 1 goalie — even a temporary one — on a Stanley Cup contender, you can't be picky. Love the one you're with.
Brock Faber, D, Wild (8%)
Generally teams want to be patient with young defensemen, but the Wild have some injuries on the blue line, and Faber hasn't looked overmatched, so his role continues to grow. He saw 30 and 31 minutes of playing time in the most recent wins, which shows you the level of trust. Until further notice, you'll see Faber on the first defensive pairing and the first power-play group, and he's giving us decent scoring (1-11-12) and a solid rating (plus-7), despite the ordinary play around him.
Mike Reilly, D, Islanders (3% rostered)
Reilly has always been a credible puck-mover, but he has had bad luck landing on some deep teams in recent years. The Bruins ultimately decided he wasn't good enough to crack their loaded rotation last season, and the Panthers didn't hold Reilly long this fall, another numbers game. The Islanders saw an opportunity, and they've used Reilly plenty since claiming him off waivers, giving him about 20 minutes per night the past two weeks, with supplemental power-play time. Reilly has 21 shots, 11 hits, eight blocks and five points the past two weeks, production that's perhaps not sustainable but still worth kick-the-tires status.
