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Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: No Rust in Bryan's game

evan berofsky
·9 min read
Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Bryan Rust (17)
Bryan Rust has been racking up the fantasy hockey points of late. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

We've seen some surprising stuff this season. The Caps keep winning without Alex Ovechkin. Martin Necas is still situated amongst the NHL scoring leaders. And the Leafs boast two top-four goalies in both GAA and save percentage.

It may not be realistic for all these great things to continue long-term, so there's the need to adjust. Same goes for your fantasy lineups. No matter how well or poorly they're doing, making changes is a necessary part of the process.

If you're looking to refresh your player pool, here are a few suggested upgrades:

(Rostered rates as of Dec. 13)

Forwards

Kadri may not be producing at the nearly point-per-game pace he had from last season, but he's been hot of late with five goals, six assists and 43 shots in 13 games. He also centers Calgary's top line and averages 18:40 while operating point on the first power play, where he's recorded six PPPs. The Flames may not be great on offense, but their next five opponents all rank within the bottom half of the league in GAA. So adding someone like Kadri (or leading scorer — and former Waiver Wire entry — Jonathan Huberdeau) makes sense.

Before Colton went down with a broken foot in late October, he was leading the league in power-play goals at four. Artturi Lehkonen eventually returned to the lineup and assumed the LW spot on the Avs' top man-advantage after a combined 32 PPPs the previous two campaigns, though he's struggled with only one from his last 18 contests. That could open the door for Colton to reclaim that prime placement, but he's already well positioned within the top-six and backup PP alongside 43 shots, 36 hits and 15 blocks.

It's not often you're going to find a solid scoring two-time Cup champ who regularly skates with at least one future Hall of Famer and who notched a hat-trick Thursday available in two-thirds of Yahoo! leagues. But then again, Rust is 32 and rarely healthy for a full season. Since coming back from a lower-body injury, he's supplied seven goals, four assists and 31 shots on 18:58 a night — 3:03 of that while up a man. Rust is once again clicking with Sidney Crosby and logging significant ice time. Get him ASAP.

The Kraken recently enjoyed a stretch in which they went off for 26 goals across six outings with most of their forwards contributing to the cause. Tolvanen had been struggling leading up to that run, yet has turned it around the last nine by tallying eight points in addition to 16 shots and 32 hits. He also happens to be on one of the league's hottest trios with Shane Wright (everybody's already talking about him; maybe here later?) and Oliver Bjorkstrand (see last week's column). And Tolvanen is achieving this on an under-14 average, though he skated 17:21 on Thursday. Just think what he could do on a larger workload. (Which probably won't happen because, you know, Seattle.)

Suter maintained an extended stint with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser last season and fared pretty well. He's since been able to get in a couple cameos with the big boys, but mainly occupies a middle-six role. Suter had been skating more minutes the last two weeks with Miller out, as he produced five goals, four assists, 22 shots and 74 faceoff wins from 11 games. With Miller reappearing on Thursday, Suter's ice time is bound to drop. Even if that happens, he'll still do enough to slot somewhere lower down your roster.

It was a November to forget for Farabee, as he had only two points, including one goal, on 37 shots. Then he started playing with Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier, and everything's gone great through five contests, as he's recorded a goal, two assists, 12 shots and seven hits on 17:56 a night. Farabee may not stick in this arrangement for long, but that shouldn't matter too much, because the Flyers offer a solid top-nine where scoring can come from any unit.

Foligno has been known over his career as a bruiser who's occasionally used his net-front presence to his advantage. That's no different this season as he's posted 103 hits and four goals. And since Nov. 21, Foligno has delivered five points, 20 shots, 16 PIM and 39 hits. With Joel Eriksson Ek on IR, Foligno has filled in on the top power play but hasn't done anything there as of yet. Monitor his progress the next couple matchups to see if he can maintain these numbers before picking him up.

After six mainly uneventful years during which he peaked at 27 points, Robinson has steadily climbed the Carolina depth chart into a position where he's a shoo-in to top that mark. Despite the eight goals and nine assists, he's still occasionally logging under 10 minutes. Robinson was signed by the Canes in July as a fill-in for Jesper Fast and wasn't expected to do much. And now it looks like he can fit anywhere in the lineup. Maybe you can find a way to get him on yours.

Defensemen

Other than a couple lulls, the Columbus offense has impressed at 3.31 goals per game. And that scoring boon hasn't only applied to its forwards, with Zach Werenski enjoying a career year, Dante Fabbro breaking out and Severson already up to 16 points. The former Devil has also recorded 51 shots, a plus-9, 53 blocks and 19 hits while skating more than 22 minutes a night and participating on both special-teams units. As long as Severson receives sufficient ice time and responsibilities, plenty of fantasy production will follow.

I touted Xhekaj early on last season after selecting him in a reserve/minors draft (over Brock Faber, sigh), because I was convinced he'd be a decent cross-category defender based on a solid debut. The initial returns were encouraging, but a shoulder issue would sideline him for a while and he was then inconsistent the rest of the way. Xhekaj has missed a few matchups as a healthy scratch, though has been mainly available and particularly potent the last three-plus weeks by registering 4 assists, 29 PIM, 15 shots, 45 hits and 18 blocks. His overall appeal is diminished as he no longer holds a secondary power-play role, yet he's perfect if you require any assistance in the more physical departments.

Maatta wasn't being used much in Detroit and was subsequently acquired by Utah at the end of October to fill one of its many blueline vacancies. And he probably can't complain about his new surroundings, as he's been paired with Mikhail Sergachev on the top five-on-five and shorthanded duo. Maatta has done well the last six outings by notching 4 assists, 13 shots and 25 blocks on a 23:54 average. The points probably won't be as plentiful, but he's still serviceable and has the opportunity to accumulate stats based on major minutes.

For deeper leagues, it sometimes becomes necessary to search NHL rosters and find any defensemen who even participate on the power play. After a few seasons of minimal involvement, Jones has recently received a regular role on the Rangers' second man-advantage where he's managed a PPA. He's also received an increase in ice time since Nov. 25 with three helpers and seven shots during that stretch. And Jones could get another boost if K'Andre Miller — who left Wednesday's contest with an upper-body injury — is forced to miss significant action.

Goaltenders

Blackwood showed promise during his first two years with Jersey, though a series of injuries and poor performances would eventually land him in San Jose. The Sharks bolstered their defense enough this season to where their goaltending is at least somewhat safe for fantasy consumption. Blackwood posted a 3.00 GAA and .909 save percentage over 19 outings before being dealt to Colorado on Monday. Going from a middle-of-the-pack offense to an elite one predictably has seen his coverage numbers skyrocket, so you may want to grab him before he's gone.

Petr Mrazek suffered a groin injury last weekend, leaving Soderblom as Chicago's No. 1. On the surface, that may look like a daunting situation for the Swede, as he struggled last season. But, as noted two weeks ago when Mrazek was discussed, the Blackhawks' blueline has improved. And despite a 2-6-1 record heading into Thursday (thanks to the team combining for 16 goals), Soderblom excelled with a 2.41/.921 line. With Mrazek's return unknown, Soderblom is at least worth a short-term look.

Players to consider from past columns: Macklin Celebrini, Pavel Buchnevich, Logan Stankoven, Gabriel Vilardi, Dylan Guenther, Rickard Rakell, Jonathan Huberdeau, Connor McMichael, Teuvo Teravainen, Dylan Strome, Pavel Zacha, Josh Norris, Logan Cooley, Cole Perfetti, John-Jason Peterka, Matthew Knies, Matty Beniers, Nino Niederreiter, Troy Terry, Sean Monahan, William Eklund, Nick Schmaltz, Trevor Moore, Jake Neighbours, Dylan Cozens, Connor Zary, Leo Carlsson, Casey Mittelstadt, Kyle Palmieri, Yegor Chinakhov, Brayden Schenn, Anthony Cirelli, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Pavel Dorofeyev, Yegor Sharangovich, Will Cuylle, Dylan Holloway, Reilly Smith, Jake DeBrusk, Kirill Marchenko, William Karlsson, Marco Rossi, Chandler Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz, Conor Garland, Mason Marchment, Jack Roslovic, Kent Johnson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Patrik Laine, Alex Killorn, Anders Lee, Ryan Donato, Adam Fantilli, Alex Laferriere, Fabian Zetterlund, Vladimir Tarasenko, Aaron Ekblad, Neal Pionk, Luke Hughes, Justin Faulk, Brandt Clarke, Olen Zellweger, Lane Hutson, Bowen Byram, Rasmus Sandin, Jordan Spence, Travis Sanheim, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Owen Power, Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Pulock, Ryker Evans, Jake Walman, Samuel Girard, Dmitry Orlov, Tyler Myers, Matt Grzelcyk, Dante Fabbro, Simon Edvinsson, Alex Vlasic, Kevin Lankinen, Lukas Dostal, Scott Wedgewood, Justus Annunen, Jake Allen, Tristan Jarry, John Gibson, Petr Mrazek, Sam Montembeault, Dan Vladar, Calvin Pickard, David Rittich, Elvis Merzlikins, Joonas Korpisalo