Bucket of Pucks

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 12/14

 

This weeks Waiver Wire Report has a number of players that are examples that one player can have a positive effect on a whole team.  But just about everyone of this week's list is rebounding from a bad streak of bad start to the year.  See who we've got turning it around after the jump:

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 12/7

This week's Waiver Wire Report has nice potential options for your fantasy teams.  Their numbers will make you wonder why they're not more widely owned.  See who we're talking about after the break.

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 11/30

This week's Waiver Wire Report has some holiday fantasy buys.  All these Free Agent treats offer something to improve you team's roster.  Come in and window shop these players and see which ones you'll buy for the holiday season and which ones you'll keep all year round:

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 11/23

This week's Waiver Wire Report is filled with a Thanksgiving buffet of short-term fixes.  Many of injured players from the past 2 months have started to return and many more are ramping themselves up to come back to the ice in the next week or two.

Peruse our feast of Free Agents players and see what main courses (long term), side dish (short term with potential) or tasty desserts (short term fix) compliment your fantasy team's needs...

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 11/9

At the beginning of this past week 110 NHL regulars (or 18% of NHLers) were either on IR or are sick enough to be missing games.  Leading to constant talk about, what seems to be a dramatic rise in injuries to start this first month of the season.  With almost 1 in 5 players out of their lineups, that means most NHL teams have at least a few players effected in some way.

In fantasy terms, this means your own team could be limping badly.  With so many players out, even shallow leagues must be feeling it too.  With that in mind, now is the time to jump on good available free agents since they probably won't last long.

Find some players to sure up you team, after the break:

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 11/2

As most hockey fans know, it was 50 years ago this past weekend that Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante brought us the hockey mask for the first time.  In honor of this historic hockey moment, BucketofPucks Waiver Wire Report will kick off this week with a "Hat Tip" to this game changing event.

To begin with TSN has a fun Gallery of the Best Goalie Masks of the Year, check it out and see who you think has the most awesome mask of this season.  Ranger's goalie Henrik Lundqvist just had a new mask made to honor this great hockey moment.  It has the original hockey mask on it, along with a ticket to the actual Montreal-New York stub in which Plante had his nose broken by Ranger forward Andy Bathgate's shot.

Hockey commentator Stan Fischler, also known as "The Hockey Maven" recently recounted this great hockey story.  Upon breaking his nose on the Andy Bathgate shot, Jacques Plante skated right off the ice and went to the lockeroom to get patched up.  Causing a 21 minute delay in the game.  After receiving some medical attention, Plante broke out the mask, as he'd been toying with it and using it in practices.  Canadiens coach Toe Blake would have none of it and was furious at Plante for even suggesting it.  Given the fact that Blake had no backup goaltender he eventually relented.  Emerging from the locker room the revelation was shocking to those who first saw it.  The Canadiens rallied around their goalie and won the game 3-1.

What I find to be a particularly fun fact, that not everyone remembers, as Fischler tells the story:  Toe Blake was so against the mask, he insisted the Plante play the next game without it.  A game in which Montreal got trounced.  So Blake said to Plante he could wear the mask until he was healed.  It was then that the Canadiens went on a 10 game winning streak and the game of hockey was changed forever.

Now let's get to this week Waiver Wire pick, right after the break:

Valtteri Filppula: Out 6 to 8 Weeks with Broken Wrist

The Detroit Red Wings were dealt another blow by injury, when Valtteri Filppula suffered a broken wrist on a Gilbert Brule hit.  The injury happened in the 2nd period during Thursday night's 6-5 shootout loss to the Oilers in Edmonton.

Filppula, a 25 year old center from Finland, has been a solid secondary scorer from the 3rd line on a deep Red Wing squad for the last 2 years.  Used more as a checker in the past, Detroit was looking to Filppula to help pick up some offensive slack and moved to center the 2nd line after Johan Franzen tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and isn't expected back until March.

Filppula is becoming a solid 2-way player, had a career high of 40 points last season and 16 playoff point in last years 23 playoff games.  He had 2 goals, 4 assists with 3 PP points in 11 games this season.  Fantasy analysis after the break.

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 10/26

As mentioned in last week's BucketofPucks Quick Hit's NHL Fantasy Injury Report, injuries are starting to pile up at an alarming rate this first month of the season.  Where injuries are a part of every sport, there is a disturbing trend emerging.  That is the increase of concussion related injuries.

In the last few years, there has been a rise in concern and some action related to concussions in most of the major sports.  In hockey alone, we've seen an improvement in head gear for both goalie and skater to better protect players but has that been enough?  In the NFL there has been rule changes penalizing players for blows to the head, not unlike hockey rules relating to stick fouls.  You must always be responsible for your stick, whether it be intensional or not.  With recent injuries to Toews, Tucker, Souray and Booth, it might just be time to consider similar action.

Hits that injure anyone almost always have a debate to them, whether it was dirty and/or intentional.  But with the NHL's "always responsible for your stick" rules in mind, coupled with League offices monitoring all the games for instant replay.  Maybe it's time for the NHL to combine the 2 for a safer game, in an effort to reduce this rising problem.

I watched the replay of Richards hit on Booth and I didn't feel it was dirty.  I did however feel Richards could have made more of an effort to avoid hitting him as he did.  Richards has a bit of a reputation for hitting players in vulnerable positions.  The NHL should look to force players into avoiding these vulnerable hits that expose players.  Whether it been a passing shoulder to the head or a hit forcing a player head first into the boards, like Souray being tripped or Tucker being checked.  What I'm suggesting is have the NHL "War Room" add to it's responsibilities keeping an eye on hits to the head and making players more responsible for their contact.

All this injury talk leads us right into our Waiver Wire picks for the week.  See who we've got on tap for you, after the break:

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 10/19

As most teams have played 8 or 9 games into the season, we're starting to get an idea of how teams are starting to shake out.  Although, it's still to early to definitively determine individual players booms or busts, now is the time to take a chance or two with those weaker "back end" of your fantasy roster spots.

So, if you have a roster spot or two that you can open up by either poor production or injury, this weeks Waiver Wire Report has just what you maybe looking for.  Most of the players on this weeks' list are off to a hot start or taking advantage of some injury opportunity.  Over the next 2-4 weeks these players will prove themselves as the real deal or flashes in the pan.  Either way, they could help those in need for the short term and just might surprise you, as permanent fantasy players for your team.

This weeks' Waiver Wire Players after the jump:

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 10/12

Injuries are one of the main reasons for fantasy owners to keep a close eye on who's out on their leagues waiver wire.  The first couple of weeks of this years hockey season has only served as a reminder of that.  With injuries, both short-term and long-term, to a number of players a lot of fantasy owners planned to depending on.  Now in a pinch, it's never a bad idea to key on a player that's slotted to replace an injured players spot.  There's always a few unexpected players every season to bloom from replacing a teammate that's gone down with an injury, especially these days with Salary Cap restrictions make trades harder to pull off.

Luckily for the stricken fantasy owner, it's still early in the season.  Meaning there's usually plenty of players out on the waiver ware to replace those players off to a disappointing start or those felled by the injury bug.  Come and see what players are still readily available in more than 50% of public fantasy leagues: