This article is part of our NHL Waiver Wire series.
The holidays have presented us with a balanced schedule this week with nine teams playing four games and just three (Stars, Islanders and Senators) playing only twice. It shouldn't be difficult to load up your lineups in weekly settings.
Ondrej Palat stands out as the most coveted pickup from this week's recommendations. You'll also want to monitor the severity of Steve Mason's hand injury. Anthony Stolarz could be a potential add in deep leagues, but Mason has already faced shots after the issue surfaced initially, so it's unlikely the veteran will miss significant time.
Remember to double-check the availability of players previously covered in this space and keep tabs on the recommended adds in our Daily Puck articles throughout the week. There hasn't been a defenseman stick out over the past two weeks that hasn't been touched on already, and most of the rearguards listed below are still available in many leagues.
Ondrej Palat, F, TAM (Yahoo: 31%, ESPN: 43%, CBS: 68%): With two goals, four points and seven shots through three games since returning from an undisclosed injury, Palat warrants attention in all leagues. He's been skating with Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, and entering Saturday's game, the trio had combined to post 4.36 goals per 60 minutes over the past four years.
Mikael Backlund, F, CGY (Yahoo: 22%, ESPN: 39%, CBS: 26%): Center is a deep position, but Backlund has strung together an excellent calendar year. Through 84 games in 2016, the 27-year-old Swede
The holidays have presented us with a balanced schedule this week with nine teams playing four games and just three (Stars, Islanders and Senators) playing only twice. It shouldn't be difficult to load up your lineups in weekly settings.
Ondrej Palat stands out as the most coveted pickup from this week's recommendations. You'll also want to monitor the severity of Steve Mason's hand injury. Anthony Stolarz could be a potential add in deep leagues, but Mason has already faced shots after the issue surfaced initially, so it's unlikely the veteran will miss significant time.
Remember to double-check the availability of players previously covered in this space and keep tabs on the recommended adds in our Daily Puck articles throughout the week. There hasn't been a defenseman stick out over the past two weeks that hasn't been touched on already, and most of the rearguards listed below are still available in many leagues.
Ondrej Palat, F, TAM (Yahoo: 31%, ESPN: 43%, CBS: 68%): With two goals, four points and seven shots through three games since returning from an undisclosed injury, Palat warrants attention in all leagues. He's been skating with Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, and entering Saturday's game, the trio had combined to post 4.36 goals per 60 minutes over the past four years.
Mikael Backlund, F, CGY (Yahoo: 22%, ESPN: 39%, CBS: 26%): Center is a deep position, but Backlund has strung together an excellent calendar year. Through 84 games in 2016, the 27-year-old Swede notched 28 goals, 56 points and 191 shots. Those numbers play in most leagues, and with a 10.8 shooting percentage and 98.7 PDO this season, there aren't alarms of negative regression ahead.
Frank Vatrano, F, BOS (Yahoo: 2%, ESPN: 6%, CBS: 12%): Through his first five games this year, Vatrano has two goals, four points and 12 shots and is a player on the rise. He's receiving top-six minutes in a scoring role and has proven to be a high-end scorer in the AHL with 38 goals and 57 points through 38 games over the past two years. Strike now and get in on the ground floor.
Justin Williams, F, WAS (Yahoo: 35%, ESPN: 34%, CBS: 42%): It was a disastrous start to the campaign for Williams, but with seven goals and 11 points through his past 12 games, the veteran is back on track offensively. With a loaded roster surrounding him, Williams should take another run at 20 goals and score at approximately a 55-point pace through the end of the year.
Juuse Saros, G, NAS (Yahoo: 6%, ESPN: 3%, CBS: 15%): The 21-year-old Finn continues to play well with a 2-0-1 record, .975 save percentage and 0.65 GAA over his past three outings. He'll never be a must-own goalie without more volume, but there are plenty of leagues where you can plug him in when he's starting and hold him as a speculative stash. If Pekka Rinne goes down with an injury or continues his mediocre play (4-5-2, .882, 3.40 through his past 11 outings), Saros has huge upside.
Players to consider from previous articles: Mikael Granlund, Anders Lee, Conor Sheary, Evander Kane, Mitch Marner, Alexander Wennberg, Derek Stepan, Bobby Ryan, Eric Staal, Rickard Rakell, Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, Victor Rask, Nazem Kadri, Viktor Arvidsson, Matthew Tkachuk, David Savard, Morgan Rielly, Jeff Petry, Jake Gardiner, Jared Spurgeon, Dion Phaneuf, Dmitry Orlov, Antti Raanta, Chad Johnson, Peter Budaj, Andrei Vasilevskiy
