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Kempe, Thomas and Bratt among top waiver adds

Adrian Kempe

Adrian Kempe

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

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Ryan Hartman went from being rostered in 31% of Yahoo leagues when he was highlighted on Waiver Wired last week to 52%. Shayne Gostisbehere’s rostered percentage increased from 31% to 43%, while Reilly Smith jumped from 24% to 37%.

Boone Jenner (30%) and Mats Zuccarello (27%) are worth scooping if they are still available. Nazem Kadri was mentioned like this a week ago when he was rostered in 36% of Yahoo leagues and now he is up to 64%.

Jake Oettinger (20%) has plenty of fantasy value between the pipes for Dallas if Braden Holtby’s lower-body injury continues to linger.

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Now, onto the recommendations for this week:

Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) - LW, RW - Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues

Kempe has tallied seven goals and 10 points in his past 11 contests. He has a shorthanded goal and two power-play assists during that span along with a whopping 38 shots on goal. Kempe also has 26 hits in 17 matches this season. Kempe is playing in all situations, while occupying spots on the first line and top power-play unit, which adds to his fantasy upside. Consistency has been a problem for him in the past, but he has been firing on all cylinders in what is shaping up to be a career-year for the 25-year-old forward.

Robert Thomas (St. Louis) - C, RW - Rostered in 27% of Yahoo leagues

Thomas was featured on Waiver Wired a week ago when he was rostered in just 10% of Yahoo leagues, but he is still widely available and St. Louis has four games on tap for this week. He has accounted for 16 points, including a team-high 14 assists, in 17 games. Thomas sits second on the Blues in scoring and he ranks first on the team with 12 even-strength points. He only has two goals on 22 shots, but his career-low 9.1 shooting percentage is bound to improve. Thomas has been skating between Vladimir Tarasenko and Pavel Buchnevich.

Kasperi Kapanen (Pittsburgh) - LW, RW - Rostered in 15% of Yahoo leagues

Kapanen has been a bit streaky this season, while picking up points in bunches. He has one goal and three helpers in his past five appearances, which includes an assist in each of the last two games. He has been skating alongside Jeff Carter and Jason Zucker on the second line of the Penguins. Pittsburgh has four games scheduled for this week, which gives Kapanen some short-term appeal.

Jesper Bratt (New Jersey) - LW, RW - Rostered in 13% of Yahoo leagues

Bratt has accumulated four goals and 12 points in his past 11 outings. That includes two goals and five helpers in his last six appearances. Bratt has been held off the scoresheet once during that span. He racked up 30 points in 46 games during the 2020-21 campaign and he is ahead of that pace so far this season. Bratt is tied with linemate Dawson Mercer (13%) for the team lead in scoring. They should both be rostered in more leagues.

Kaapo Kakko (NY Rangers) - RW - Rostered in 10% of Yahoo leagues

Kakko has two goals and two assists during a three-game point streak. Is this finally the start of something for the second-overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft? He didn’t have a point in 10 games to begin the 2021-22 campaign, so his recent scoring outburst is encouraging. He went into the year with plenty of sleeper potential and it is still unclear if he be able to meet those expectations, but he is worthy of at least a short-term pickup. Playing alongside Ryan Strome, who has been red hot, and Artemi Panarin, who co-leads the Rangers in points, doesn’t hurt either.

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Alex Goligoski (Minnesota) - D - Rostered in 7% of Yahoo leagues

Goligoski has generated 10 points in 14 games this season. He has one goal and five assists in his past six outings. Goligoski also has 18 shots on target, 18 blocks and 12 hits, while averaging 19:28 of ice time. Goligoski is not a stranger to providing good category coverage and he efforts this season have gone largely unnoticed by most fantasy managers based on his roster percentage. He is worthy of a pickup if you need some depth on the back end.

Valeri Nichushkin (Colorado) - LW, RW - Rostered in 4% of Yahoo leagues

Nichushkin was mentioned here a week ago despite Colorado’s light schedule and he is worth revisiting with the team set to get busier. The Avalanche play four times this coming week and Nichushkin has been productive in 2021-22. Despite being limited to five games due to injury, he has two goals, two assists, eight shots and six hits. Nichushkin has fit in nicely as a secondary scoring option. He plays on the second line with Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky, while occupying a spot on the second power-play combination as well as the penalty kill.

Seth Jarvis (Carolina) - C, RW - Rostered in 3% of Yahoo leagues

Jarvis has lit the lamp in three straight games, while playing on the top line of the Hurricanes with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. He has 12 shots on goal during that stretch and his averaged ice time per game has increased by over a minute. Jarvis, who cracked the team’s roster out of training camp, has four goals, one assist, 19 shots, four blocks and five hits in nine appearances. The 19-year-old rookie has made a convincing case to stay in the NHL for the rest of the season. Assuming he isn’t returned to the junior ranks, Jarvis and the Hurricanes are slated to play four games this coming week.

Gustav Nyquist (Columbus) - LW, RW - Rostered in 3% of Yahoo leagues

Nyquist has picked up steam this month after a sluggish start to the season. He has two goals and five points in seven games in November. Nyquist has been playing on the top line of the Blue Jackets with Boone Jenner and Oliver Bjorkstrand. Columbus has four games on tap for this week, which makes Nyquist an attractive streaming option.

Sonny Milano (Anaheim) - LW, RW - Rostered in 1% of Yahoo leagues

Milano just missed the cut for a spot on Waiver Wired last week. He has three goals and nine points in 13 games. Milano has one goal and three helpers on the power play, but his spot alongside Trevor Zegras at even strength is what makes him a much more intriguing pickup. Zegras has been heating up and Milano could benefit from that going into a four-game week for the Ducks.

Honorable mention:

Mario Ferraro (San Jose) - D - Rostered in 18% of Yahoo leagues

Ferraro has been filling up the stat sheet thanks to a scoring surge this month. He has two goals and four assists in nine games during November. Ferraro has compiled 50 blocks and 35 hits in 17 matches this campaign, while playing on the top pairing with Brent Burns. He has averaged a career-high 25 minutes of ice time. He is worth monitoring at the very least, but he will need to maintain his offensive contributions.