One week in and the early-season picture is already coming into focus. Some of the players we flagged in week one are producing exactly as advertised. Others have emerged from nowhere to demand immediate attention. Here are the six players worth targeting on your waiver wire heading into week two.
1. Vasily Podkolzin | F | Edmonton Oilers | 67% Rostered
3 GP | 3 G | 2 A | 13 SOG | 13 HIT
We were early on Podkolzin and the first week validated everything. Three goals, two assists, thirteen shots, and thirteen hits through three games, a stat line that covers every fantasy category simultaneously. He is still available in 33% of leagues which is genuinely hard to understand for a player producing at this rate on the top line in Edmonton. The hits alone make him unique. There are very few top-six forwards in the NHL who combine this level of offensive production with 13 physical plays in three games. If you missed him in week one this is your last reasonable window. After another week at this pace he will be gone in virtually every league.
The Add List Take: Three goals, two assists, thirteen shots, thirteen hits in three games on McDavid’s line. The window to add him at a reasonable cost is closing fast. Do not let it close on you.
2. Cole Perfetti | F | Winnipeg Jets | 29% Rostered
2 GP | 1 G | 3 A | 4 PPP
Four points in two games and every single one of them came on the power play. That is the detail that matters most for Perfetti’s fantasy outlook. The Jets are in organizational chaos with the Hellebuyck situation still unresolved, which has kept managers away from the entire Winnipeg roster. But Perfetti does not need the situation around him to be clean to produce. He needs power play time and he has it, quarterbacking the Jets man advantage with the kind of playmaking intelligence that generates assists regardless of who is beside him. At 29% rostered he is one of the most undervalued forwards on any waiver wire in the league.
The Add List Take: Every point came on the power play. He has the job. He has the talent. He is available in 71% of leagues. This one is simple.
3. Artturi Lehkonen | F | Colorado Avalanche | 47% Rostered
2 GP | 3 G | 1 A
Three goals in two games on the top line alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Lehkonen plays the game with intelligence, tenacity, and a finishing ability that consistently gets underestimated until moments like this remind everyone it exists. He is in the perfect situation, surrounded by elite playmakers who generate the kind of high-danger opportunities that goal scorers dream about, and he is converting at a rate that demands attention. At 47% rostered he is still sitting in the middle of the availability range for a player producing at this pace on the best offensive team in the NHL. That number needs to be higher and it will be by next week.
The Add List Take: Three goals in two games on MacKinnon’s line at 47% rostered. If you need goal scoring depth this is the most efficient path to it on the waiver wire right now.
4. Brayden McNabb | D | Vegas Golden Knights | 19% Rostered
3 GP | 0 G | 4 A
Four assists in three games from a defenceman available in 81% of leagues. McNabb has always been one of the most underrated producers from the Vegas blue line, a physical, reliable defenceman who plays meaningful minutes and contributes in the offensive zone more consistently than his roster percentage suggests. Four assists through three games puts him on pace for a 55-plus assist season, which would be extraordinary for a player at his price point on any waiver wire. Vegas is still one of the most competitive teams in the Pacific Division and McNabb is getting top-four minutes with power play exposure on the most experienced defensive unit in the conference. At 19% rostered he is the lowest-hanging fruit on this entire list.
The Add List Take: Four assists in three games from a defenceman available in 81% of leagues on a contending team. This is as close to a free lunch as the waiver wire offers. Go get him.
5. Owen Power | D | Buffalo Sabres | 15% Rostered
2 GP | 0 G | 3 A | 25+ATOI
Owen Power is averaging more than 25 minutes of ice time per game through the first two games of the season, a workload that places him among the most heavily deployed defencemen in the entire NHL, and he is producing three assists to go along with it while available in 85% of leagues. The first overall pick from the 2021 draft has the skating, the shot, and the two-way intelligence to be a legitimate top-pair defenceman in this league for the next decade. Buffalo is not a playoff team but Power’s individual opportunity is enormous. When a defenceman is logging 25-plus minutes per night, the fantasy points follow. At 15% rostered he is the most egregiously undervalued defenceman on any waiver wire in the league this week.
The Add List Take: Twenty-five-plus minutes per night, three assists in two games, 15% rostered. The workload alone justifies the add. The production makes it an absolute no-brainer.
6. Arturs Silovs | G | Pittsburgh Penguins | 33% Rostered
2 Wins | 1 Shutout
Two wins and a shutout through the first week of the season for a goaltender available in 67% of leagues. Silovs has answered the bell in Pittsburgh. The competition concern from camp appears to have been resolved in his favour and he is playing with the calm, composed authority of a goaltender who knows the crease is his. The shutout is the detail that resonates most for fantasy managers. Goaltenders who put up zeros early in the season tend to maintain their confidence and their starters role, and Silovs has done both. At 33% rostered on a Pittsburgh team with the offensive firepower to win games and keep him relevant all season, he is the best goaltending value on the waiver wire this week.
The Add List Take: Two wins and a shutout in week one. The starter role is his. At 33% rostered he is significantly undervalued for a goaltender producing at this level on a competitive roster. Add him before week two changes that number.
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