Many head-to-head leagues are about to start their fantasy hockey playoffs this week. And while it’s too late to make trades in most leagues, there’s still moves you can make to put yourself in a better spot for a championship.

You see, the free agent and waiver wire lists are brimming with players that are flying under the radar. Fantasy general managers are stubbornly holding on to underperformers such as William Nylander (91 per cent owned), Duncan Keith (84 per cent owned) and Brandon Saad (58 per cent owned), while there are hidden gems on the waiver wire.

Below are 10 players that can help you with your fantasy playoffs that are owned in less than 40 per cent of Yahoo pools.

10. Jordan Staal

There is some hidden value for Staal owners in leagues that counts faceoffs. In Yahoo leagues with the following categories (goals, assists, plus/minus, PIM, power play points, shots, faceoffs, hits and blocks), Staal is the 86^th ranked played, but is owned in only 26 per cent of Yahoo leagues. He’s cooled down in the past month or so, but his last two games could be an indication he’s turning it around (two points, plus-two, nine hits and 24 faceoff wins). He is worth a flier, but would be an easy drop if these two games are simply a blip on the radar.

9. Ondrej Palat

This pickup would be a bit of a gamble, as Palat has been out with a lower body injury since Jan. 20. He’s missed 20 games since then, but the initial prognosis was he would miss six to eight weeks. We’re now in week six, so he should be back soon. Palat, owned in 38 per cent of leagues, is one of those versatile players that can easily move up and down the lineup, and he was doing pretty well before his injury, His 82-game pace is: 14 goals, 39 assists, 53 points, 169 shots, 118 hits, 14 power play points and 75 blocked shots.

8. Mark Borowiecki

I confess I love having players like Borowiecki in my lineup in fantasy playoffs in leagues that count hits, PIM and blocked shots. I have won the championship in each of the last two years in one of my leagues, and a large part of that is picking up playing like Borowiecki and Radko Gudas as those two can almost singlehandedly win you the hits and blocked shots categories, plus contribute in PIM. Borowiecki is the 13^th ranked defenseman in the past 30 days, thanks largely to 62 hits and 25 blocked shots. He’s owned in nine per cent of Yahoo pools. Keep him in mind when you need a boost in some of the often-forgotten categories.

7. Kevin Hayes

In the last 30 days, Hayes is the most second-most valuable Ranger after Mika Zibanejad, but is owned in only 14 per cent of Yahoo pools. In that time, Hayes has seven goals and five assists to go along with 32 shots and 104 faceoff wins. He doesn’t really contribute in too many peripheral categories, so you need to be willing to drop him as soon as he cools offs.

6. Bo Horvat

His overall numbers don’t look that great until you remember he missed 18 games because of a foot injury. However, in the last 30 days, he’s been a must own with six goals, five assists, 40 shots and 161 faceoff wins. For some odd reason, he’s only owned in 34 per cent of Yahoo pools. That ownership number is way too low for a number one centre, no matter how awful the team is. His value will vary depending on whether your league counts faceoffs, but there’s no reason to shy away from him.

5. Jeff Petry

Petry has been a different beast since the calendar flipped over to 2018. Since Jan. 7, Petry has 17 points in 24 games to go along with seven power play points and 59 shots. In that time, he’s has also averaged 24:30 per game, and is clearly the Habs top power play quarterback (he’s getting about 75 per cent of power play ice time). Petry already has a career high in goals, points, power play goals and power play points, yet he’s only owned in 38 per cent of leagues.

4. Paul Stastny

It would be smart to pick up Stastny not based on what he’s done but what he’s about to do. Stastny finds himself in a great situation since being trade to Winnipeg, lining up along side Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. In the three games as a Jet, Stastny has three points, five shots, two power play points, 30 faceoff wins. He’s only owned in 34 per cent of leagues.

3. Alexander Edler

What’s wrong with you people? It’s borderline insanity that Alexander Edler isn’t owned in more pools. Edler is the 21^st ranked defensemen in Yahoo leagues that count goals, assists, plus/minus, PIM, power play points, shots, hits and blocks. Yet he’s only owned in 25 per cent of pools. Edler has been getting better as the season has gone on. In the last 30 days, he’s the 30^th ranked player and eighth ranked defenseman.

2. Mikael Backlund

Backlund is a truly underappreciated fantasy option. He’s the 80^th ranked player in Yahoo leagues, but is owned in just 24 per cent of them. I think it’s because he doesn’t dominate any one category, which keeps him off the radar when you’re looking for a bump in a special category. After recently going points less in eight games, he now has six points in his last six contests, and has a total of 12 goals, 40 points, 11 power play points, 70 PIM, 162 shots, and 572 faceoff wins. In face, he’s the only player in the league this year with at least 12 goals, 28 assists, 70 PIM and 160 shots.

1. Nick Bjugstad

Bjugstad has been a man possessed the last couple of weeks. In the last 14 days, Bjugstad is the 27^th ranked player in Yahoo pools. Going back a little further, he has 12 points to go along with 23 PIM and 42 shots in his last 14 games. It helps that he’s playing on a line with Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov. Amazingly, he’s only owned in 14 per cent of pools. Bjugstad’s only issue is his lack of power play time, but don’t let that deter you from picking him up.