Covid has clearly done a number on many fantasy leagues.

While some fantasy commissioners have decided to pause their leagues during these few weeks, they are in the minority. Most leagues are going ahead as normal, but that means there are plenty of open spaces on rosters as there were about 75 players on the Covid protocols list as of Sunday night.

You may be struggling to find players to fill out your roster. One thing that has worked for me in the past is to sort the waiver wire by players who are most rostered. In one league, I picked up Blake Wheeler (right before his hot streak and injury), Nick Suzuki and Pavel Buchnevich using that method.

If that’s not an option, you can sort the waiver wire by the past seven days or the past 30 days to find out who is playing well, but it would be difficult to get an accurate representation since there have been so many postponements and man-games lost due to Covid.

Below are 10 players who might be worth grabbing off the waiver wire and are available in at least 60 per cent of Yahoo leagues. But first, 10 honourable mentions.

Erik Johnson (rostered in 41 per cent of Yahoo league): Contributing in almost every category: Five goals, 15 points, plus-17, 10 PIM, 60 shots, 66 hits, 49 blocked shots

Robert Thomas (41 per cent rostered): Has 10 points in his last nine games and is averaging more than 19 minutes per night.

Jonathan Toews (34 per cent rostered): Great for faceoffs and has seven points in his last 10 games but isn’t contributing elsewhere.

Boone Jenner (32 per cent rostered): Is on the top line and top power-play unit in Columbus. Shots and faceoff wins per game are up, hits down tremendously.

Adam Larsson (17 per cent rostered): Still a beast for hits and PIM, but both are down from a year ago.

Nicolas Deslauriers (nine per cent rostered): A great pickup if you need hits, but doesn’t help anywhere else.

Kyle Okposo (eight per cent rostered): On the Covid-19 list, so I can’t fully recommend him at the moment. He is having a resurgence in Buffalo.

Travis Konecny (31 per cent rostered): Nine points in his last 11 games, but pointless in his last two.

Joonas Korpisalo (10 per cent rostered): Elvis Merzlikins is on the shelf with an injury, but it’s unclear how long he is out. Korpisalo could be worth the pickup if you need a netminder.

Anthony Stolarz (33 per cent rostered): Ducks’ starter John Gibson is a Band-Aid boy and will miss a couple of games now that he is in Covid protocols. Stolarz has four wins in his last five starts.

On to the main list:

10. Jakub Vrana (16 percent rostered)
One of the things I like to do in some of my leagues is to snatch up injured players a couple of weeks before they potentially get back into the lineup. There’s no point in waiting until you hear the announcement the player is healthy as it increases the chances that another general manager will scoop him up first. This approach may not be feasible if you don’t have room on your IR thanks to Covid, but it can still be a solid strategy if you pick up the correct player. Word on the weekend was that Vrana would be back in the Red Wings lineup sometime in February. That’s anywhere from three to seven weeks away for the popular offseason break-out pick.

9. Adin Hill (28 percent rostered)
Hill and James Reimer were splitting starts up until November before Reimer took over. But starting at the beginning of December, Reimer missed some time, which opened the door for Hill. Reimer got back into action but is now out again with a lower-body injury (although it sounds like it will be a short while). Hill has won his last two starts, and since the start of December, is 4-4, with more than half of those games being quality starts.

8. Phillip Danault (15 percent rostered)
There’s a lot to like about Danault’s fantasy game right now, especially if your league counts faceoff wins. In that category, he has 282 on the season, averaging nine per game. Thanks to Anze Kopitar, Danault isn’t taking as many faceoffs as he has in the past, but he’s winning a higher percentage since he’s taking those faceoffs against weaker competition. His six goals are already one up from last year, and he’s on pace for a career high. His 0.55 points per game is also an improvement on last season. His 2.45 shots per game is a shot per game higher than last year and easily the highest number he’s ever been at, and he’s also on pace for career-highs in PIM and power-play time on ice.

7. Yakov Trenin (3 percent rostered)
If you picked up Trenin just after the Christmas break, you are already laughing. Trenin has four goals and six points in six games since Santa came climbing down the chimneys. Trenin also has seven PIM, 13 shots and 12 hits in that timeframe. This isn’t sustainable as he’s not getting power-play time and is on the third line. However, he is worth a quick pickup to see if he can continue this streak for a while longer.

6. Joel Farabee (25 percent rostered)
The 21-year-old Flyer forward started the season with six points in three games, but followed that up with one point in his next 14 games. Now he has six goals and nine points in his last 11 games. During that streak, he also has 19 shots, 13 hits and 11 blocked shots while averaging 17:10 per night (2:24 of that with the man advantage). He’s inconsistent but should be rostered whenever he goes on a heater.

5. Lawson Crouse (9 percent rostered)
I was one of the many who got frustrated with Crouse earlier this season and dropped him from my roster after a few weeks. He wasn’t producing and his plus/minus was awful (this league doesn’t include PIM or hits, which made the decision easier). However, if my league counted peripherals, it would have been smarter to keep him. His shot rate is up one shot per game from a season ago, and he hasn’t gone a game without a shot this campaign. His hits are down slightly, but he is still on pace for 223. His ice time is an average four minutes per night higher than last year, and he’s getting some power-play time. To top it off, he has seven points in his last six games.

4. Nico Hischier (28 percent rostered)
Hischier has been underappreciated all season, but he’s turned up the dial the last month enough that more people should be taking notice. In his last seven games, he has seven points, seven PIM, 17 shots and is a plus-two. In that time, he is also averaging 18:37 per night and has been on the top power-play unit. Maybe more impressive has been his faceoffs. He has 72 in those seven games, and at least double-digit faceoff wins in four of his last five games.

3. Matt Roy (24 percent rostered)
In the Dobber fantasy guide each summer, I pen a column about players who won’t be great this season, but will be awesome in a couple of years. Last summer, I wrote that Roy was going to be a stud in peripheral categories and would be worth stashing, but you would need to wait for him to reach his full potential. He’s arriving quicker than anticipated, and many fantasy general managers haven’t even noticed. In 35 games, Roy has 91 shots, 54 hits and 58 blocked shots. That puts him on pace for 213 shots, 126 hits and 136 blocked shots. His 13 points (a 30-point pace) is the icing on the cake. He’s averaging 21:25 a night and is on the second power-play unit.

2. Tage Thompson (26 percent rostered)
Thompson was featured last week in my top 10 players who have been hot since Christmas, but he deserves more mentions until he starts to become noticed. The 24-year-old leads the Sabres in goals and points, and has seven points in his last seven games to go along with nine PIM, 24 shots, three power-play points, five hits and 29 faceoff wins. He’s on the top line and the top power-play unit and is averaging 3.1 shots per game on the season. His worst quality for fantasy is that he’s inconsistent, picking up points in only 15 of the team’s 34 games. You need to be patient through several games of zero points to be rewarded, but at least he’ll help out in the shots category.

1. Blake Coleman (30 percent rostered)
Coleman spent most of the first chunk of the season buried, but recently he’s been moved up the lineup. Playing with Elias Lindholm and Matthew Tkachuk, Coleman has four points in his last four games and has been getting some power-play time the last couple of games. He’s been great in peripheral categories all season, but in the last 12 games, he has 49 shots, 32 hits, and 16 blocked shots.