Last week I discussed some valuable waiver wire options, but with this being around the halfway point in the fantasy season, now is the time to sort of realize where your team should be with respect to making the playoffs or trying to acquire the best draft pick possible. With making that decision, now is the time to really dig through the waiver wire to see if you can bolster your depth or find hidden gems that can be flipped at the trade deadline to acquire an asset to help you down the line. I like to call this the best week of the year for fantasy hockey because there aren't as many games given the proximity to the Christmas season so you're not as worried about who to start and who to bench. This is the time where you can evaluate your fantasy hockey club to begin building towards a better future.

* The top row in the stat tables are the players current stats this year, and the bottom row is their career stats. The powerplay and shorthanded sections are for points in these respective areas. I know last season I was showing roster percentages for the players that I discuss, and I do plan on bringing that back, but I am not in any Yahoo leagues this season so for the time being I will not have their percentages listed for that platform. *

#1) Jakub Vrana – LW – Detroit Red Wings
Contract: $5.25M – 2 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: Fantrax – 64%, ESPN – 36.2%

Vrana may only have two games played this year, but it isn't due to injury, it is because he entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program (which is a program to help aide players deal with mental health issues, substance abuse problems, and so many other things as well). Vrana has always been a player that never really got the ice time that he deserved while being a member of the Washington Capitals – within the last two seasons with the Red Wings he played in 37 games and scored 30 points in that timeframe. While being a shoot-first player is his specialty, he would be added to your team to help create scoring opportunities as opposed to padding the peripheral stats like hits, blocks, etc,. His time on ice may be an issue, but this is a player that has an abundance of skill and has shown to be able to play with the top players in Detroit when available. The Red Wings have an abundance of injuries on the wings currently to key members such as Filip Zadina, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Robby Fabbri. There still isn't an official date as to when Vrana will play again but he has been reinstated with the Red Wings as of a couple of days ago so I would imagine it is on the horizon. With the number of spots open along the wings, surely, he won't get buried in the lineup upon suiting up for the team.

#2) Anthony Cirelli – C – Tampa Bay Lightning
Contract: $4.8M – 1 Year remaining, extension of $6.25M – 8 years kicks in next season
Roster Percentage: Fantrax – 44%, ESPN – 19.9%

While Cirelli missed a lot of time to begin the season, he is back now and reminding us all why he was such a key piece to the Tampa Bay Lightning during their stretch of dominance over the last few seasons. A true two-way centremen in the NHL who excels in the defensive end as well as being able to hold his own when it comes to offense as well. Currently Cirelli is shooting at an all time low in terms of shooting percentage at 4.2%, while his career average is 13.2% – expect Cirelli to pick it up in the goal department as the weeks go on. In terms of the value that he can bring to a fantasy team, I would recommend him for this season and probably not the next one as he won't be a top point producer in the league, the points, and stats that he provides are not truly worth $6.25M per season when it comes to fantasy. But for a $4.8M contract, he can be a fairly valuable piece as he takes a solid amount of faceoffs (percent may be slightly below 50%, but if your league counts volume then that may be better off but he is consistent in the dot which makes him valuable there), over his career he averages over a hit per contest, currently this season he is shooting just shy of three shots per game. In each of his last four seasons, he has registered a shorthanded goal and while that category is hard to track, there aren't many players who play the penalty kill who can match his ability on the offensive side of the puck. I wouldn't bank on anyone getting a shorthanded goal/point on any given night, but the least you can do is put yourself in the position to maybe get one and steal away a category late in the matchup.

#3) K'Andre Miller – D – New York Rangers
Contract: $925K – 1 Year remaining (RFA this summer)
Roster Percentage: Fantrax – 61%, ESPN – 18.2%

The 22^nd overall draft pick from the 2018 draft has been absolutely spectacular this season from a fantasy perspective, with 16 points through 35 games this year he is on pace for 38 points through a full 82 game season which would almost double his previous best of 20 points which was obtained last season (2021-22). The 23-year-old is currently averaging a career high in ice time as well with over 22 minutes per night as the Rangers are trusting him on this blue line to be secondary offensive defenseman behind Adam Fox. New York has an abundance of talent within their forward group as well to help possibly supplement any shortcomings that Miller may face when on cold stretches for example. Having a solid group around you to play with is almost as valuable as being the superstar on a given team. Miller may not see much powerplay time, he is averaging just 13 seconds per game in that area, but something to note is that he is averaging over two minutes of shorthanded time. For a young player to be put in that type of position is truly telling of how the coaching staff see him. To me it shows that they trust him to play key minutes. He may be getting most of his zone starts in the defensive end (55.3%) – but he is still registering points through his ability to pass the puck, and his teammates around him can support him. Something else to note is that he is averaging over two hits per game and over a block per game. If Miller can hit the 30-point mark while keeping his shots, hits, and blocks to around the same level that they currently are at, for $925K he is a gem in my books.

* Honorable Mentions: Pheonix Copley (LAK), Anthony Mantha (WSH), J.T. Compher (COL), Morgan Frost (PHI), Trevor Moore (LAK), Nick Jensen (WSH), Conor Timmins (TOR) *

If you're looking to discuss anything hockey with me, check out my Twitter account (@JamieMolloy_DH), as well as on the articles themselves!