I think once a month or so I will do an article about players I consider valuable waiver wire pickups. Things in consideration when looking at names to pick up off waivers would include points within the last 10 games (shows some level of consistency), average time on ice (ATOI shows their likelihood of being on the ice), line deployment (gauges their role on the team within the immediate future), and their overall history/potential. Some people may value different things, but in the past, I have found those have been the main areas that really make me consider picking somebody up on any given day.

#1) Owen Tippett – RW – Philadelphia Flyers

Contract: $1.5M – 2 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: Fantrax – 42%, ESPN – 9.5%

At first glance, the Philadelphia Flyers seemed to get the short end of the stick with the Claude Giroux trade (in my opinion anyways), but now Tippett is showing some of the doubters what he is all about. With eight points in his last 10 games played (3 of which have been goals), he has been displaying chemistry alongside of another young Flyers player in Morgan Frost, and both play alongside aging veteran James van Riemsdyk. While Tippett's numbers through his career haven't been super impressive, perspective is key. He has always played in a limited role during his limited NHL career and has bounced back and forth between the NHL and the AHL. In his current form he is slotted on the top line for the Flyers and on their primary powerplay unit. For $1.5 million against your team's salary cap he is able to provide above two shots per game and just under two hits per game. They aren't earth-shattering numbers, but the thing to remember is that though the Philadelphia Flyers have been horrendous this year with a bottom seven goals per game average (2.8), somebody on the team is going to be a member of those goals and Tippett has a decent chance at being in that position.

#2) Viktor Arvidsson – RW – Los Angeles Kings

Contract: $4.25M – 2 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: Fantrax – 63%, ESPN – 56.5%

Of all the Los Angeles Kings, Arvidsson is one of the shortest tenured players on the roster with only 107 games played for the Kings so far. Within those games he has managed to put up 82 points (32 goals) which is pretty good for a player who plays on the second line and isn't considered the main weapon on this team. I value Arvidsson as a second line player based on those numbers, and the trio of he, Phillip Danault, and Alex Iafallo have formed an amazing connection on the ice. It is an underrated line in my eyes. Throughout Arvidsson's nine-year career, he has posted four 20+ goal seasons (two of which have been 30+) and he is on pace to do so again (24 through 82 games). Meanwhile, he is on pace to hit a career high in points (66 through 82 games). Overall, Arvidsson is a primary point producer as opposed to a peripheral threat outside of shots, and even then he is a little average in that category. If you do pick up Arvidsson, he is best served to be a secondary or tertiary winger for your club. Something that is a slight draw back about Arvidsson is that the Kings do shuffle their lines around more than other teams, but with that being said as long as their second line is producing they shouldn't have a huge reason to shake that trio up.

#3) Alexander Romanov – D – New York Islanders

Contract: $2.5M – 3 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: Fantrax – 48%, ESPN – 52.6%

As a young player he has been able to adapt the NHL fairly well when it comes to playing the game in his own end on the defensive side of things. He is currently playing a key role on the New York Islanders – a hard-nosed physical defenceman who has always been labelled as a physical tool with a good stick, possessing good-but-not great offensive skills. Through an 82-game season he is on pace for 27 points, which doubles his current career high of 13 points from last season. While Romanov may never become a consistent 40-point defenceman, he could very well be between 25 and 35 for his career (barring health), that isn't where his true value lies. It comes from the hit and block volumes that he possesses. He isn't an elite scorer, but he is an elite peripheral based player when it comes to leagues that track those two areas. Romanov sits just outside of the top 20 in hits across the NHL (tied for #21 on that list with 112), and when it comes to blocks he is tied for #19. While those aren't exciting stats to most, they are very exciting to see from a young player who makes $2.5 million per season. Being able to acquire those types of stats for cheap is very important as it allows you to load up with higher cost forwards/players who contribute in the more mainstream areas.


* Honorable Mentions: Conor Sheary (WSH), Alex Iafallo (LAK), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (BUF), Antti Raanta (CAR), Cam York (PHI), Erik Gustafsson (WSH) *

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