Top 10 Players Available in Most Yahoo Leagues

Tom Collins

2024-01-22

One of the easiest ways to decide which players to pick up from the waiver in one-year leagues is to follow the mob mentality.

When you’re sorting free agents, you might sort by percentage of leagues that players are rostered in. Oftentimes, it can be tempting to just select the top players. After all, if a player is good enough to be on 75% of Yahoo rosters, he’s good enough for you to pick up, right?

While this may be true some of the time, there’s a reason why these players are on the waiver wire. There are usually much better options if you’re willing to do a little bit of research.

Deep leagues generally don't have free agents that are rostered in most Yahoo leagues. I’m in one league where Hampus Lindholm is the only player on the waiver wire who is available in at least 50% of leagues – only five free agents in total are taken in more than 30% of leagues. When choosing players in that league, you have to be more creative and look for names that are off most radars.

So why use Yahoo? Generally speaking, Fantrax has more keeper leagues, so the majority of players are owned in a far higher number of leagues. Yahoo seems to be made up of more one-year leagues, where players are picked up and dropped more frequently.

Below are 10 players who are available in at least 90% of Yahoo leagues (as of Sunday night).

10. Juraj Slafkovsky

The Canadiens are putting Slafkovsky in a position to succeed, and he’s succeeding. Since December 16th, the Habs sophomore has played 17 games. In those games, he has four goals, 11 points, 23 shots, three power-play points, 26 hits and 17 blocked shots. He’s on the top power-play unit, on the top line at even strength, and is averaging 19 minutes per night. His numbers have been even better recently, with three points, 10 shots and two power-play points in his last four games. He’s a great streaming option and is owned in only 6% of Yahoo leagues.

9. Mads Sogaard

The Ottawa Senators have a goaltender problem. Well, they’ve had a goaltender problem for the last five years. Joonas Korpisalo has not been good this season and his five-deal is looking like a mistake. Anton Forsberg has not been much better and is on the IR. That could open the door for Sogaard. He’s only rostered in 2% of Yahoo leagues. This is a move you make now and hope he pays off in the future. Sogaard got rocked in his first start against Colorado, but picked up his first win of the season Sunday against Philadelphia. Four of the team’s next nine games are against Montreal, Columbus, Anaheim and Chicago, all bottom-feeders. If he can get some starts against those teams, he could go on a roll and become a 1B option.

8. Nick Foligno

Foligno has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners this season. In his first 39 games, he had eight goals, nine assists, 39 PIM, 73 shots, 83 hits, three power-play goals, five power-play assists and a shorthanded goal. His ice time is up almost five minutes per night compared to last year in Boston. Foligno, who has missed the last few weeks with an injury, is back practicing with the Blackhawks and is with the team on their road trip. Reports indicate Foligno could be back in the lineup as early as Monday. You can’t count on him for offense, but his peripherals make him a solid streamer option, especially since Chicago has two off-night games this week.

7. Marco Rossi

The Wild forward isn’t exactly lighting it up, but you have to like the situation he is in. He’s on the top line in Minnesota, playing alongside Kirill Kaprizov. He did enjoy some time on the top power-play unit, but was pushed back down to the second unit last week. He is averaging two shots per night, which is the bare minimum you want from your fantasy players. He’s on a bit of a cold streak, with only three points in his last eight games. However, he’s available in 91% of Yahoo leagues. It’s tough to find a top-line center on the waiver wire, but there’s one sitting right there. If he starts to go on a hot streak (say, even two games in a row with a point), rush to pick him up.

6. Conor Garland

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Unlike the rest of the Canucks, Garland started the season slow, picking up points in only five of his first 25 games. Since December 5th, he’s been excellent. In those 21 games, he has six goals, 17 points, and is a plus-10 with 48 shots. He gets little power-play time, so none of those 17 points are with the man advantage. In that same timeframe, he has just as many points as Clayton Keller, Nick Suzuki and Alex DeBrincat. Despite his hot streak, Garland is owned in only 7% of Yahoo leagues.

5. Adam Boqvist

Boqvist is getting an excellent opportunity in Columbus right now, and it’s secretly paying off. Rostered in just 2% of Yahoo leagues, Boqvist has been on the Blue Jackets’ top power-play unit since coming back from a shoulder injury in early January. In these five games, he has been on the ice for 68.5% of Columbus’ power-play minutes. He has four points during this stretch, three on the power-play. He also has nine blocks. The downside is he only has six shots in those games and is a minus-six. However, if you need a bit of an offensive boost, he’s worth a look. Keep in mind that Zach Werenski is expected to be out for at little while longer, so Boqvist’s power-play spot is safe in the short term.

4. Ridly Greig

He’s on a two-game pointless streak, but not only is Greig getting top-line minutes, on Sunday he was playing with Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson. He’s not getting any power-play time, but that could be the only downside to him right now. He has six points in his last seven games, to go along with a plus-six, six PIM, 14 shots and 12 hits. He’s also averaging 16:12 per night. That’s pretty good for someone available in 96% of Yahoo leagues.

3. Pontus Holmberg

Holmberg doesn’t get a lot of minutes, but he’s taking advantage of the minutes he does get. For the last eight games (not including Sunday night’s tilt against Seattle), his most frequent linemates have been Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews. That’s a surefire recipe for success (unless your name is Tyler Bertuzzi). This is a great opportunity for Holmberg, who started the season on the fourth line with Ryan Reaves and Noah Gregor. In these last eight games, he has seven points, is a plus-six, has 16 shots, six hits and five blocked shots. He’s getting little power-play time and is under 13 minutes per night. But if he was on the top or second man-advantage unit and playing 18 minutes per night, he wouldn’t be available in 93% of leagues.

2. Morgan Frost

Frost went pointless in Sunday’s game against Ottawa, which snapped his four-game point streak. His numbers lately have been excellent. Including Sunday’s pointless game, he has six points in his last five games, nine in his last nine, and 14 in his last 18. Let’s focus on his last nine games. In that timeframe, he is a plus two, has four power-play points, nine hits, six blocked shots and 49 faceoff wins. The most important thing is that he’s shooting the puck more. He’s averaging only 1.9 shots per game this season, but he has at least two shots in six of those last nine contests. He’s on the second line at even strength, and on the second power-play unit, but he’s only rostered in 6% of Yahoo leagues. If you’re someone who streams players in, Frost should already be on your roster.

1. David Rittich

It wasn’t too long ago that I was writing about how great Cam Talbot was, and how he was a dark-horse Vezina nominee. Talbot has slipped a little in the past month, losing eight of his last eight games (0-5-3 during those games). In the meantime, the 31-year-old Rittich has been excellent. He’s started six games and is 4-1-1 in those games. In one loss, he gave up two goals to Carolina, and in the other, he gave up three in a 4-3 shootout loss to Detroit. He's allowed two or fewer goals in each of his four wins and has started three of the last four for L.A. We’ve seen that the Kings aren’t scared to toss their starter aside for the hot hand. Rostered in 7% of Yahoo leagues (as of Sunday night), Rittich is a must-have.

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