January 12 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Pickups: Patrick Kane, Jordan Staal, Dylan Holloway, Matthew Knies and More

This week I have another couple trending players to add as streamers for your hockey fantasy league. Veteran grit is really shining through and both the Carolina Hurricanes’ Jordan Staal and the Detroit Red Wings’ Patrick Kane have proven this and prove you should be riding their hot streaks.

The difference between these players moving into week 15 is the Hurricanes only are playing two games, while the Red Wings are playing four. This is a key factor in deciding which hot hand to pick up, but if you have multiple slots to stream it might be noteworthy to give both a look.

There are also some players from last week’s hockey waiver wire who are still riding strong that I will briefly touch on that if you picked up are worth a hold, and if you haven’t - you should be looking into, too.

Comparing Kane and Staal Over the Past Week

Kane played three games and had one goal, five assists, three powerplay points, and eight shots on goal. Of note, he has 11 points in his last six games played. Kane is red hot right now.

Staal played five games and had five goals (including a hat trick), three assists, 10 shots on goal, and 11 blocks. Staal is also on a nice streak, having nine points in his last six games played.

Kane Pros and Cons

Kane is a huge part of the Red Wings rebuild, and brings not only a veteran presence, but his three Stanley Cup wins prove he knows how to win. Kane is riddled with injuries and surgeries, and after signing with the Red Wings last year still nearly averages a point per game, having 47 points over 50 games.

Kane had a very slow start to the season, but has absolutely taken off since the Christmas break. If Kane can keep up this pace, at 36 years old, he may end up being more than a streamer. It is well known that once Kane gets hot, he is almost unstoppable and is a phenom when it comes to scoring big goals.

That said, he has also been known to be a streaky player and at his age does have limited ice time. While hot he is a must add, but if his production slows down - with his lack of peripherals with regard to hits and blocks - keep a close eye on him and the Red Wings.

Keep in mind that despite limited ice time, Kane enjoys a solidified spot on the first powerplay unit, which is absolutely stacked with Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider.

Staal Pros and Cons

The captain of the Hurricanes put up three goals against the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 9 against Joseph Woll who let in five that night. Also 36 years old, and a Stanley Cup winner - could his recent hot streak be a fluke? I think so.

Looking at Staal’s history, he has never had a 30-goal season, and has not had a 20-goal season since 2015-2016. He also hasn’t cracked 50 points since 2011-2012 when he was with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Last year Staal had 30 points in 80 games, with 10 goals and 20 assists. The fact he has five goals in the past week is great for now, and I will always encourage you to ride hot streaks, but his probability of continuing this production rate is low to impossible.

Hey, if he puts up another hat trick in week 15, I will eat my hat (trick). Let’s also not forget that the Canes only play two games this week. Coupled with the fact Staal is not getting any powerplay time at all, and is only a middle six forward - this is something to keep in mind.

Again, while the majority of folks will ride waiver wire add trends, you can utilize this to your advantage because a more in depth dive on the situation shows this is more of a hot flash, than it will be a hot streak, with only two games to ride it this coming week. Buyer beware.

Bonus Hidden Gem in Blues’ Holloway

St. Louis Blues Dylan Holloway has seen big adds last week, and for good reason. He is now only rostered in about half of the leagues out there - this hidden gem is worth taking note of.

In the past week, Holloway has played three games and has one goal, four assists, two powerplay points, nine shots on goal and six blocks.

On a very up and down Blues team, Holloway has seen a lot of consistency and is playing on a line with Jordan Kyrou who has heated up since the coaching change bringing Jim Montgomery into the organization in late November, and enjoys time on the top powerplay unit.

While the Blues are playing three games this week, if Holloway is available in your league, I would suggest picking him up before Staal as he has a tremendous amount of staying power potential. If Holloway keeps up his play, he may easily find himself a hold in most leagues - especially bangers.

Looking at Week 15 Schedules

Teams with only two games and potential streamer avoids:

• Boston Bruins

• Buffalo Sabres

• Carolina Hurricanes

• Minnesota Wild

Teams with four starts which can be utilized for streamer targets:

• Calgary Flames

• Dallas Stars

• Edmonton Oilers

• Florida Panthers

• Montreal Canadiens

• New Jersey Devils

• New York Rangers

• Ottawa Senators

• Philadelphia Flyers

A Final Thought on Knies

If you watched the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Blues on January 9, then despite the Leafs getting caved in - our opinion on Matthew Knies has not changed. If you read my article last week, then you know Knies should be a target given the team he is on, and his deployment. Definitely worth a read if you’re targeting him, or a Maple Leafs fan.

Looking at +/-, Knies was a -5, but both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were both -6 which has not happened for a Maple Leaf player since 1991. I assure you this is an outlier and the chances of this repeating again and hindering the value or deployment of Knies is about the same as Staal netting another hat trick. I will eat two hat (trick)s if this happens, so don’t panic and drop him!