Turning their season around

If there’s an unintended theme to this week’s Waiver Wired, its highlighting players that got off to slow starts, but have since turned their season around. I call it unintended, but in a way it’s inevitable. Obviously, the players who start hot will get scooped up quickly in part because the small sample size makes them look even more impressive. By contrast a player who has a terrible October and great November might come out looking simply mediocre overall. All the same, some of those slow starters are simply turning their seasons around rather than following a pattern of extreme hot and cold streaks. As always, we’re looking for players who will benefit you for the rest of the season.

Matt Moulson (BUF) – LW – Owned in 36% of Yahoo leagues

Moulson had just two points in his first 14 games this season, but the Sabres have started to turn their campaign around and he’s been at the forefront of that. It would be surprising if Buffalo even finishes the campaign with a mediocre record despite winning five of its last six contests, but that doesn’t mean that Moulson is destined to have a terrible season. He’s a talented forward and after shaking off his rough start, it’s not unreasonable to project that he’ll get 30-35 points over Buffalo’s final 58 contests.

Jake Muzzin (LAK) – D – Owned in 49% of Yahoo leagues

Finding good defenseman on the free agent market can be a bit of a challenge, but if you see Muzzin’s available then you have one that fits the bill. He only had 24 points in 76 games last season, but he’s done far better in 2014-15 with 10 points in 17 contests. It’s entirely possible that he’ll sustain that pace as the Kings are leaning on him heavily this season. He averaged 19:01 minutes per game in 2013-14, but now he’s up to 23:15 per contest, including 3:04 minutes with the man advantage. Simply put, he’s a far better option than he was a year ago.

Brayden McNabb (LAK) – D – Owned in 1% of Yahoo leagues

Muzzin isn’t going to be available for everyone though, especially if you’re in a deeper league. Under those circumstances, his teammate, McNabb might be worth a look instead. He’s not as good of a bet offensively, but McNabb is a decent source of penalty minutes – he has 31 in 24 contests – and it’s always nice to pick up your PIM through defensemen rather than forwards because you’re missing out on less offense that way. McNabb isn’t completely devoid of offensive ability though. He’s shown in the juniors and minors that he can perform with the puck and he has chipped in seven assists in 24 contests this season. He might not dazzle you, but he’s a decent and often overlooked choice in deeper leagues.

Nino Niederreiter (MIN) – LW/RW – Owned in 23% of Yahoo leagues

Niederreiter is a guy that I’ve been looking to break out for years and perhaps we’re finally seeing the start of that. Being dealt by the Islanders was great for him as New York wasn’t comfortable giving him decent minutes. He had 14 goals and 36 points in 81 games in his first season with Minnesota in 2013-14 and should do better this season. He’s certainly been hot lately with seven goals and eight points in his last nine contests. He’s not a bad guy to gamble on as he does have a fair amount of offensive upside.

Blake Comeau (PIT) – LW – Owned in 15% of Yahoo leagues

Comeau got attention for his hat trick against Toronto on Wednesday, but his one good game is not the reason you should pick him up. The selling point for Comeau is his linemates. So far this season, he’s frequently served a top-six role, which means he’s usually playing alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. That’s why he’s gone from recording 16 points in 61 games with Columbus last season to 13 points in 21 contests in 2014-15. As long as he continues to play on one of Pittsburgh’s top-two lines, he should maintain his current point-per-game pace.

Riley Sheahan (DET) – C – Owned in 4% of Yahoo leagues

Last week Corey Abbott recommended that fantasy owners pick up Red Wings left winger Tomas Tatar and he has since gone from being owned in in 24% of Yahoo leagues to 33%. He’s still a good pickup if he’s available in your league, but if you missed the boat then it’s worth considering his linemate, Sheahan, instead. Sheahan’s eligibility as a center as opposed to left winger is definitely a drawback, but he’s another important member of Detroit’s rapidly developing young offensive core. He’s bounced back from a cold start this season to record four goals and six points in his last seven contests. He’ll cool down again eventually, but as long as he holds onto the second-line center job, he could average 0.5-0.6 points per game going forward.

Kyle Palmieri (ANA) – RW – Owned in 2% of Yahoo leagues

Palmieri wasn’t available for the start of the 2014-15 campaign due to a high ankle sprain, but he returned on Nov. 16. Since then he’s recorded three goals and no assists in seven contests. That’s not a bad start by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s nothing to write home about either. What catches my attention more with Palmieri is his role since returning. Back in 2013-14 he was averaging 11:56 minutes per game, so his 31 points in 71 contests was actually pretty solid under those circumstances. So far he’s been averaging 13:29 minutes and it’s quality minutes given that he’s been skating on the second line and even has gotten a bit of power-play ice time. If you can comfortably make room on your bench, you could do worse than taking a chance on Palmieri.

Craig Smith (NSH) – C/RW – Owned in 20% of Yahoo leagues

Smith broke out last season with 24 goals and 52 points in 79 games and while he’s not currently on pace to do so, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him surpass those totals in 2014-15. He had just three points in his first eight contests this season, but since then he’s recorded six goals and 11 points in 15 games. He also hasn’t endured a point drought of more than two games since the start of November. He’s going to have more cold patches along the way, but he should average out to be a solid forward this season.