Fantasy waiver wire: Ian Cole making his mark

When you're going to add a player off the fantasy waiver wire, it's tough to determine whether their production is sustainable or if they're just experiencing some puck luck. Perhaps a boost of confidence has shown through on the ice, making a player like Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ian Cole (9 percent owned in Yahoo) look like a top-200 fantasy asset, which he currently is.
Cole, 27, hasn't had more than 17 points in a full NHL season. Since joining the Penguins in 2014-15, Cole has three goals and 29 points in 115 games; he had nine goals and 31 points in 167 games with the St. Louis Blues before being traded to Pittsburgh. Cole has joined in on the offense for the Penguins recently with one goal, four assists and a plus-6 rating during a three-game point streak. This is not the first time exposure to Pittsburgh's offense has led to first-time fantasy relevance, and perhaps Cole always had some untapped potential considering he's still relatively young.

The chances of Cole maintaining his 30-point pace seem likely as long as he stays healthy and is in the lineup. Cole also has added value in leagues that count hits and blocked shots; he leads the Penguins with 51 blocks and is second with 58 hits. His defensive prowess should keep his plus/minus positive, and his 23 penalty minutes broaden his category reach. In deep formats that count additional categories, Cole definitely is worth adding.
Another veteran who has received attention on the wire is Carolina Hurricanes forward Viktor Stalberg (LW/RW, 4 percent owned), who has been on a scoring binge lately. He has five goals in his past eight games, but don't believe Stalberg's bump in offense entirely is a fluke. In those eight games he has 20 shots on goal and his average ice time per game of 12:13 this season is above average for a fourth liner; he's seen more than 15:00 of ice time in two of his past five games.
Stalberg had nine goals in 75 games with the New York Rangers last season and 43 in 203 games with the Chicago Blackhawks from 2010-11 to 2012-13. He's on pace for a career-high 24 goals and nearly 140 shots on goal, but even if he lands in the 18-20 goal range, that could make him a valuable asset in deep leagues.

WAIVER WIRE WATCH

Boone Jenner, C/LW, Columbus Blue Jackets (45 percent owned)
Jenner, who's available in most 10-team formats, entered the season as a fringe top-100 fantasy asset after he had 30 goals, 77 penalty minutes, 213 hits and 225 shots on goal in 82 games last season. Early struggles and lesser usage have made a repeat of that elite category coverage a long shot, but Jenner is starting to get on track, with goals in back-to-back games. The positive signs are the thriving Columbus Blue Jackets offense (3.13 goals per game, second in NHL) and Jenner's shot generation; he has 55 shots on goal in 23 games, and his 7.3 shooting percentage this season is much lower than his career average of 12.0. If he catches fire and starts to produce at the pace he was on last season, you could be looking at 20-25 goals in 59 games to end the season.
Bryan Little, C, Winnipeg Jets (35 percent owned)
Little extended his goal streak to three games in a 2-1 win against the Blackhawks on Sunday. He looks like he's back to speed after missing 23 games because of a lower-body injury. Little has five points in as many games this season, with a plus-4, one power-play point and 10 shots on goal. He's skating on the Jets power play, which is 3-for-7 in the past three games. He's been injury prone in recent seasons but is a valuable asset in a points-only league when healthy. Little also gets a boost in the short-term with center Mark Scheifele day to day, forcing him to center Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine on the Jets' top line.

Mike Condon, G, Ottawa Senators (17 percent owned)
With starter Craig Anderson taking a leave of absence, Condon has received additional starts and has overtaken Andrew Hammond for the backup job behind Anderson. He made 24 saves in a 2-0 shutout of the Florida Panthers on Saturday and is 3-1-1 with a 1.66 goals-against average and .944 save percentage in six games (five starts) for the Senators. The shutout was his second of the season, and if he continues to play well they may trust him with even more work considering Anderson's situation. Condon was thrown into the fire with the Montreal Canadiens last season after Carey Price's injury but has been much more effective this season because of the experience he gained in 2015-16. With the Senators allowing 2.36 goals per game, seventh-fewest in the NHL, Condon is worth picking up in virtually any matchup.
Jared Spurgeon, D, Minnesota Wild (14 percent owned)
After scoring 20 goals in 143 games the past two seasons, Spurgeon has one in 20 games this season. That is in part because of a 2.2 shooting percentage (one goal on 45 shots on goal). Spurgeon is second on the Wild in average ice time per game (23:36) behind Ryan Suter (27:25), and plays in all situations (2:31 per game on the power play; 2:42 per game on the penalty kill). The Wild power play is 16th in the League at 17.1 percent, but coach Bruce Boudreau had the Anaheim Ducks first in the League on the man-advantage last season (23.1). It's only a matter of time before the Wild start scoring and Spurgeon could be a benefactor. He is beginning to heat up, with three assists and eight shots on goal in his past three games. Spurgeon also is another player that can help you in a blocks league; he leads the Wild with 45.

Radim Vrbata, RW, Arizona Coyotes (13 percent owned)
Since mentioning Vrbata in the
waiver wire story Nov. 14
, his ownership has gone up by six percent. The veteran right wing leads the Arizona Coyotes with 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in 23 games and is ranked 121st in standard-league scoring. He's tied for 40th in the NHL with 69 shots on goal and is on a five-game point streak. Vrbata clearly is happy to be back in Arizona after he had 27 points in 63 games for the Vancouver Canucks last season. Vrbata is on pace to exceed 60 points for the third time in the NHL; he did so in 2014-15 with the Canucks (63) and 2011-12 with the Coyotes (62).
Other candidates: Scott Darling, G, CHI (31 percent); Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, EDM (23 percent); Scott Hartnell, LW, CBJ (20 percent); Ivan Provorov, D, PHI (16 percent); Viktor Arvidsson, LW, NSH (15 percent)