Fantasy Focus: Mining the waiver wire for early season gems

Welcome back to another season of Mining the Waiver Wire! If you know fantasy hockey, you know that all the hard work you did at the draft will only take you so far. Remaining constantly vigilant with an eye towards unearthing the next potential gem for free off of the waiver wire is where championships are truly made.

As always, the players featured in this column are, by and large, rostered in fewer than half of all Fantrax leagues. I break that rule on occasion - and do so twice this week. But it’s my column so I make and break the rules as I see fit.

Some leagues are rolling an extra long first matchup, but for those who start Week Two today, there are a handful of options available to help maximize your efforts. This week, Arizona, Calgary, and Detroit all see action four times. The Red