Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Rankings (3/17)

Welcome to the Week 24 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire article here at FTN Fantasy. For some playing in head-to-head formats, this is the first week of fantasy hockey playoffs. 

Below you’ll see some of the best waiver wire pickups, players to stash for the playoffs, players to buy low and sell high in dynasty leagues, which players to drop and who to stream. I’ll also highlight some of the injuries, what it means for you and the Fantasy Hockey landscape.

There are 12 teams scheduled to play four games in Week 24 (Mar. 18 – Mar 24) and all 32 teams in the NHL have at least three games. 

With only a couple of weeks left in the Fantasy Hockey season, every move is critical. You may have to cut a struggling player for a four-game stream or someone trending up in order to punch your ticket to the dance. Sometimes you have to make uncomfortable moves, but the way to get the best of your opponents moving forward is to have more games played, while taking advantage of the matchups each week. Streaming is more important than ever at this time of the season. If you’re comfortably in a playoff spot, start looking ahead to some of the weeks that will matter to you. 

The strategy I like to call “attacking the schedule” can be the difference in winning a championship. Each week, find out which borderline players or streamers wouldn’t crack your lineup on the busy days on the schedule. 

Drop those players for players scheduled to play on the lighter scheduled nights. Those days are usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. If you’re in a shallow league or a roto league, this strategy may not mean that much to you. But if you’re not going to play an average player on a busy night like Thursday or Saturday, you’re better off dropping him for someone playing on those lighter days. This strategy is similar to “two-start” pitchers in Fantasy Baseball.

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Injuries 

• Mitch Marner, TOR
• Joel Eriksson Ek, MIN
• Dylan Larkin, DET
• Mark Stone, VGK
• Teuvo Teravainen, CAR
• Gabriel Vilardi, WPG
• Josh Norris, OTT
• Tyler Seguin, DAL
• Mason McTavish, ANH
• Vince Dunn, SEA
• Alec Martinez, VGK
• Aaron Ekblad, FLA
• Jacob Trouba, NYR
• Radko Gudas, ANH

Quick Thoughts

• Ryan Hartman has been skating on the top line in Minnesota. 

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire 

The waiver wire consists of players owned in fewer than 60% of Yahoo leagues. They are ranked in order of how I value them for the rest of the season. I dug deep for those playing in NFHC High Stakes leagues.

Last Chance 

• Nick Suzuki, MTL
• Artturi Lehkonen, COL
• Valieri Nichushkin, COL
• Wyatt Johnston, DAL
• Vladimir Tarasenko, FLA
• Pavel Zacha, BOS
• Charlie Coyle, BOS
• Boone Jenner, CLS
• Nick Schmaltz, ARI
• Bryan Rust, PIT
• Gustav Nyquist, NSH
• Sam Bennett, FLA
• Zach Werenski, CLS
• Travis Sanheim, PHI
• Frederik Andersen, CAR
• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, BUF

Deep-League Adds

• Evgeny Kuznetsov, CAR
• Anthony Duclair, TB
• Alex Nylander, CLS
• Jamie Benn, DAL
• Alexis Lafreniere, NYR
• Juraj Slafkovsky, MTL
• Casey Mittelstadt, COL
• Sean Monahan, WPG
• Dylan Guenther, ARI
• Mikael Granlund, SJ
• Fabian Zetterlund, SJ
• Ryan Hartman, MIN
• Jack Roslovic, NYR
• Bobby McMann, TOR
• Seth Jones, CHI
• Philipp Grubauer, SEA
• Connor Ingram, ARI
• Anthony Stolarz, FLA

Alex Nylander, W 

Nylander continues to thrive in his new role, and we’ve been all over it at FTN. The winger is playing more than he ever played before and has moved up to the top line and first PP. We love a volume shooter in fantasy, and he’s been just that since his arrival in Columbus. 

Banger Leagues 

• Jeremy Lauzon, NSH
• David Savard, MTL
• Kaiden Guhle, MTL
• Cam York, PHI
• Nick Seeler, PHI
• Adam Larsson, SEA
• Jake McCabe, TOR
• Mario Ferraro, SJ
• Connor Murphy, CHI
• Yakov Trenin, COL
• Alexander Romanov, NYI
• Ryan McDonagh, NSH
• Arber Xhekaj, MTL

Consider Dropping 

• Sean Couturier, PHI
• Evan Rodrigues, FLA
• Matty Beniers, SEA
• Jonathan Drouin, COL
• Mason Marchment, DAL
• Evgeni Malkin, PIT
• Elias Lindholm, VAN
• Dylan Strome, WSH
• Matt Duchene, DAL
• Thomas Harley, DAL
• Jake Sanderson, OTT

Week 24 (Mar. 18 – Mar. 24)

Four Games 

Buffalo Sabres 

(MON @ SEA, TUE @ VAN, THU @ EDM, SUN @ CGY

Bowen Byram, D

It’s tough to waste an add on a defenseman, but Byram has moved into the top 30 conversation with the move to Buffalo. Byram has three goals, five points and 12 shots in his five games with the Sabres. He’s averaging 24:42 compared to 19:51 over 55 games with the Avalanche. Byram is also on the first PP, which didn’t happen in Colorado. 

Dylan Cozens, C/RW 

Cozens gets a slight boost with the Casey Mittelstadt trade as well. I’d only stream him if I needed faceoff wins. He does have two games with five hits and five shots over the past couple of weeks, but his game has been too up-and-down. I would scoop up Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch or Jeff Skinner first if they were dropped. 

Carolina Hurricanes 

(TUE @ NYI, THU vs. PHI, FRI @ WSH, SUN vs. TOR)

Evgeny Kuznetsov, C 

Kuznetsov continues to trend up and was one of the big winners during the NHL trade deadline. The former Capital has moved up to the second line with Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas, and he’s getting top power-play time. He picked up a goal and an assist in two games ahead of Sunday’s matchup in Ottawa. He’s shooting as well, which is something he didn’t do a lot of in Washington. 

Edmonton Oilers 

(TUE vs. MTL, THU vs. BUF, SAT @ TOR, SUN @ OTT)

Adam Henrique, C/LW

There’s not much to stream in Edmonton. Henrique can touch a couple of categories, but his offensive game has slowed down since the trade from Anaheim.

New Jersey Devils 

(TUE vs. PIT, THU vs. WPG, SAT vs. OTT, SUN @ NYI)

Dawson Mercer, C/RW

It’s hard to keep up with the Devils’ lines these days, so this is a risky stream. I’m watching yet another medicare performance from them as I write this article on Sunday. Mercer is playing 5v5 with Timo Meier, and he’s on the top power play. There’s no telling what line he’ll skate on come Tuesday. He has received more ice time since Travis Green took over behind the bench for Lindy Ruff.

New York Islanders 

(TUE vs. CAR, THU @ DET, SAT vs. WPG, SUN vs. NJ)

Kyle Palmieri, RW 

Palmieri took Mathew Barzal’s spot on the top line Sunday, but he failed to pick up a point or a shot on goal. Patrick Roy is trying to get offense outside of just his first line, so he may keep Barzal on the second line. The Islanders have lost four in a row and were shut out twice in those games.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau, C

JPG becomes a bit more interesting with Barzal on his line. He also didn’t pick up a point Sunday, but he had five shots, two hits and seven faceoff wins. 

Ryan Pulock, D 

Hits and blocks. 

Ottawa Senators 

(TUE @ BOS, THU vs. STL, SAT @ NJ, SUN vs. EDM)

Shane Pinto, C

Pinto has cooled down, but he’s still playing on the first line with Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson. I can’t see him losing a spot in the top six with Josh Norris out. 

Philadelphia Flyers 

(TUE vs. TOR, THU @ CAR, SAT vs. BOS, SUN vs. FLA)

Owen Tippett, W 

Tippett was one of the most dropped players this week, which is too bad because he has two goals, five points, 14 shots, and 10 hits in three games. Double-check to see if he’s available on your wire. 

Joel Farabee, LW 

Farabee scored his 20th and 21st goal of the season over the weekend. He has three goals in his last three games. He’s a threat to score in every game he plays with Travis Konecny, who has points in three straight. 

Cam York, D 

York has logged some heavy minutes of late and is starting to pile up some points, along with shots and blocks. 

Garnet Hathaway, RW 

Hathaway could rack up 25+ hits in four games. He has 28 in his last four games. 

Seattle Kraken

(MON vs. BUF, THU @ VGK, FRI @ ARI, SUN vs. MTL)

Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW 

Bjorkstrand is on a bit of a run again after a very quiet stretch. The winger has five goals and seven points in his last nine games. 

Tampa Bay Lightning 

(TUE @ VGK, THU @ SJ, SAT @ LA, SUN @ ANH

Anthony Duclair, W 

Duclair checked in here last week as one of our bigger winners at the NHL trade deadline. He has two goals and four points in his three games with Tampa Bay (one in every game). His minutes are down compared to San Jose, but I think he’s alright with that because he’s playing 5v5 with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Duclair is a must-grab and may just go down as a league-winner should he stick inside the top six. The Lightning play the Sharks and Ducks this week, so consider Anthony Cirelli as well. 

Toronto Maple Leafs

(TUE @ PHI, WED @ WSH, SAT vs. EDM, SUN @ CAR)

Tyler Bertuzzi, LW 

Mitch Marner should be back soon, so Bertuzzi may not stick alongside Auston Matthews, but that’s how he closed out his week. He had a two-point game in Philadelphia in Week 23. Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares are all on different lines, so there are some appealing options in deeper leagues, including Bobby McMann and Max Domi.

Washington Capitals

(MON @ CGY, WED vs. TOR, FRI vs. CAR, SUN vs. WPG)

T.J. Oshie, RW 

There’s no telling how long Oshie will stay healthy, but he usually makes things happen when he’s active. He had a goal last week and played 20 minutes on the top line with Alex Ovechkin on Saturday, despite zero points. 

Winnipeg Jets 

(MON vs. WSH, WED vs, NSH, FRI vs. ANH, SUN @ CLS)

Sean Monahan, C 

Monahan checks in for the second straight week. He’s found chemistry with Tyler Toffoli and Nikolaj Ehlers. I’d grab Ehlers first and I’d consider Alex Iafallo until Gabriel Vilardi returns. 

Neal Pionk, D & Brandon Dillon, D

Hits and blocks. 

Attack the Schedule 

• Monday – 2 games
• Tuesday -13 games
• Wednesday – 3 games 
• Thursday – 11 games
• Friday – 4 games
• Saturday – 11 games
• Sunday – 10 games 

Having players on Monday, Wednesday and Friday will give you an edge this week. 

WSH – MON, WED, FRI, SUN
SEA – MON, THU, FRI, SUN
DAL – WED, FRI, SUN
ARI – WED, FRI, SUN

• The Capitals play on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which is huge because there are only two games Monday, three Wednesday and four Friday. 
• The Sabres are the only team with a game Monday and Tuesday. 
• The Flames, Oilers, Panthers, Devils, Islanders, Senators, Flyers, Lightning, Maple Leafs and Jets play Saturday and Sunday.
• The Coyotes, Hurricanes, Avalanche, Stars, Penguins, Kraken and Capitals play Friday and Sunday. 

Back-to-Backs

• BUF
• CGY
• CAR
• CLS
• EDM
• FLA
• LA
• MIN
• NJ
• NYI
• OTT
• PHI
• SEA
• TB
• TORx2
• WPG

Anthony Stolarz, G, Florida Panthers 

Stolarz will get another start this week, and as I discussed last week, we should see a few more starts from him down the stretch to keep Segei Bobrvsky fresh. I’d pick up Stolarz if I had Bob and my second goalie was weak. 

Frederik Andersen & Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina Hurricanes

These two are a great duo to own the rest of the way. Kochetkov continues to play, and Andersen doesn’t have the cleanest track record when it comes to health. 

Laurent Brossiot, G, Winnipeg Jets

Brossiot was a great stream this past week, as he picked up a shutout. He’ll get either the Islanders or Capitals to close Week 24. 

Fantasy Hockey Playoff Schedule 

Week 25 (Mar. 25 – Mar. 31) Quarterfinals

Four games 

• Anaheim Ducks 
• Vegas Golden Knights 

Two Games 

• Minnesota Wild 
• New Jersey Devils 
• New York Islanders 
• Tampa Bay Lightning 

Week 26 (Apr. 1 – Apr. 7) Semifinals

Four Games 

• Colorado Avalanche 
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• Edmonton Oilers
• Florida Panthers 
• Los Angeles Kings 
• Minnesota Wild 
• Montreal Canadiens
• Nashville Predators 
• New Jersey Devils 
• New York Islanders 
• New York Rangers 
• Ottawa Senators 
• Pittsburgh Penguins 
• San Jose Sharks 
• St. Louis Blues 
• Tampa Bay Lightning 
• Washington Capitals 

Two Games 

• Vegas Golden Knights 

Week 27 (Apr. 8 – Apr. 14) Championship 

Four Games 

• Arizona Coyotes 
• Calgary Flames 
• Seattle Kraken
• Toronto Maple Leafs 
• Vegas Golden Knights 

Two Games 

• Boston Bruins 

Week 28 (Apr. 15 – Apr. 21) Final Week of Regular Season – Roto

Three Games 

• Edmonton Oilers 

H2H Two Week Final Yahoo Sports! (Apr. 8 – Apr. 18) 

Six Games 

• Calgary Flames
• Seattle Kraken
• Vegas Golden Knights
• Toronto Maple Leafs 
• New York Islanders

Every team plays at least four games in the final two weeks of the season.