With the trade deadline fast approaching, we’ll be sure to see players moved to new teams and have that increase or decrease their fantasy value. There have been a few moves so far, and more are sure to come. In the meantime, I’ll go over some players flying under the radar on the fantasy hockey waiver wire.
Week 22 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire
Forwards
Dylan Strome, C, Chicago Blackhawks (38% Rostered)
Strome has been lighting it up recently, as he just came off a six-game point streak. The run consisted of 11 points – including a hat trick, four-point performance. His ice time is up, as he’s played 20 or more minutes in four of his past five outings. He’s also received almost four minutes of power-play time in seven of his last 10 games. Strome is up to 16 goals and 16 assists in 48 matchups – a far better output than last year’s 17 points in 40 games.
Lawson Crouse, LW, Arizona Coyotes (35% Rostered)
I’m happy to see Nick Schmaltz’s roster percentage rise nearly 20% over the past two weeks. It should be even higher, but it’s good to see managers capitalize on a player’s success. Now let’s turn our attention to another Coyote, Lawson Crouse. He has five goals and three assists in his past six outings, including a hat trick. He’s up to 19 goals and 32 points – both are career highs – in 59 meetings this year. The Coyotes have found a surge of offense lately, scoring 35 goals in their past six contests. They’re a team to keep an eye on, at least until the offense dries up. It’s also possible we see Crouse moved at the trade deadline, in which case his fantasy stock could increase even more.
Anthony Beauvillier, LW, New York Islanders (31% Rostered)
Beauvillier had a disastrous 14-game stretch where he was held off the scoresheet. His rostered percentage plummeted, rightfully so. However, he’s been working his way back up to fantasy relevance. He has 27 points in 54 games on the campaign, but 20 of those points have been scored in his past 32 contests. Not spectacular totals, but it would put him on pace for 51 points if he scored at that rate for a full season, which would be a career high.
Craig Smith, RW, Boston Bruins (17% Rostered)
It feels like Smith shouldn’t be producing as well as he does, given that he isn’t in Boston’s top six. Playing on the third line seems to be best for the winger, as he’s posted 12 points in his last 11 meetings. Eight of those points were goals, including a hat trick (quite a few hat tricks on this list). He’s capable of providing decent secondary scoring and worth taking a flyer on in moderate to deeper leagues.
Defense
Josh Manson, D, Colorado Avalanche (12% Rostered)
Here’s a trade deadline move that happened early enough that I can cover in this waiver wire report. Manson isn’t known as a scorer, although he did have a point in each of his last three games with the Anaheim Ducks. Moved to the Avalanche for Drew Helleson and a 2023 2nd round pick, Manson adds more bite to their D corps. In his first game with Colorado, he dished out 10 hits, along with one shot and a plus-1 rating in 18:41 of ice time. He’ll provide value with his 126 hits and 53 PIM on the year, and maybe chip in some offense with all the talent surrounding him.
Caleb Jones, D, Chicago Blackhawks (5% Rostered)
Not Seth Jones, but brother Caleb Jones is having a nice run of success. He has four points in his last three games and eight points in his past nine matchups. In 36 games he has 12 points, 39 shots, 54 hits, and 41 blocks. He’ll occasionally play 20 plus minutes in a game, as he’s currently slotted in on Chicago’s second defense pairing. If you’re in a deep league and want to pick up a few more defense points, Jones isn’t a bad play.
Goaltending
Craig Anderson, G, Buffalo Sabres (23% Rostered)
Yes, the 40-year-old veteran netminder is still chugging along, and actually doing quite well for himself lately. He’s won four of his past five starts, defeating some quality teams along the way. A 5-4 win over the Minnesota Wild, a 3-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, and a pair of victories (5-1 and 5-2) over the Toronto Maple Leafs. He got lit up by the Florida Panthers in between, but the same can be said about many goaltenders who faced the Panthers. Anderson allowed just eight goals against in those four wins and posted save percentages of .879, .944, .967, and .968. There are likely not too many other goalies you’ll find on the waiver wire with that kind of recent track record, so he makes for a solid streaming option.