With the NHL All-Star break behind us, we can turn our attention back to managing our fantasy rosters and finding quality waiver wire pickups. Whether you need to replace an injury, a slumping player, or just want to give yourself a boost, the fantasy hockey waiver wire is here to assist you.
Week 18 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire
Forwards
Filip Chytil, C, New York Rangers (50% Rostered)
Chytil is on a heater, racking up six goals and an assist in his past four games. He’s having a breakout year, with his 18 goals and 31 points through 42 contests. Prior to this season, he had scored 22 to 23 points in each of the past four campaigns. He’s shown chemistry with other Ranger young guns Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko. The trio also runs the second power-play unit. Chytil is a former first-round pick (21st in 2017) and is only 23 years old. He’s already doing well and has room to grow.
Anthony Beauvillier, LW/RW, Vancouver Canucks (22% Rostered)
Beauvillier hasn’t had a great season with the Islanders, posting 20 points in 49 games. He’ll get a fresh start in being traded to Vancouver. He played one game with his new club, taking two shots, and two hits, with a minus-2 rating in 17:58 of ice time. The encouraging aspect of that is he was playing on a line with Elias Pettersson and Andrei Kuzmenko. Beauvillier is also on the team’s top power-play unit. If he can hold onto those two roles, we should see his production spike.
Blake Coleman, LW/RW, Calgary Flames (22% Rostered)
Coleman scored 33 points in his first season as a Flame last year, which is consistent with his point totals throughout his career. This season started out slow for him, but he’s certainly made up for it lately. He has 10 points in his last 10 games, including five points in his last two contests. He can help out in a number of other ways too. Coleman has 121 shots, 36 PIM, one shorthanded goal, 67 hits, 28 blocks, and a plus-9 rating. He’s certainly worth adding off the waiver wire during this scoring run.
Kyle Palmieri, RW, New York Islanders (19% Rostered)
Palmieri has been on a roll lately, having just come off a five-game point streak. His Islanders are winners of four straight games, in large part to his contributions. Injury has limited him to 27 appearances, where he has collected 15 points. However, he has six points in six games since returning to the lineup. Playing on the second line and second power-play unit, Palmieri will continue to play an important role for his club. The Bo Horvat acquisition should bring more offense to the team and further boost Palmieri’s fantasy value.
Rafael Harvey-Pinard, LW, Montreal Canadiens (19% Rostered)
Harvey-Pinard has been excellent since being called up. He’s only played in seven games, but in that span he’s notched five goals and an assist. A seventh-round pick from 2019, he made his NHL debut last year, playing four games and scoring one goal. He’s carving himself out a more permanent role with his play this season. His ice time in his latest contest was 18:49, where he scored two goals, with five shots, two PIM, two blocks, one hit, and had a plus-2 rating. One downside is he doesn’t play until Feb 11, so you might want to wait a couple of days before adding him from the waiver wire.
Mikey Eyssimont, C/LW, San Jose Sharks (8% Rostered)
The Sharks claimed Eyssimont off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets earlier this season. He’s been a good fit with the Sharks, netting five points in 11 outings. He has 11 points through 30 games between the Sharks and Jets. His peripherals aren’t too shabby, having 57 shots, 31 PIM, 60 hits, and a plus-7 rating. He has four points in his last three tilts, including a three-point performance. He’s had five or more PIM on four occasions. He’s seeing time on the second line with Logan Couture and Alexander Barabanov, as well as time on the second power-play unit. For deeper leagues, Eyssimont can bring decent value from the waiver wire.
Defense
Samuel Girard, D, Colorado Avalanche (43% Rostered)
Girard had a slow start to the season, having multiple stretches of being held off the scoresheet. He’s turned that around lately though. He has an ongoing four-game point streak and has seven points in his last nine matches. He’s up to 17 points in 43 games this season. Girard is a core piece to Colorado’s blue line, playing a top-four role and on the man advantage. His peripherals aren’t fantastic – 70 shots, 16 PIM, four power-play points, 37 hits, 59 blocks, and a minus-7 rating. He’d be a secondary scorer in any aspect, but he’s worth rostering while the offense is hot.
Sebastian Aho, D, New York Islanders (10% Rostered)
No, not the Aho from the Carolina Hurricanes. While the name is the same, the players are completely different. The Islanders Aho has always been overlooked, but he’s proving to be worth rostering in deeper leagues. He has a goal and four assists in his last 10 games. Four goals and 13 points through 50 games on the season. He’s averaging 16:46 minutes per game, and is getting time on the power play. He has 70 shots, 12 PIM, 26 hits, 49 blocks, and a plus-4 rating. None of his stats are eye-popping, but he can do a little bit of everything.