NHL Waiver Wire: Pickups of the Week

Hope your lineups haven't been significantly affected as a result of some teams playing zero games in a week. We're winding down the Panthers, Rangers, Sharks and Kings on that schedule with the Hurricanes, Blues and Canadiens having recently relaxed. The good news is that the slacking will conclude next week with all 31 clubs in action.

And be sure to look out for players set for a significant number of games within a short time span. A couple examples will be discussed below.

If you're searching for top-notch hockey material, head to RotoWire for the latest news and in-depth content.

More non-recent repeats have been included. Read through to find your match.

(Rostered rates/stats as of Feb. 10.)

Forwards

Tage Thompson, BUF (Yahoo: 31%): Thompson is showing that if you have the talent and you put in the work — and are given decent ice time — then good things will eventually come. He's operated as Buffalo's No. 1 center most of the season while accumulating stats across the board with 130 shots, 38 hits and 217 faceoff wins. Thompson has tallied 30 points on the campaign, with 12 of those in his last 11 games, including six while up a man. The Sabres may not be excelling as a team, but there has to be room for a prime producer in most standard fantasy formats.

Brock Nelson, NYI (Yahoo: 19%): It's perhaps surprising Nelson hasn't appeared in this column this year, but the Isles haven't provided any reliable upside up front. Nelson is looking to change that perception with five goals, five assists, 22 shots and 62 FW from his 10 most recent appearances. He represents an adequate second pivot behind Mathew Barzal and holds down a spot on NYI's backup man-advantage, which is arguably as effective as the lead group.

Denis Gurianov, DAL (Yahoo: 11%): Gurianov has proven himself a dangerous sniper, but he's also displayed inconsistent scoring streaks. The same erratic pattern has continued, but at least he's reunited with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn at five-on-five and has grabbed a trio of helpers in the last three games. And if we go back 13 games, we see Gurianov has registered 11 points and 34 shots while averaging more than two PP minutes. As long as he sticks in the top-six, there's room for him in your lineup.

Trevor Moore, LA (Yahoo: 11%): This column might be a little slow to jump on the Moore bandwagon, though other RotoWire features have already praised his attacking virtues. The native Californian has surprised poolies since Jan. 1 with 18 points, 43 shots and a plus-17. Moore looks like a natural alongside Phillip Danault and Viktor Arvidsson on L.A.'s second unit after spending most of his brief career lower down the depth chart. More power-play contributions would be nice, but it's not essential to future success.

Nick Paul, OTT (Yahoo: 6%): Ottawa is busy making up postponements with three games still left this week and another four in the subsequent seven days. That leaves a few of their skaters ripe for immediate consumption. In the previous two games, Paul netted a goal, two assists and 17 FW as the Sens' second center. He's been active since the club resumed play in the New Year with more than 18 minutes a night and should be in line for similar ice time during this packed schedule.

Brett Howden, VGK (Yahoo: 2%): It's tough to get noticed on Vegas among all its skilled forwards, yet Howden is getting it done centering the fourth line. Despite meager minutes, the ex-Ranger had recorded a goal in four straight and points in five before having those streaks snapped Wednesday. At 23, Howden offers a chance to grow into a larger role. But with Jack Eichel set to debut at some point within the next month, there may be no room for Howden to progress. He's getting his opportunities now, and that's at least worth a fantasy flyer.

Artturi Lehkonen, MON (Yahoo: 1%): The Habs keep showing how awful they can be and yet the waiver wire has paraded one of their players in each of the last three weeks. Let's make it four straight with Lehkonen, who plays on the first unit for both even-strength and man-advantage. Tuesday's blowout at the hands of the Devils dented his momentum following eight points in nine games. New interim head coach Martin St. Louis could mix the lineup Thursday, so it would be best to see where Lehkonen ends up.

Travis Boyd, ARI (Yahoo: 1%): Arizona might be slightly better than Montreal in the overall standings, but both are competing for lowest goals produced and most allowed. This column has covered five of the Coyotes' six leading scorers with Boyd completing the chain. He's performed well at different USNTDP levels and in the minors, yet hasn't done much in the NHL except for making one playoff appearance in 2017-18 to earn a Cup ring with the Caps. After uneventful stops in Toronto and Vancouver, Boyd is now a top-six center with 21 points and a top PP place to his name. He's probably far from a must-add, but at the same time his placement dictates he shouldn't be available in 99 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Defensemen

Damon Severson, NJ (Yahoo: 29%): Since Severson was offered in mid-December, he's posted top-tier fantasy D stats with 17 points — including seven PPPs — 43 shots, 16 PIM, 18 hits and 18 blocks across 19 games. He's been doing most of his damage with Dougie Hamilton sidelined while running Jersey's lead power play and penalty kill. Even when Hamilton comes back, which could happen as early as next week, one would assume Severson remains a vital part of the attack.

Nate Schmidt, WPG (Yahoo: 21%): Schmidt is another returnee to this space who got off to a quick scoring start and then tailed off. He's begun to get back on track with two goals and an assist from his last five games while maintaining excellent supplementary stats in the form of 14 shots and eight blocks over the same stretch. Even though Schmidt usually isn't on Winnipeg's first man-advantage, he's matched a career high with 11 PPPs. And with heavy minutes, he should continue to receive plenty of opportunities to produce in various categories.

Duncan Keith, EDM (Yahoo: 7%): The current version of Keith isn't the one who helped the Blackhawks capture three Cups in six years, but that shouldn't be expected from someone who'll turn 39 in July. With Tyson Barrie, Evan Bouchard and Darnell Nurse covering Edmonton's blueline scoring, Keith is being asked to provide leadership and a few tangible fantasy contributions. The nine helpers in 12 games heading into Tuesday come as an unexpected bonus while 30 shots and 31 blocks since Dec. 14 look good enough as a lower-roster addition. Keith had to be helped off the ice Wednesday after crashing into the boards, so his situation requires monitoring.

Nick Holden, OTT (Yahoo: 1%): As discussed, the Sens will be busy with eight games in the next 13 days. Holden's another one who's already benefiting with two goals, two assists, five shots, five hits and nine blocks from the last three. He even assisted on Brady Tkachuk's PPG Tuesday, though that doesn't seem like a stable role. Holden's not been much for points over his career, but you have to figure there will be sufficient numbers to accumulate over two weeks to insert him as a short-term fill-in.

Goaltenders

Jeremy Swayman, BOS (Yahoo: 39%): With Tuukka Rask retiring, the Bruins' goaltending situation hypothetically becomes clearer with only two remaining options. Swayman looked pretty solid to start the season, but a couple poor performances and a stint in the COVID protocols allowed Linus Ullmark to take control of the crease. After Rask signed last month, Swayman was sent to the AHL for a couple weeks until the former Vezina winner got injured. The rookie probably won't take anything from Ullmark's workload, though the potential for a few appearances should be enough to qualify as a stash candidate.

Cal Petersen, LA (Yahoo: 36%): When Petersen was first featured in November, he was much higher covered than Jonathan Quick due to a fine run of play. The two have since reversed roles, with the veteran sporting a 53 percent rate. They've mainly been splitting starts, though Petersen deserves more attention based on his 6-1 record, 2.01 GAA and .914 save percentage in 2022 compared to Quick's 3.24/.881 line over the same period. It'll be interesting to see who starts when the Kings return, though it'll likely be Petersen based on Quick having lost the last one in Detroit.

(Players to consider from past columns: Nazem Kadri, Tyler Toffoli, Joel Eriksson Ek, Robert Thomas, Lucas Raymond, Michael Bunting, Ryan Hartman, Ondrej Kase, Tim Stutzle, Jesper Bratt, Jared McCann, Mason Marchment, Lawson Crouse, Anthony Cirelli, Matthew Boldy, Ryan Johansen, Trevor Zegras, Nino Niederreiter, Ivan Barbashev, Mats Zuccarello, Anton Lundell, Kailer Yamamoto, Alex Tuch, Boone Jenner, William Karlsson, Troy Terry, Matt Duchene, Tanner Jeannot, Mikael Granlund, Jonathan Dahlen, Evan Bouchard, Jared Spurgeon, Moritz Seider, Shayne Gostisbehere, Rasmus Andersson, Matt Grzelcyk, Ryan Pulock, Alex Nedeljkovic, Matt Murray, Pavel Francouz, Petr Mrazek, Ville Husso, Kaapo Kahkonen, Jake Oettinger, James Reimer, Karel Vejmelka)