Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Schwartz, Werenski lead pickups to target this week

Working the waiver wire is a crucial part of any championship fantasy hockey season. Finding players to work into your lineup every single week that can add points to your total is the number one way you can control the outcome of your matchup. In this article every week, I’ll be going over players at every position and at different levels of rostership so that you can fill out your fantasy squad with the best players available in your league. Let’s dig in:

Forwards

Rostered in 41-50% of Leagues: Jaden Schwartz, C/LW - SEA (48% rostered)

It shouldn’t be too hard to sell you on Schwartz — he’s in the midst of a nine-game point streak in which he’s accumulated six goals and twelve points. Seattle has one of the best streaming schedules this week playing the early week light nights on Monday and Wednesday before playing the heavier Thursday and Saturday slates as well.

Schwartz has averaged 19:09 of ice time through this point streak, elevating him above the typical 15-17 minute range that the vast majority of Seattle forwards typically receive. Schwartz is the best streaming option widely available on the waiver wire for this upcoming week in my opinion.

Honorable Mentions: Matty Beniers, C - SEA (44%) & Pavel Buchnevich, C/LW - STL (43%)

Rostered in 31-40% of Leagues: Robert Thomas, C - STL (31% rostered)

Thomas has put his name back on the fantasy community’s radar with a six-game, 10-point streak highlighted by a four-assist outing in Saturday’s 8-2 drubbing of the Colorado Avalanche. Thomas won’t provide much in the peripheral categories but has been shooting a little more this season while skating over 20 minutes a night on average.

St. Louis has a four-game, one off-night schedule this week but given that Tuesday and Thursday’s “heavy” slates have just 9 games each, you can probably fit Thomas in your starting lineup for at three games this week.

That’s enough for me to sign off on picking up Thomas and fellow red-hot teammates Brayden Schenn and Pavel Buchnevich.

Honorable Mentions: Nick Schmaltz, C/RW - ARI (36%) & Logan Cooley, C - ARI (31%)

Rostered in 21-30% of Leagues: Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW - SEA (24% rostered)

Bjorkstrand obviously shares the same favorable schedule that makes Schwartz so attractive for this week. But while Schwartz has stolen headlines with his point streak, Bjorkstrand has been no slouch himself, netting four goals in his past five games.

Bjorkstrand is one of the primary shooters on the split Seattle power play, leading the team in shot attempts with the man advantage. His even-strength line has him playing with the similarly streaking Eeli Tolvanen, who has five points in his last four games, and while Bjorkstrand doesn’t see the kind of ice time Schwartz does, if Schwartz has already been snagged in your league Bjorkstrand is a more than worthy consolation prize.

Honorable Mentions: Wyatt Johnston, C - DAL (25%) & Alex Killorn, LW/RW - ANA (29%)

Rostered in 0-20% of Leagues: Leo Carlsson, C - ANA (19% rostered)

The Anaheim Ducks’ load management strategy for Leo Carlsson was a source of early consternation for fantasy managers as he was rested for back-to-back games in late October. When Carlsson did draw back into the lineup, he scored a goal and assist; since then he’s been an everyday regular for the Ducks.

The results have been tantalizing of late as Carlsson potted his first career hat-trick on Friday against Philadelphia and followed that up with an assist and three shots in Sunday’s 4-1 win against San Jose. I don’t see Carlsson getting pulled from the lineup anytime soon and Anaheim has the league’s best streaming schedule this week, playing four games with three of those on off nights.

If Carlsson is available in your league and you need those off-night games to avoid benching players on the heavier nights, he’s a terrific option right now.

Honorable Mentions: Kirill Marchenko, RW - CBJ (5%) & Eeli Tolvanen, LW/RW - SEA (14%)

Defensemen

Rostered in 26-50% of Leagues: Zach Werenski - CBJ (47% rostered)

I didn’t think we’d see a scenario where Zach Werenski dipped under 50% rostered this year but he’s been a touch cold to open this season with just one goal and six assists in his 12 games played.

Despite that, Werenski is still shooting (4 shots on goal in Sunday’s 4-3 shootout loss against the Rangers), getting tons of minutes (23:49 ATOI on the season), and has a pair of assists in his last couple of games which could be a sign he’s warming up.

Werenski is 11th amongst all defensemen in shot attempts in the last five games and for all their warts defensively the Blue Jackets are starting to develop some real offensive talent with youngsters Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko beginning to show out. Werenski should be rostered in almost all formats.

Honorable Mentions: Cam Fowler - ANA (49%) & Bowen Byram - COL (34%)

Rostered in 0-25% of Leagues: Torey Krug - STL (17% rostered)

You can be forgiven for wrinkling your nose at this suggestion, but Krug is a legitimate option in a week where the Blues play four games.

Krug has quietly scored four points in his last three games while averaging three shots a game. Combine that with a healthy four hits and three blocks and Krug is contributing across the scoresheet at the moment. His recent uptick in play coincides with a bump up to an average of about 21:30 time on ice per game, giving him just a little more fantasy floor than he exhibited previously.

In a deeper league, Krug should definitely be rostered for this week when there are so few solid defense options available.

Honorable Mentions: Jared Spurgeon - MIN (22%) & Justin Schultz - SEA (3%)

Goalies

Rostered in 26-50% of Leagues: Elvis Merzlikins - CBJ (27% rostered)

I still have some love for Elvis despite the .897 save percentage and the current five-game losing streak Columbus finds themselves mired in. Merzlikins hasn’t exactly been the model of consistency but has posted a .925 save percentage or better in three of his last four starts.

Columbus plays four games this week and Merzlikins will get two of those at the very least and potentially three; that kind of volume is valuable in almost all formats. If your format rewards volume over performance then Merzlikins is absolutely worth the pickup for this week.

Honorable Mentions: Philipp Grubauer - SEA (33%) & Akira Schmid - NJD (31%)

Rostered in 0-25% of Leagues: Sam Montembeault - MTL (10% rostered)

All of a sudden, Montembeault has posted back-to-back games with a .929 save percentage or better, and looks slated to start twice this week if Montreal continues to alternate its goaltenders from game to game.

It’s still a dicey proposition to roster a Canadiens’ netminder, but Montembeault has this recent stretch of play and a solid run at the end of last season to suggest you could make worse moves if you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel for goalie starts in your league this week.

If Montembeault doesn’t do it for you, you’re looking at options like Mackenzie Blackwood from the Sharks; I’ll stick with the team that hasn’t been historically terrible so far this season thanks.

Honorable Mentions: Mackenzie Blackwood - SJS (12%) & Connor Ingram - ARI (19%)

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Nate Groot Nibbelink is the creator of Apples & Ginos Fantasy Hockey and the originator of the #ZeroG draft strategy. You can find him pontificating about obscure fantasy hockey strategy topics in the Apples & Ginos Discord Server or on Twitter @applesginos.