Week 17 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Pickups (Feb. 14-Feb. 20)
The NHL waiver wire can be a crazy place in fantasy hockey leagues. Thankfully after last week's "long week," things are back to a sort of normal. Yes, the makeup games are still being played. There will be 46 games played in all from Feb. 14-20. Let's break down the schedule matrix in the terms of games by night.
- Monday (Feb. 14) -- 4
- Tuesday (Feb. 15) -- 9
- Wednesday (Feb. 16) -- 4
- Thursday (Feb. 17) -- 10
- Friday (Feb. 18) -- 4
- Saturday (Feb. 19) -- 7
- Sunday (Feb. 20) -- 8
Again, no one is playing six or seven times this week. However, there is going to be an outlier or two as the schedule begins to adjust. Let's take a look there now.
Teams Playing Five Games: Edmonton Oilers.
Teams Playing Four Games: Buffalo Sabres, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets.
Teams Playing Three Games: Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights.
Teams Playing Two Games: Arizona Coyotes, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals.
Teams Playing One Game: New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning.
In Week 17, there are still some lopsided schedules to take advantage of. This time, some weekend back-to-backs can make or break one's week too.
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Some Nice Commodities (Players 10-30% Owned)
W Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild (16.8% Rostered)
The Minnesota forward plays four times this week. His 11-game tenure so far has been quite impressive. Matt Boldy has four goals and six assists. His shot output has been solid as his playing time has gradually increased. He is just above 16 minutes a night now while seeing significant power-play time and little or no penalty killing time. Again, the 26 shots in 11 games are solid. Three power-play points are also quite encouraging. Also, Boldy has nine blocked shots so far in his young career with three coming in a recent game against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 20-year-old looks like a polished NHL veteran out there with much fantasy upside.
W Viktor Arvidsson, Los Angeles Kings (22.5% Rostered)
Sometimes one just has to love when a player will keep shooting the puck. Normally, a center would be in this spot, but Arvidsson still has three more games this week. As long as he keeps hitting the net, the winger has to be rostered. The forward has 29 shots on goal and 30 scoring chances just in his previous five contests alone. The three goals and one assist in that span are nice. What is even nicer is the six blocked shots too. Quietly, that brings up Arvidsson's blocked shots numbers up to 32 in 40 games. Again, he fills a few categories and is still playing 17:24 a night. Arvidsson is just not higher-owned on some formats simply because most keep expecting a precipitous regression. That has not happened yet.
D Oliver Kylington, Calgary Flames (10.0% Rostered)
The greatest attribute of Oliver Kylington is how even-keeled the player is on and off the ice. He had been a fringe sixth/seventh defenseman for a good while in Calgary but has been gradually trusted more. Kylington has arguably been Calgary's most fantasy-relevant defenseman lately. He has points in three straight games and is up to 22 in 42 games in 2021-22. There is that +22 which is hard to ignore but more importantly, those 87 shots as his shot volume increases. The hope is that Kylington sees a little more time on the man advantage. He has a couple of power-play assists and there is potential for more growth there with his shot. In the previous 20 games, the Calgary defenseman has played 20+ minutes nine times and nearly 20 minutes several times. Get on the bus!
G Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars (29.8% Rostered)
After Braden Holtby" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#player-pop-up" href="/nhl_player_news/Braden_Holtby/">Braden Holtby helped things along last time around, Jake Oettinger may just get two of the three starts next week. Oettinger has been pretty steady with a 12-5 record for Dallas. He has won three of his last four starts and survived a tough night against Nashville. Oettinger held on for the win allowing three goals on 23 shots. In his other two wins, Oettinger allowed just two goals on 54 shots. As Dallas tries to make a playoff push in the tough Central Division, they will need Oettinger to keep playing at this steady pace.
Assets Owned At A Higher Rate (30-50% range)
C Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken (36.2% Rostered)
This is where one has to let the offense ride and not worry about categories like +/-. Jared McCann has 19 goals on the season in just 42 games. Yet, he is often forgotten in Seattle. For those thinking this is some kind of fluke, McCann had 32 points in 43 games with more talent in Pittsburgh last season. He was utilized in more of a power-play role and scored seven times. In Seattle, he has seen a PP1 role and McCann has six markers on the man advantage already (ten power-play points overall). While things have not gone quite as well for players like Jordan Eberle and Yanni Gourde, McCann has thrived. From a fantasy standpoint, McCann represents the best fantasy asset on Seattle at this juncture.
D Noah Dobson, New York Islanders (42.1% Rostered)
For a top-four defenseman, Noah Dobson is looking every bit like one. His point production is coming up again with three assists in his last five games. He has a bevy of scoring chances and has 14 shots with ten blocked shots in this span. The Vancouver game allowed Dobson to rest a bit as he only played 19:19. Before that, he was playing more than 22 minutes a night. That has brought his season average up over the 21-minute mark for average time on ice. Something else significant is Dobson's power-play prowess. He already has a goal and five assists on the man advantage which eclipses his total from last season. The hope is that Barry Trotz can continue to trust the young blueliner in all situations.
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G Ville Husso, St. Louis Blues (38.0% Rostered)
The good news is that Ville Husso is likely to get two of the three starts this week for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington has been struggling and then gave up five goals against the New Jersey Devils. Husso's percentage spike alone has been among the highest in most every fantasy platform. Numbers over the weekend will only trend upward there. Husso has allowed just five goals in his last four starts and that includes one shutout. Binnington, as we said, equaled that on Thursday night alone. It looks like Husso will be Craig Berube's guy as the "1A" for next week.
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