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Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Mikael Backlund leads pickups to target for Week 21
Fantasy hockey seasons are winding down, so make sure you're optimizing your roster in your battle for playoff positioning.
Working the waiver wire is a crucial part of any championship fantasy hockey season. Finding players to work into your lineup every single week who can add points to your total is the No. 1 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:
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Rostered in 41-50% of Leagues: Mikael Backlund, C - CGY (41% rostered)
I consider Mikael Backlund a must-roster player for the upcoming week in almost all formats. Backlund ranks fifth in the entire NHL in shots on goal in the last month, on a 76-point pace in that span. And that’s including his last four games in which he’s scored zero points despite firing 19 shots on goal. And if you’re not entirely sold on Backlund the player, consider Calgary — along with Anaheim — has the league’s best schedule for streaming this week.
The Flames play an early week back-to-back on Monday and Tuesday, giving you an early out on Backlund if he’s not performing. But you’re likely going to want to hold onto him because the Flames and Ducks are the only two teams that do not play on Saturday’s 15-game slate. Since your streamers aren’t going to crack your starting lineup on Saturday anyways, you’re going to want to find players from the Flames or Ducks, and the best option between the two teams is Backlund.
Honourable Mentions: Bryan Rust, RW - PIT (48%) & Jared McCann, C/LW - SEA (45%)
Rostered in 31-40% of Leagues: Ivan Barbashev, C/LW - VGK (32% rostered)
Barbashev has been on a hot streak since the moment he arrived in Las Vegas, notching two goals and five points in three games with the Golden Knights thus far. He’s been a seamless addition to the top line alongside Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault, and he’s seeing work with the second power-play unit as well. Barbashev provides more than just point-scoring upside, notching 11 hits and six blocks through these three games.
Barbashev’s potential to contribute across every category is a rare ability to find readily available on the waiver wire this time of year, so he’s worth considering, especially in bangers categories leagues.
Honourable Mentions: Boone Jenner, C - CBJ (39%) & Nick Schmaltz, C/RW - ARI (36%)
Rostered in 21-30% of Leagues: Ryan Hartman, C/RW - MIN (30% rostered)
Hartman has been a natural fit with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello on the Minnesota top line since the trio was reunited in February. While Hartman hasn’t found the back of the net in his last six games, he’s registered three or more shots on goal in five of his last seven and has only skated less than 17:25 once in that span. With the trade deadline behind us, it feels pretty safe to say the Wild don’t have any better option for the 1C role than Hartman, and that makes him a prime add candidate as we approach the fantasy playoffs.
Honourable Mentions: Anthony Duclair, RW - FLA (25%) & Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW - LAK (24%)
Rostered in 0-20% of Leagues: Blake Coleman, LW/RW - CGY (11% rostered)
Coleman’s success or failure will likely be correlated with the aforementioned Backlund this week since the two have been linemates for much of the season. Similarly to Backlund, Coleman has been firing a ton of shots lately, with 17 in his last four games. Unlike Backlund, however, Coleman has found the back of the net with two goals in those four games. Coleman doesn’t get the same amount of ice time as Backlund but he’s widely available even in deeper leagues, making him a perfect streaming play in places where Backlund is already rostered.
Honourable Mentions: Anthony Beauvillier, LW/RW - VAN (18%) & Mason McTavish, C/LW - ANA (14%)
