Waiver wire pickups are back!
We took a little break over the holiday season but now we are back and ready to go!
For one week at least…
As of next week, we’ll be changing up the way we bring you fantasy news in a much more depth way.
As for right now, though, let’s get underway with this week’s fantasy pickups.
Forwards
Patrik Berglund – St Louis Blues
ESPN Owned Percentage: 2.7%
Now Berglund may seem like a bit of an odd pick considering he only has seven goals this season. Well, if you’ve any Blues games recently you would know that six of those goals have come in his last ten games, meaning he is a hot scoring right now. Don’t get me wrong, Berglund won’t be scoring at this rate for much longer but if you take a look at his schedule next week then it just might continue. The Blues take on Boston, LA and San Jose which may seem pretty intimidating until you realize they all rank in the bottom 10 for goals against. If the hot streak ends then drop him but this part of the schedule may help you win your fantasy week.
Patrick Maroon – Edmonton Oilers
ESPN Owned Percentage: 27.3%
Two more goals last night against the Senators made Patrick Maroon the top goalscorer on the Edmonton Oilers. Who would’ve thought he would be this great for the Oilers. Maroon should be in your fantasy lineup every single week with no questions asked. With Maroon playing alongside Connor McDavid, the league’s leading point-getter, you can almost guarantee a good amount of points each week.
Vincent Trocheck – Florida Panthers
ESPN Owned Percentage: 53.3%
With the recent injured to top line centre Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck has been asked to replace him on the top line where he had done a nice job. Trocheck has six points (three goals and three assists) in as many games for the Panthers whilst averaging over 20 minutes of ice time. This period for him will be short lived but as of right now, the centreman has been leading the way for Florida and could be doing so for your fantasy team.
Defensemen
Mattias Ekholm – Nashville Predators
ESPN Owned Percentage:
Much line Trocheck, Ekholm’s value has risen significantly with the absence of his teammate, PK Subban. While Ekholm is no point per game defensemen, he does chip in every now and then with a point or two. The Swede does have 14 points, as of right now, with that number likely to improve with more ice time and the no Subban. Subban is likely going to miss another week or so why not ride the Ekholm train until then.
Nathan Beaulieu – Montreal Canadians
ESPN Owned Percentage: 14.7%
Five points in his last three games including three powerplay points. I’ll take that thank you very much. He made not be having the most successful season offensively but as of right now the kid is hot, if somebody is hot then we ride the streak! Since the injury to Markov, the Canadians defensemen has been in his best form of the season whilst getting more than 22 minutes a night. With the recent form, we shouldn’t be surprised by it as Beaulieu does have plenty of offensive talent. Hopefully, when Markov returns we don’t see him dropped down the third pairing again.
Goaltender
Brian Elliott – Calgary Flames
ESPN Owned Percentage: 53.8%
A lot of people expected big things from Elliott this season but were very mistaken. However, in his last six starts, Elliott has won five of those games with a goal against average of 2.16. Along with that, the Flames other goaltender, Chad Johnson, has not been as impressive losing four of his last six. As for right now, it does seem like Johnson is still the guy for this team but if the form continues for both of them don’t be surprised if Elliott passes him.
