NHL March 7th Waiver Wire: May The Forsberg Be With You
Published: Mar 07, 2022
Welcome to the Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report! The waiver wire is key to winning. It helps you improve on the team you drafted, and to help patch holes when players go down due to injury. It’s something most managers will monitor daily. Let’s take a look at who we should be adding this week.
When you rack up seven points in one game, people take notice. Nick Schmaltz has himself a game on Saturday, scoring two goals and adding five assists against the Ottawa Senators. He’s skating on the top line and on the top power-play unit and has duo position eligibility on Yahoo!. He plays on a pretty terrible team, but he’s worth a roster spot right now.
The Vegas Golden Knights got Max Pacioretty back but still have a hole on the right side. Nicolas Roy is going to get a crack at playing on the top line and if he produces, he may never move down the lineup again. He’s capable of scoring goals and racking up shots, but he doesn’t do either consistently. He’s been playing on the third line most of the season, but this is a real opportunity to excel. He’s played over 16-minutes in five of the last six games and could easily collect points by just feeding the best players on his line. He’s worth considering in deeper formats.
Jaden Schwartz made his return to the line last week and didn’t look too bad. The 30-year old missed a chunk of games this season due to injury, but when healthy, he’s one of Seattle’s better wingers. He didn’t score a goal in any of the two games that he played, but he did rack up nine shots on goal. The Kraken don’t generate many offensive chances, so Schwartz upside is limited, but if he can continue to shoot at this pace, he could start scoring in bunches. He’s also seeing a healthy amount of ice time, playing over 18-minutes in each of those games. The veteran winger may not win you a league championship, but he certainly won’t hurt your chances.
It’s time to accept the obvious: Anton Forsberg is a better goalie than Matt Murray. The 29-year-old has been really good on a below-average team and he continues to prove that he can lead his team. He lost both his starts last week but gave up only five goals on 90 shots. He got no offensive support from his team, was left out to dry by his defence, and yet still managed to keep his team in the game. He’s going to lose a lot of games, but in leagues where GAA and SV% are important categories, Forsberg is gold. He deserves to lead this team and shouldn’t be 22% owned in Yahoo! leagues.
A few weeks ago, we talked about Calvin de Haan being a great pick-up in category leagues and now we have another Chicago blueliner worth adding. Connor Murphy won’t wow anyone with his offensive production, but he does everything else well. He can rack up a ton of hits and blocked shots and can also mix in a few shots on goal. What he lacks in production he can make up by playing a strong defensive game. He can single handily help fantasy owner wins both the hits and blocked shots categories every week, and he’s probably sitting on your waiver wire right now! He’s worth adding in deeper redraft formats.
Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Daulton Varsho picked up three hits, three RBI and a homer in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
Varsho has only played in seven games this year, but they’ve been seven good ones. He’s homered three times already, and his slugging percentage is a remarkable — and entirely unsustainable — .727 over 22 at-bats. Varsho has been a mediocre offensive player in his two seasons with the Blue Jays, but it’s possible at the age of 28 he’s having a breakout campaign. Far from a guarantee, but possible.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in a loss to the Blue Jays on Thursday.
Ward, 31, gave the Angels a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Chris Bassitt in the first inning. He’s now gone deep in two of his last three games, and it ‘improves’ his slash to .181/.224/.391. Ward has been one of the most hot/cold players players in the sport over the last few years, so fantasy managers who can afford to make some roster moves may want to look at Ward while the going is good.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. picked up three hits and scored twice in an 8-5 win over the Angels on Thursday.
Guerrero also drew a walk. It gives the first baseman multiple hits in back-to-back games, and it’s the third time in May that he’s reached that mark. That’s helped raise his average from .268 to .295, and the only thing fantasy managers can be disappointed with is his .432 slugging percentage. That number should continue to climb as the season unfolds, but Vladdy Jr. has had some inconsistent seasons when it comes to power production.
Chad Green picked up his first save of 2025 with a scoreless ninth against the Angels on Thursday.
Green got the save after Jeff Hoffman worked in back-to-back games — and struggled — in the first two contests against the Angels. He struck out two and looked the part while needing just nine pitches to get through the inning. Hoffman should remain the closer, but Green is on his tail if the struggles were to continue.
Chris Bassitt allowed five runs — four earned — while working six-plus innings against the Angels on Thursday while picking up a win.
Bassitt allowed three runs over the first two innings on a pair of homers, but settled down over his next four frames. He came out to work the seventh, but ended up being charged for two more runs after leaving the contest. The 36-year-old veteran has forged a 3.35 ERA and outstanding 49/8 K/BB ratio over the first quarter of the season, but this wasn’t him at his best. He’ll get the Rays next week if the rotation order stays the same for Toronto.