NHL Fantasy Hockey Week 18 Waiver Wire: Rafael Harvey-Pinard Lights the Lamp for Montreal
Welcome to another edition of the Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report. The only way to win a championship in any fantasy league is to be active on the waiver wire. If you aren’t checking the wire at least once a week, then you’re doing it wrong. Each week, we’ll look at some players you should be adding to your watch list, or adding right away. Let’s take a look at who we are keeping an eye on for this week.
Fantasy Hockey Week 18 Waiver Wire Pickups
Rafael Harvey-Pinard - Montreal Canadiens - Wing
Since being called up from the AHL, Rafael Harvey-Pinard has six goals and two assists in nine games and is skating on the top line and power play with Nick Suzuki. He’s showing that he can finish at the highest level and he’s going to continue to force the coaching staff to play him. He’s up to close to 16 minutes a night and he’s going to keep producing with that kind of ice time. If you have a chance to add him to your fantasy hockey team, do so, because he could be a difference-maker down the stretch.
Jonatan Berggren - Detroit Red Wings - Winger
Detroit Red Wings winger Jonatan Berggren has three goals in the last two games and is not up to 11 on the season. The kid is seeing just over 14 minutes a night while playing on the third line, so his upside feels limited, but he’s finding a way to score goals. If he keeps this up, he’s going to move up the lineup, and that can only be good. He’s probably worth adding in deeper formats as a flyer.
Alex Killorn - Tampa Bay Lightning - Winger
Alex Killorn is having a pretty good season, but no one seems to be talking about him. He’s up to 14 goals and 25 assists on the year, including five assists in the last two games. He’s skating on the second line and second power play unit, but most of his points are coming five-on-five. Tampa Bay has some pretty soft matchups over the next 10 days, so if you’re looking for some scoring depth, now might be a good time to add the veteran winger to your lineup.
Mads Sogaard - Ottawa Senators - Goalie
Already without Cam Talbot, the Senators announced that Anton Forberg is out for an extended period of time with injuries to both his knees. Mads Sogaard is the next man up and he’s probably going to be the bulk of the action until Talbot is ready to return. Is this an ideal situation? Obviously not, but if you spot-start him correctly every week, he could provide some value for at least the next seven days.
Juuso Valimaki - Arizona Coyotes - Defence
With Shayne Gostisbehere out of the lineup due to injury and Jakob Chychrun sitting due to trade rumours, the Arizona Coyotes need someone on their awful blue line to step up, and that could be Juuso Valimaki. He has 18 points on the season, but he’s racked up six assists in the last four games and is starting to block more shots. He’s the perfect target for teams in deeper formats who need a defenceman to fill the hits/blocked shots categories.
All stats provided by NHL.com