The NHL season is in full swing and that means so is fantasy hockey! It’s a long grind to get to the playoffs, and an even tougher challenge to win it all. Like every year, injuries are going to happen to key players, which means we need to be active on the waiver wire. The waiver wire can help you win a championship, so it’s important to add the right players at the right time. Let’s take a look at which players are worth looking adding for the upcoming week.

Ryan Spooner - Edmonton Oilers - Winger

Maybe a fresh start will help Ryan Spooner become a more fantasy relevant hockey player. The 26-year-old was traded from the Rangers to Edmonton for winger Ryan Strome. Both players needed a change of scenery, and Spooner could benefit greatly from playing with some elite centerman. He’s expected to skate on the second line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkin and Ty Rattie, but don’t be surprised if he gets a chance to play on the top line with McDavid. He’s 2% owned on Yahoo!, so if you need a depth forward with some upside, Spooner is a great option.

Tanner Pearson - Pittsburgh Penguins - Winger

Here’s another player looking to have a strong season with a new team. Tanner Pearson was traded from Los Angeles to Pittsburgh, with Carl Hagelin going the other way. Pearson is going to get the opportunity to skate on the top line with Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist, which can only boost his fantasy value. He’s collect only one point this season, but that could all change over the next couple of weeks now that he’s playing on a high power offensive team. He’s under 10% owned on ESPN  and Yahoo!, so he’s a look at in deeper leagues.

David Krejci - Boston Bruins - Center

It was confirmed Saturday that Patrice Bergeron would head back to Boston to be re-evaluated by team doctors for his upper-body injury. This isn’t the news fantasy owners wanted to hear, but this does give David Krejci a chance to thrive on the top line for Boston. He’s going to get a chance to also play on the top power play unit, which is a nice added bonus. He’s 26% owned on ESPN, so he’s a nice short-term option for Bergeron owners who need a body while we wait for more information about his injury.

Brandon Montour - Anaheim Ducks - Defence

Cam Fowler is expected to miss a significant amount of time with a facial injury and news has also come out that Hampus Lindholm is heading to the IR. We don’t know much about Lindholm’s injury, but this now opens the door for Brandon Montour to step up and log some heavy minutes over the next couple of weeks. He’s 43% owned on Yahoo!, but his ownership should jump in the next few days with this news. He’s going to be the top defenceman every night and he’s going to log some heavy minutes on the power play. In fantasy hockey, volume is key, and Montour is going to get an increase in ice time with all these injuries. If he’s still available, scoop him up!

Damon Severson - New Jersey Devils - Defence

Speaking of defenceman hitting the IR, Sami Vatanen will also be missing the next couple of days due to a lower-body injury. This opens the door to Severson seeing an increase in ice time and a spot on the second power play unit. Most people will run out and grab Will Butcher, but on paper, Severson is having a better season (points wise) and he should be seeing the biggest increase in minutes. In New Jersey’s last game, Severson was skating on the top pairing with Andy Greene and he log just over 26 minutes. If that trend continues, then it’s only a matter of time before he starts racking up the points.


Cal Petersen - Los Angeles Kings- Goalie

It seems like we spend a lot of time talking about the Los Angeles Kings and which goalie you should add next. That trend will continue this week. With Quick and Campbell out for the foreseeable future, it’s up to Peter Budaj and Cal Petersen to lead the team. Budaj has the most experience of the two, but Petersen has way more talent, so he’s the player to be owned. He fell apart in the third period on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators, but it’s was only his second NHL game and he was pretty good in his previous start. There is a lot of risk that comes with adding a rookie goalie, and the Kings are a terrible hockey team, but Petersen can really be a bright spot on an otherwise terrible team. He’s not a long-term solution, but with so many goalies going down due to injury, it’s better to have an unproven rookie goalie on your team than no goalie at all.

Louis Domingue - Tampa bay Lightning - Goalie

Here’s another reaction add to a goalie going down due to injury. Andrei Vasilevskiy is going to miss the next four-to-six weeks with a fractured foot, so Louis Domingue is going to see a lot of action in that span. The Lightning don’t have many back-to-back games in that span, so Domingue will most likely start all the games from now till up to when Vasilevskiy should be back. Domingue isn’t a great goalie, but it’s unlikely that the Lightning go out and acquire a goalie. For now, he’s the best option the team has. As a short-term solution, the 26-year-old is a good enough option for fantasy owners in desperate need of a starting goalie

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