This article is part of our NHL Waiver Wire series.
Fantasy is a constant process that loops through the following four phases: monitoring, realizing, adjusting and complaining. And just when we think we've figured it out, various situations or surprises will pop up to remind us that we, in fact, know nothing.
But don't worry. This column can help, no matter your league standing. Check out the following upwardly trending NHLers who should be able to work on any lineup.
(Rostered rates as of Jan. 23)
Forwards
Elias Lindholm, BOS (Yahoo: 31%): Lindholm missed most of November and didn't get on the scoresheet during his first two games back but has since reeled off 26 points from the last 26 in addition to 41 shots and 228 faceoff wins. He's well-positioned centering the Bruins' first line and power play (17 PPPs overall) averaging 17:35 over that stretch. David Pastrnak may be Boston's primary play driver, though Lindholm regularly skates with him and is obviously more available for fantasy purposes on a club that's scored 46 times across 11 matchups.
Mats Zuccarello, MIN (Yahoo: 22%): While Zuccarello's return to action was more recent than Lindholm, he's also been able to consistently produce by way of six goals, 11 assists, seven PPPs and 34 shots through 17 contests. He's also a regular on Minnesota's lead attacking units, sharing the ice with Kirill Kaprizov. Expect Zuccarello to continue racking up the offense on a Wild team that's even more dangerous with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson now back from injury.
Jason Zucker, BUF (Yahoo: 11%): Zucker also encountered a couple physical issues this season but has been lethal when healthy with 25 points over 31 outings — 11 coming on the man-advantage. His scoring hasn't been as eye-popping as the last two entries, yet a goal, four assists, 10 shots and seven hits during the past week and a place on Buffalo's top PP/top-six works just fine. As long as Zucker can stay in the lineup, you can put him down for enough counting stats to boost any fantasy roster.
Anthony Duclair, NYI (Yahoo: 7%): Duclair's goal on Wednesday now has him at eight across eight appearances — three of those PPGs. Throw in 15 shots on 16:06 a night and a place alongside Mathew Barzal for both even-strength and power play to make for a favorable scoring situation. With these numbers, it's amazing Duclair is still only covered in the single-digits. Click on his name to help fix that oversight.
Jonathan Toews, WPG (Yahoo: 5%): Toews going back to his hometown for his first NHL action since 2022-23 has to be the feel-good story of the season. And while only nine points came during the first 35 games, he's turned it around by recording 10 from the last 15 — including two PPGs, joining the big guns on the lead group. Toews has also benefited from Gabriel Vilardi switching over to his wing at five-on-five and sits second in the league for faceoff success rate at 61.6 percent (from a total of 651). There's been rumors about Edmonton being interested in him, but him going there would probably decrease his value, as he'd likely fit somewhere in the bottom-half of their depth chart. Regardless if that happens, don't expect Toews to provide much outside of scoring.
Yegor Sharangovich, CGY (Yahoo: 3%): Even though the Flames are technically still alive for a wild-card berth, they've started selling by trading Rasmus Andersson to Vegas with more moves projected leading up to the Mar. 6 deadline. The club also ranks 31st with an average of 2.52 goals, but there's been a couple notable fantasy performers of late. Sharangovich had been inconsistent early on where he was eventually scratched for two contests. That eventually led to him posting three goals, three assists, three PPPs and 11 shots across five appearances while frequently logging 17-plus minutes. Sharangovich will be asked to keep scoring for Calgary, though a move away could hurt his fantasy outlook.
Ethen Frank, WAS (Yahoo: 2%): Frank went undrafted and then starred over five NCAA seasons before earning his first pro contract and winning back-to-back Calder Cups. After a brief stint in the AHL and on IR, he immediately contributed for the Caps, tallying assists during each of his first two outings and a four-point effort two weeks later. Frank was eventually rewarded with a place on Washington's lead man-advantage where he's picked up two PPGs. Even though that spot has been reclaimed by the now-healthy Tom Wilson, Frank remains with Alex Ovechkin at even-strength while accumulating four goals, an assist, 18 shots and 12 hits from the last seven. The organization has put its trust in him. Maybe you should, too.
Kaapo Kakko, SEA (Yahoo: 2%): Kakko suffered a broken hand during preseason and then quickly went back on IR due to another injury. He finally reemerged at the end of November, but it wasn't until mid-December where he took off via 15 points, 29 shots and 14 hits over 19 matchups. Kakko has bounced around Seattle's first three lines while doing well at each stop, so there shouldn't be any concern regarding his placement. Monitor his progress to see if he can maintain this type of output before adding him.
Defensemen
Jake Walman, EDM (Yahoo: 34%): Walman missed nearly two months before returning last week and producing a shorthanded goal, three assists, 16 shots and 10 blocks over six games. He also filled in for Leon Draisaitl on Edmonton's elite power play and provided a PPA there Sunday, but lost that prime placement when the star reappeared on Thursday. Walman should keep contributing within a top- five attack coming off a 40-point campaign while collecting sufficient stats in other areas.
John Klingberg, SJ (Yahoo: 9%): Klingberg has frequently endured injuries throughout his career yet remains reliable when available. After another short spell on the sidelines, he regained the quarterbacking duties on the Sharks' top man-advantage while pairing with Dmitry Orlov at even-strength. Since returning, Klingberg has managed a goal (PPG), two assists, nine shots, seven hits and nine blocks on 21:23 a night. Those stats may not be outstanding, though they're solid when combined with his responsibilities and track record.
Alexandre Carrier, MON (Yahoo: 6%): Carrier will get overlooked in fantasy due to having become more of a defense-first player on an offensively loaded Montreal blueline. Let's not forget he once notched 30 points with 20 and 25 the previous two seasons, and is currently riding a 10-game run that's seen him go off for four goals and three assists in addition to 14 shots and 27 blocks. Even after Carrier was moved off a five-on-five duo with Lane Hutson, he still potted a pair. Take a chance on him while he's hot and part of one of the league's best scoring sides.
John Marino, UTA (Yahoo: 5%): This column previously discussed Mammoth defenders Sean Durzi and Nate Schmidt based on their secondary scoring skills, but I bet you didn't realize Marino was significantly outperforming both of them, having already registered 24 points (tying him with the likes of Seth Jones and Brandt Clarke) — including seven from the last eight outings. The offense will inevitably drop off, but he's got plenty of cross-category output and is averaging around a shot, hit and block over that stretch alongside a plus-30 overall.
Goaltenders
Anton Forsberg, LA (Yahoo: 8%): Darcy Kuemper left Tuesday with an upper-body injury but has reported himself as ready to go. While he was sidelined during the second half of December, Forsberg covered almost all of the netminding and has remained hot by posting a 2.12 GAA and .926 save percentage in eight appearances. So there's no guarantee Kuemper will automatically slide back into the lead role considering his 3.43/.867 line since New Year's Day. The Kings have been anemic on offense, but their defense remains excellent at minimizing shots against to allow either goalie more opportunities to pick up wins.
Alex Nedeljkovic, SJ (Yahoo: 4%): You may have seen Nedeljkovic throw punches with Sergei Bobrovsky on Monday. And even though that's earned him attention, his recent play should be the thing that gets him on more fantasy rosters. Nedeljkovic has won his last four — the last two at Washington and Florida — during which he's only allowed a combined nine goals on 115 shots. Yaroslav Askarov has struggled the last month with a 4.32 GAA and .852 save percentage. The duo has been splitting starts of late, which will probably continue, so Nedeljkovic can at least be used as a decent daily streamer.
Players to consider from past columns: Dylan Cozens, Leo Carlsson, Frank Nazar, Will Smith, Carter Verhaeghe, Gabriel Landeskog, Jared McCann, Cole Perfetti, Nick Schmaltz, Anze Kopitar, Kiefer Sherwood, Brock Nelson, Zach Benson, Tyler Toffoli, Jonathan Huberdeau, Adam Fantilli, Patrick Kane, Dawson Mercer, Chris Kreider, Troy Terry, Brock Boeser, Mikael Granlund, Sean Monahan, Ryan O'Reilly, William Eklund, Jordan Kyrou, Will Cuylle, Bobby McMann, Anders Lee, Tyler Bertuzzi, Owen Tippett, Matty Beniers, Josh Norris, Brayden Schenn, Eeli Tolvanen, Pavel Buchnevich, Alexis Lafreniere, Boone Jenner, Anton Lundell, Ivan Barbashev, Vladimir Tarasenko, Conor Garland, Jack Roslovic, Beckett Sennecke, Connor McMichael, Christian Dvorak, Jake Neighbours, Jamie Benn, Ryan Hartman, Mikael Backlund, Vasily Podkolzin, Matt Duchene, Zachary Bolduc, Logan Stankoven, Luke Evangelista, Claude Giroux, Jack McBain, Alexandre Texier, Mackie Samoskevich, Evander Kane, Alex Laferriere, Teuvo Teravainen, Alexander Wennberg, Jake DeBrusk, Lawson Crouse, Charlie Coyle, Chandler Stephenson, Noah Cates, Braeden Bowman, Sean Couturier, Jordan Eberle, Jackson Blake, Dmitri Voronkov, Pavel Zacha, Anthony Mantha, Ridly Greig, Justin Sourdif, Blake Coleman, Eetu Luostarinen, Ross Colton, Jack Quinn, Josh Doan, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Mason Marchment, Arseny Gritsyuk, Collin Graf, Matias Maccelli, James van Riemsdyk, Matthew Coronato, Fabian Zetterlund, Oliver Kapanen, Ben Kindel, Andre Burakovsky, Emmitt Finnie, Igor Chernyshov, Andrew Copp, Ryan Leonard, Fraser Minten, Erik Haula, Ryan McLeod, Brock Faber, Drew Doughty, Mattias Ekholm, Brandt Clarke, Kris Letang, Travis Sanheim, Filip Hronek, Rasmus Andersson, Zeev Buium, Noah Hanifin, Cam Fowler, K'Andre Miller, Jared Spurgeon, Jake McCabe, Artyom Levshunov, Charle-Edouard D'Astous, Vladislav Gavrikov, Ivan Provorov, Hampus Lindholm, Darren Raddysh, Brent Burns, Olen Zellweger, Sam Malinski, Ryan Pulock, Sean Durzi, Radko Gudas, J.J. Moser, Philip Broberg, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Justin Faulk, Damon Severson, Esa Lindell, Mattias Samuelsson, Josh Manson, Simon Edvinsson, Dmitry Orlov, Matt Roy, Cam York, Nick Blankenburg, Tony DeAngelo, Uvis Balinskis, Nate Schmidt, Spencer Knight, Jesper Wallstedt, Brandon Bussi, Stuart Skinner, Yaroslav Askarov, Carter Hart, Jet Greaves, Jake Allen, Sam Montembeault, Jakub Dobes, Tristan Jarry, Philipp Grubauer, Cam Talbot, John Gibson, Dan Vladar, Casey DeSmith, David Rittich, Connor Ingram, Akira Schmid, Joel Hofer, Jonathan Quick, Kevin Lankinen
