Andreas Johnsson jumped from being owned in 14% of Yahoo leagues last week when he appeared on Waiver Wired to 34%. Ryan Donato’s ownership climbed from 5% to 25% thanks to his productive move from Boston to Minnesota.
[[ad:athena]]
The NHL trade deadline has changed the fantasy value of a few players who will appear on this week’s edition of Waiver Wired.
Editor’s Note: Rotoworld’s Season Pass is now available for the low price of $19.99. You get plenty of extra articles including the minor league report, the power play report and much, much more. Buy it now!
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_ HK and @CoreAbbott on Twitter.
Kevin Hayes (WPG) - C - Owned in 34% of Yahoo leagues
Hayes got a boost in fantasy value at the trade deadline when he was shipped to the Winnipeg Jets. He has been seeing time between Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers at even strength. Hayes got his first points with the Jets on Friday with one goal and two assists in a 5-3 win over Nashville. Two of those points, including the goal, came on empty-netters, but he should be snatched up if he’s sitting on the waiver wire.
Anthony Mantha (DET) - LW, RW - Owned in 31% of Yahoo leagues
Mantha has been red hot despite Detroit’s descent down the standings. He has two goals and six assists during a five-game point streak. Mantha has 12 points in his past nine matches and he has 34 shots during that span. He has been skating on the top line with Dylan Larkin, who has been Detroit’s most consistent point producer by far this campaign. This is shaping up to be a strong finish to the year for Mantha even if Detroit continues to struggle.
Paul Stastny (VGK) - C - Owned in 24% of Yahoo leagues
Stastny has accumulated 26 points in his last 27 games. He has found the scoresheet in 19 matches during that span, while collecting six goals and 20 assists. Goals have been few and far between for Stastny, who has eight markers in 36 matches, but he has recorded 2.17 shots per contest and he has produced 29 points. He has also been great on faceoffs this year with a 55.2 winning percentage. Stastny got a new linemate at the trade deadline when Vegas acquired Mark Stone from Ottawa. The other forward on that combination is Max Pacioretty.
Jakub Vrana (WSH) - LW, RW - Owned in 19% of Yahoo leagues
Vrana has 14 points, with four goals and 10 assists, in his last 17 contests. He has gone more than one game without a point just once during that stretch. Vrana has one goal and two assists during a three-game point streak. He has been skating on the second alongside Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie, while also seeing action on the second power-play combination.
Kevin Labanc (SJS) - LW, RW - Owned in 18% of Yahoo leagues
Labanc has picked up 19 points in his past 20 outings. He has seven goals, 12 assists and 29 shots during that span along with six power-play points. Labanc has already earned career-highs with 32 helpers and 43 points this campaign through 65 games. He gets plenty of exposure to San Jose’s top players and sees time on the top power-play unit.
Danton Heinen (BOS) - C, LW, RW - Owned in 11% of Yahoo leagues
Heinen has been filling in on Boston’s top line alongside Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron with David Pastrnak out of the lineup. He has produced 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past 12 matches. Heinen has one goal, seven helpers and 11 shots in the nine games that Pastrnak has missed. Boston has four games scheduled for this week, including three on home ice, so players on the Bruins are worth collecting if they are available.
Travis Sanheim (PHI) - D - Owned in 10% of Yahoo leagues
Sanheim has been all over the scoresheet of late with four goals and nine helpers in his last 15 contests. He has three goals and two assists over a four-game point streak. Sanheim is up to eight goals, 28 points and 105 blocks in 65 matches this campaign.
Jimmy Vesey (NYR) - LW - Owned in 8% of Yahoo leagues
Vesey appeared on Waiver Wired last week when he was owned in just 3% of Yahoo leagues. He is worth mentioning again because he is still widely available and he has been piling up points on the top line of the Rangers. He has five goals and nine points in his last 10 games. Vesey had one goal and one helper for three straight matches before that streak came to an end on Friday. Moving into a prominent role alongside Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad at even strength and on the power play has been great for him. It should also give him fantasy value for the rest of the season, assuming it continues.
Marcus Johansson (BOS) - LW - Owned in 6% of Yahoo leagues
As previously mentioned, loading up Bruins for this coming week would be a wise decision. Johansson has been logging time alongside David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk since he was acquired from New Jersey at the trade deadline. He has been productive of late with 13 points in his last 16 contests, but most of that came with the Devils. Johansson has one assist, four shots, three hits and three blocks in three games as a member of the Bruins.
Oliver Bjorkstrand (CBJ) - LW. RW - Owned in 4% of Yahoo leagues
Bjorkstrand has been chipping in points for a while now with seven goals, five assists and 45 shots in his last 19 games. He is another player who could benefit from recent trades, as he has been playing alongside former Senators Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel on Columbus’ second line. Bjorkstrand’s four-game point streak (three goals, one assist) came to an end on Saturday, but he hasn’t gone more than two games without a point since early January.
