The waiver wire is a great place to find hidden gems that will help your fantasy hockey team in the short term and sometimes the long term as well. You have likely already taken advantage of this through the first 16 weeks of the NHL season. Regardless, there will still be strong options on the waiver wire at forward that we will look at. Even if it is only for a few games, these players are worth adding to help your team out. This is the place where you can find good options to take advantage of before anyone else in your league does. Be sure to note that Week 17 should last two weeks due to the All-Star break and bye weeks for teams.
Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire: Forwards to Consider for Week 17
Adam Henrique, Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks haven’t been a very good team this season, but that hasn’t stopped Adam Henrique from playing very well in a contract year. He is once again a winger on the top line and producing. As of late, that production has picked up even more than his impressive play throughout the season. He has points in nine of his last 11 games and can really do it all when it comes to fantasy when he’s on, and he’s definitely on right now.
In those past 11 games, Henrique has five goals and 13 points while contributing penalty minutes, shots, hits, and blocked shots. He doesn’t get a whole lot of points on the power play, but he still manages to get some. Since Henrique has been so good lately and the Ducks don’t play a whole lot this week, this would be more of a longer-term investment. The Duck only play the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers over this longer week of fantasy, but then are right back in it after that. At the very least, he’s worth the add against the Sharks before teams go on the All-Star break.
Sean Monahan, Montreal Canadiens
Sean Monahan has been even hotter offensively but doesn’t cover all of the stats you want from someone in fantasy. Nevertheless, if someone can produce points like Monahan has, it is well worth the add. In his past seven games, the Montreal Canadiens veteran has two goals and 11 points. On top of that, he has five power-play points in his last four games. Monahan shoots, picks up points, and will block shots here and there, but does lack penalty minutes and doesn’t hit.
The Canadiens are on their break until after the All-Star festivities but come back with three games to close out this week in fantasy. The Canadiens play the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, and St. Louis Blues. Their schedule could definitely be harder, and Monahan, with 13 goals and 35 points in 49 games, is scorching hot right now. Look for that to continue.
Ivan Barbashev, Vegas Golden Knights
Ivan Barbashev did not have a great start to the season and he has been very streaky this season, scoring in bunches. But as of late, he has found his game and has been dominant when he has needed to step up. This includes four goals and 11 points in his last six games on top of his physical play he hasn’t stopped all season.
The change for Barbashev is that he is now playing alongside Nic Roy with Jonathan Marchessault. He already played with Marchessault on the top line when Jack Eichel was injured, but who thought that this switch would really boost his numbers? Barbashev is still not on the top power-play unit, so don’t expect much from him there. Vegas only plays twice next week, but Barbashev is looking like the type of player you will keep on your fantasy roster for a long while…until he goes cold again. If that happens though, he can still hit and you will be able to expect another hot streak soon after.
Related: Fantasy Hockey Week 17 Goalie Streams – 01/29/24
Players that may seem like great waiver wire pickups could fade quickly, while others could turn out to be great for a long time. These three players appear to be strong options in Week 17 of the fantasy hockey season among those who should be available. Take advantage before it is too late and make sure to check in with us next week for more strong options.