NHL Waiver Wire: Pickups of the Week

Anyone who's reading this is either participating in the fantasy playoffs, looking ahead to next season, in a roto format, or just plain bored.

And if you're still part of that first group, the following player suggestions may come in handy on your quest to cash in.

(Rostered rates as of Mar. 28)

Forwards

Sean Monahan, CLS (Yahoo: 49%): It was a shame when Monahan suffered a wrist injury in January as he had been one of the Blue Jackets' driving forces the first half of the season with 41 points in as many games. He returned on Monday after missing more than two months, and didn't look out of place as he notched two assists, a shot, three hits, and 11 face-off wins on 18:51 as the No. 1 center in all scoring situations. Get Monahan before others realize he's back. 

Anthony Cirelli, TB (Yahoo: 44%): The post-Steven Stamkos era in Tampa has benefited Cirelli, as he's well past his career-high in points (at 52, seven more than 2023-24's peak) and occasionally gets looks on the first power play on top of a lead shorthanded role. And he's been especially productive the last seven contests with six goals on 18 shots alongside an assist and 51 FW. Cirelli may be limited in Yahoo! by only qualifying at C, though is well-positioned within the Bolts' lineup where he can post plenty of counting stats.

Kiefer Sherwood, VAN (Yahoo: 39%): Sherwood had quite the night for himself on Wednesday as he accumulated two goals, an assist, four shots, a plus-3, four hits and a block. He's surpassed his personal-best with 32 points, but is probably more recognized in fantasy circles for having already obliterated Jeremy Lauzon's hits record of 383 from last year at 404 with 10 matchups remaining. Combine all that with a secondary PP spot and the flexibility to fit anywhere allows Sherwood to be a reliable fantasy player.

William Karlsson, VGK (Yahoo: 16%): Injuries and inconsistency have hurt Karlsson's output to where he's averaging just 0.5 points per game, a mark he's only previously hovered around once (39 in 67 during 2021-22) since joining the Golden Knights. From the four contests since he returned from an extended lower-body absence, he's chipped in with three helpers – two of those PPAs – eight shots, three hits and three blocks. And with Tomas Hertl out, Karlsson has ascended to the lead man-advantage. Even as Vegas's third even-strength center, anywhere in their top-nine is fine. Add Karlsson and then monitor the situation to see what happens when Hertl slots back into the lineup.

Morgan Geekie, BOS (Yahoo: 15%): The Bruins lost some talent this season, yet there are a few serviceable forwards remaining. Geekie is enjoying another solid campaign firmly entrenched in the top-six and first power play with 26 goals, 15 assists, 132 shots and 95 hits. He's also found the back of the net four times through five outings to go with a PPA, 10 shots and five hits. Boston probably isn't making the playoffs, but Geekie will be motivated to do well as his contract expires this summer.

Andrei Kuzmenko, LA (Yahoo: 14%): It's only been 35 days since Kuzmenko originally appeared in this column, and there's good reason for a repeat. The much-moved winger never really meshed with Calgary or Philly, so going to LA wasn't expected to result in anything different. He was scoreless across the opening seven outings, but it was at least promising to be part of the first line and PP. Things finally clicked with him Saturday with a goal and a PPA, another marker on two shots Sunday and a second PPA Tuesday. As long as Kuzmenko sticks within the upper three units or doesn't get scratched/hurt, he'll be okay.

Tyler Bertuzzi, CHI (Yahoo: 10%): Bertuzzi has always been skilled around the net with a knack for power-play production, which has been displayed this year in the form of his 20th goal on Wednesday and 18 PPPs. He now resides in the lower half of the depth chart, though he's managed seven points from the last five matchups and still joins forces with Connor Bedard while up a man (four of those seven coming there). As someone who can score and direct a fair share of pucks on target, Bertuzzi makes for a decent mid-roster addition.

Bobby McMann, TOR (Yahoo: 9%): Hockey fans love an underdog story, and there's probably no bigger relevant example than McMann, as he toiled in the minors before receiving his first real NHL stint with the Leafs during 2023-24. The 28-year-old has skated with various teammates, including working the last week or so at five-on-five beside John Tavares and William Nylander. This has led to a pair of goal-plus-assist performances to go with six shots and five hits. McMann could eventually end up in a less favorable arrangement. But until then, he's at least worth a flyer.

Defensemen

Tony DeAngelo, NYI (Yahoo: 18%): When the Isles brought DeAngelo aboard in January, it was assumed his fantasy value would drop off once Noah Dobson returned from injury. And even though he'd miss the scoresheet during Dobson's first four games, he's gone off for nine points, 21 shots and 10 blocks over the last 10. The duo has even coexisted on the top power play of late, including combining for a goal there last Thursday. With this type of production and a 23-plus minute average across this run, DeAngelo needs to be on more rosters.

Dylan Samberg, WPG (Yahoo: 16%): Samberg is a tricky fantasy commodity as he's solid in secondary stats while not being a traditional scorer, yet almost any Winnipeg blueliner can be considered simply by being on the ice within a top-three attack. He's certainly made a case the last three weeks by registering two goals and four assists in addition to having 20 shots and 24 blocks on 22:20 a night. Samberg is more of a short-term option with the potential for longer usage if he can keep picking up a passable amount of offense.

Philip Broberg, STL (Yahoo: 15%): Broberg was first featured here right after starting the season with nine points across 11 appearances and immediately before being sidelined for nearly a month. The scoring hasn't continued to be prolific, though you may have noticed his goal and three assists on Tuesday – or the six total points over the last five supplemented by eight shots, six PIM, eight blocks and a plus-8. Broberg assumes a significant workload and offers enough potential to warrant more coverage.

Marcus Pettersson, VAN (Yahoo: 8%): It looks like Pettersson just needed a few contests to get used to his new surroundings after coming over from Pittsburgh at the end of January, as since then, he's supplied an assist from seven of 13 along with 12 shots, 12 hits and 33 blocks. He may not skate next to Quinn Hughes (or regular partner Kris Letang while on the Pens) and lacks man-advantage duty, but he's still a reliable cross-category contributor. Let's get Pettersson into double-digits.

Goaltenders

Jake Allen, NJ (Yahoo: 20%): Since Jacob Markstrom returned, he's gone 2-5-1 with a 3.87 GAA and .847 save percentage. During that same stretch, Allen has posted a 3-1 record alongside a 1.77/.943 line. There's no questioning Markstrom's status as Jersey's No. 1, though their prized offseason acquisition shouldn't be pushed heading into the playoffs as the club is pretty much locked in as the Metropolitan Division's third seed. And that would leave more opportunities for Allen to produce solid fantasy numbers behind a decent attack and a defense that's top-10 at suppressing shots.

John Gibson, ANH (Yahoo: 15%): Going for Gibson comes with its drawbacks, the main one being his extensive injury history having come back last week from another physical setback. But let's consider Lukas Dostal has been erratic in 2025 while only winning two of his last eight appearances to go with a 3.55 GAA and .886 save percentage. Gibson has earned victories in both of his recent starts, though neither the Preds nor Bruins could be considered offensive juggernauts. And the Ducks rank last for allowing pucks on net, so any of their goalies represent risky recommendations. The team isn't going anywhere this season and Dostal clearly represents the future, but they may want to use Gibson more the rest of the way to showcase him for a possible summer trade.

Players to consider from past columns: Macklin Celebrini, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Logan Stankoven, Gabriel Vilardi, Dylan Guenther, Rickard Rakell, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Perfetti, Nick Schmaltz, Dylan Cozens, Jake DeBrusk, Marco Rossi, Dylan Strome, Jonathan Huberdeau, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Quinton Byfield, Brock Nelson, Kent Johnson, Valeri Nichushkin, Adam Fantilli, Logan Cooley, Pavel Dorofeyev, Matvei Michkov, Connor McMichael, Matthew Knies, JJ Peterka, Pavel Zacha, Josh Norris, Matty Beniers, Leo Carlsson, Pavel Buchnevich, William Eklund, Jordan Eberle, Nino Niederreiter, Troy Terry, Will Cuylle, Patrick Kane, Nazem Kadri, Mason McTavish, Boone Jenner, Taylor Hall, Jamie Benn, Elias Lindholm, Matthew Coronato, Mathieu Olivier, Jake Neighbours, Ryan Hartman, Chandler Stephenson, Trevor Moore, Vladislav Namestnikov, Stefan Noesen, Connor Zary, Jonathan Drouin, Ryan Donato, Marco Kasper, Yegor Sharangovich, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Shane Wright, Blake Coleman, Yegor Chinakhov, Will Smith, Michael Bunting, Brayden Schenn, Ryan Strome, Viktor Arvidsson, Kyle Palmieri, Mackie Samoskevich, Dawson Mercer, Dmitri Voronkov, Warren Foegele, Eeli Tolvanen, Filip Chytil, Anton Lundell, Dylan Holloway, Teuvo Teravainen, Jaden Schwartz, Conor Garland, Tyler Toffoli, David Perron, Mason Marchment, Ryan O'Reilly, Jack Roslovic, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Alexander Wennberg, Pius Suter, Patrik Laine, Ross Colton, Kaapo Kakko, Barrett Hayton, Alex Killorn, Jack Quinn, Anders Lee, Jiri Kulich, Alex Laferriere, Zachary Bolduc, Pontus Holmberg, Maxim Tsyplakov, Fabian Zetterlund, Brett Howden, Aliaksei Protas, Aaron Ekblad, Neal Pionk, Jackson LaCombe, Filip Hronek, Brandt Clarke, Seth Jones, Lane Hutson, Luke Hughes, Bowen Byram, Cam Fowler, Travis Sanheim, Matt Grzelcyk, Justin Faulk, Mason Lohrei, Simon Edvinsson, Alex Vlasic, Brady Skjei, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Owen Power, Jared Spurgeon, Radko Gudas, Esa Lindell, Jordan Spence, Erik Gustafsson, Jamie Drysdale, Darren Raddysh, Nick Blankenburg, Declan Chisholm, Sean Durzi, Artyom Levshunov, Alexander Romanov, Conor Timmins, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Zac Jones, Olen Zellweger, Ivan Provorov, Cam Talbot, Ilya Samsonov, Mackenzie Blackwood, Lukas Dostal, Kevin Lankinen, Charlie Lindgren, Samuel Ersson, Scott Wedgewood, Elvis Merzlikins, Marc-Andre Fleury, Sam Montembeault, Jonathan Quick, Karel Vejmelka, Scott Wedgewood, Casey DeSmith, Dan Vladar, Vitek Vanecek, Calvin Pickard, Joel Hofer, Tristan Jarry, Joonas Korpisalo, Spencer Knight, Petr Mrazek, Daniil Tarasov