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Sean Allen
Every Monday, we’ll mine the waiver wire for lesser-rostered performers who have the potential to help fantasy teams in a variety of leagues. We’ll also present several strong streaming candidates for the immediate week ahead.
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Forwards
Jackson Blake, RW, Carolina Hurricanes (0.91 FPPG, 99.5% available): He’s already had some moments this season, especially as coverage on the power play when Seth Jarvis was injured at one point. But Blake hit the potential jackpot on Friday when the Hurricanes acquired superstar forward Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche. Rantanen, who instantly stacks up as the Canes best player in fantasy hockey, debuted on a line with Sebastian Aho and Blake. This, by no means, has to stay as the combination, but if you are looking to find some fantasy value coming out of this trade from the Hurricanes, Blake is the spot to look.
Jonathan Drouin, LW, Colorado Avalanche (1.51 FPPG, 81.9% available): On the other side of the big swap, Martin Necas landed on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Drouin in his Avs debut. Technically, that’s a downgrade from Rantanen on the line, but it arguably gives Drouin a little more job security for the spot next to MacKinnon and a role on the power play. Once Valeri Nichushkin returns to health, there will be some jockeying for the key roles, but Drouin’s chances are better with Rantanen out of the mix.
Morgan Geekie, C, Boston Bruins (1.50 FPPG, 95.3% available): The Bruins, like many fantasy managers, have finally moved on from Elias Lindholm. Pavel Zacha has slid over to start taking the majority of faceoffs on the top line with David Pastrnak, and that has allowed Geekie to join the unit on the opposite wing. The result? Six goals in seven games and a must-add for fantasy rosters.
Mason McTavish, C, Anaheim Ducks (1.48 FPPG, 95.5% available): The young core of the Ducks has struggled to have breakthroughs this season, but McTavish has potentially turned a corner with a recent goal explosion. Aside from popping five goals in three games, his ice time over the past week and a half has started to edge up closer to 18 minutes per game (17:30), as opposed to the 15:49 he averaged in the first two weeks of January. Currently on a line with Cutter Gauthier and Robby Fabbri, someone has to start stepping up for the Ducks offense, so why not have it be this line?
Marco Kasper, C, Detroit Red Wings (1.12 FPPG, 98.6% available): There hasn’t been a torrent of fantasy production flowing from Kasper on the Red Wings top line, but the trickle is enough to warrant putting him in medium-to-deep lineups. Shortly after the coaching change, Kasper landed a plum spot with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond at the top of the depth chart and he’s managed to hang on to it. Five goals and three assists in nine games is nothing to scoff at.
See also:
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Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, Washington Capitals (1.72 FPPG, 74.9% available)
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Adam Fantilli, C, Columbus Blue Jackets (1.60 FPPG, 76.0% available)
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Kent Johnson, C, Columbus Blue Jackets (1.78 FPPG, 76.6% available)
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Nick Schmaltz, RW, Utah Hockey Club (1.64 FPPG, 72.9% available)
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Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders (1.71 FPPG, 37.0% available)
Defense
Tony DeAngelo, D, New York Islanders (1.20 FPPG, 98.1% available): With Dobson hitting the shelf for basically the month of February, the Islanders opted to bring DeAngelo back to the NHL. If nothing else, DeAngelo can run a power play, which is precisely what the Isles had him do in his debut on Saturday. With the Dobson injury, he has plenty of runway. The downside is that the job hasn’t been so great this season, with Dobson himself only managing seven power-play points.
Alexander Romanov, D, New York Islanders (1.91 FPPG, 65.7% available): The less-speculative and more rearding fantasy option is DeAngelo’s defense partner. Romanov has been pushing physical play to the max of late. He missed three games in the past month, but his average FPPG on the blue line only trails Quinn Hughes, Zach Werenski, Cale Makar, Roman Josi and Moritz Seider in that span.
Adam Larsson, D, Seattle Kraken (1.62 FPPG, 45.7% available): It looks like Larsson has his fantasy engine running again. He was droppable in 2024, with 1.55 FPPG through the end of December. But his 2025 returns have been much better, with 1.83 FPPG this month and 2.32 FPPG in his past six.
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Drew Doughty, D, Los Angeles Kings (62.8% available)
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Darren Raddysh, D, Tampa Bay Lightning (1.31 FPPG, 93.2% available)
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Matt Grzelcyk, D, Pittsburgh Penguins (1.45 FPPG, 94.7% available)
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Dante Fabbro, D, Columbus Blue Jackets (1.81 FPPG, 93.3% available)
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Jackson LaCombe, D, Anaheim Ducks (1.89 FPPG, 72.3% available)
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Brayden McNabb, D, Vegas Golden Knights (1.71 FPPG, 46.0% available)
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Artem Zub, D, Ottawa Senators (1.64 FPPG, 97.6% available)
Goaltenders
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Jake Allen makes big-time save vs. Bruins
Jake Allen makes big-time save vs. Bruins
Jake Allen, G, New Jersey Devils (1.76 FPPG, 88.2% available): This is not a great moment for a top fantasy goaltender to go down to injury, but fantasy managers lost one anyway. Starter Jacob Markstrom is out, likely until March. There isn’t someone else on waivers jumping off the page as a replacement option at the moment, so we can default to his actual replacement and hope for improved returns from Allen. His fantasy production this season is a marked step down from Markstrom, but perhaps having the crease all to himself can change that. Don’t hold your breath, but he’s certainly worth a chance to fill the void.
Cam Talbot, G, Detroit Red Wings (2.01 FPPG, 51.0% available): The overall returns since the coaching change remain a net positive, with Talbot ranking 19th among all goaltenders in fantasy points since Dec. 27. That’s good enough to start him in most leagues, but beware of the bumps in the road that continue to creep in, as Talbot’s coughed up five goals twice in that span of nine games.
See also:
Jakub Dobes, G, Montreal Canadiens (5.53 FPPG, 87.0% available)
Leevi Merilainen, G, Ottawa Senators (3.87 FPPG, 88.5% available)
Samuel Ersson, G, Philadelphia Flyers (1.52 FPPG, 78.4% available)
Short-term streamers
Chandler Stephenson, C, Seattle Kraken (1.48 FPPG, 90.3% available): A little power-play success here, and little penalty-killing work there … put it all together and Stephenson is having a little run of value. The Kraken have the best fantasy schedule this week, which also includes three games against power plays ranked in the bottom-five for giving up goals. Now team Stephenson up with Fedor Svechkov of the Nashville Predators as a pair of free-agent pickups and you have a starter for each day of next week.
Brock Nelson, C, New York Islanders (1.54 FPPG, 31.2% available): The Isles have the second-best fantasy outlook for the week after the Kraken thanks to a four-game schedule. Nelson has turned around a prolonged cold stretch that included zero goals in the month of December by scoring five times in the past eight games. If you can find an acceptable free-agent forward from the Vancouver Canucks, they would pair with Nelson to cover all seven days next week, but good luck with that endeavor.
Alex Nedeljkovic, G, Pittsburgh Penguins (0.75 FPPG, 96.0% available): No, it doesn’t look like there is a lot of long-term value in this crease with Tristan Jarry now demoted. But this particular week includes the San Jose Sharks, Utah HC and Nashville Predators, three teams ranked in the top 10 for most fantasy points to opposing goaltenders.
Bobby McMann, C, Toronto Maple Leafs (1.47 FPPG, 96.5% available): With John Tavares still out of the lineup, McMann has additional time to enjoy on the Leafs all-forward top power-play unit. The job has helped keep McMann above the 2.00 FPPG line lately.
Source: www.espn.com