Fantasy Hockey Tips: Olympic Break Moves, Waiver Wire Picks & Players to Watch

The Olympic break is almost here. The return of NHL players to the tournament is exciting. I don't usually get that interested in international competitions, but this one is big. 

That means fantasy hockey will be on the back burner for most of February. Don't tune out early -- there are still four days of games before the break. This is a good time to send a few more trade offers out. However, expect most people to take a step back from their teams during the break, aside from maybe making some speculative moves for any injuries that pop up. 

Roster Management Strategies During the Olympic Break

Speaking of injuries, consider adding some injured players Thursday. This might seem counter-intuitive, but there will be plenty of players who recover from their injuries during the break. Filling up your IR spots Thursday gives you a chance to boost your roster with talent without having to lose any games for nearly three weeks. The worst thing that happens is that the players you add aren't quite ready after the break. Best-case scenario? You've improved your roster for free, and potentially even found some injury insurance if one of your players gets hurt during the tournament. The risk is never going to be lower than it is this month. 

In terms of waiver-wire moves, this will be a tricky stretch. Momentum is a big part of success in hockey, but nearly every player who isn't going to the Olympics will be out of game action for the whole break. I'd still feel more confident looking at players who go into the break hot rather than those who are cold. The hot-streak players will feel a lot better about themselves and their confidence while waiting for the schedule to resume. 

During the tournament, keep track of any injuries. Some players will be able to return during the Olympics, but others will get hurt with something that impacts their availability. Figure out who has the best chance to fill those gaps when the NHL resumes, and you'll be ahead of the curve. Don't be afraid to make roster moves during the break, as it could give you a significant advantage over your competition. 

Targeting Hot Players and Injury Bounce-Backs on Waivers

Before diving in for moves for the week, take a look at the trades that went down recently. The Islanders clearly think they can compete, bringing in Carson Soucy from the Rangers and Ondrej Palat from the Devils. In the second deal, they sent Maxim Tsyplakov back to New Jersey. That's two trades with division rivals, which is quite a big deal. In terms of fantasy, Palat seems to be the only one to get a noticeable bump in value. He earned two points in his Islanders debut and has taken on a second-line role, including power-play time. Consider Palat in deeper formats, but you probably won't need him in standard formats. 

On the wire, I'm looking at Jared McCann. He's coming off the best individual month in Kraken history with 20 points in 17 games. Sure, the team was busy in January, but McCann has been in peak form. Usually, offense is Seattle is done by committee, but the trio of McCann, Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle really found a groove. McCann is the team's best scoring forward -- even with time missed due to injuries, he's sixth on the team with 29 points and ranks first with a 0.97 points-per-game pace. 

Mats Zuccarello is defying the aging curve once again as a member of the Wild's top line. He has four goals and seven helpers over his last eight games, and he's been healthy since late December. Injury risk is always part of the equation with Zuccarello, but with 32 points in 36 outings this season, he's been too good to ignore when healthy. 

Looking to a fourth-line group for offense is always a risk, but the Penguins seem to have a pretty good one going. The trio of Noel Acciari, Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar each have multiple points in each of the last two games. Dewar's the best bet if you want a physical forward, while Lizotte has decent all-around numbers and Acciari could be a viable source of blocked shots. These aren't long-term adds -- stream them to supplement your roster when possible, but there's no need to commit for anything more than a game or two at a time. 

Spotlight on Emerging Forwards and Defensemen Value

Brayden Schenn will get a longer look in a prominent role for the Blues since Robert Thomas (leg) underwent a procedure Friday that will keep him out until after the Olympic break. Schenn ended January with three goals and two assists over a four-game span. He's now at 24 points in 55 outings this season, but he offers a boost in hits and PIM. Avoid him if you need to keep your plus-minus rating stable, as playing for the Blues will leaving him firmly in the red in that category. 

It can be hard to pinpoint a player to target on the Stars' roster, but Mavrik Bourque is starting to find his way. He's been with Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson in a top-six role lately, with Bourque earning six points, 14 shots on net and nine hits over his last seven contests. Opportunities for big minutes in Dallas don't come easy -- the team is loaded with talented forwards, and head coach Glen Gulutzan has continued Pete DeBoer's tendency to spread the ice time around. Bourque has averaged 14:43 of ice time per game since the start of December, and he's at 14:21 per game for the full season, so he's firmly in a middle-six spot. 

It was a good month for Tony DeAngelo, who picked up 11 points over 15 games in January. Just one of those points -- a goal -- came on the power play, but his usage with the man advantage is up to 1:46 per game for the month. Matthew Schaefer is still the top dog for power-play minutes with the Islanders, but DeAngelo has carved out enough space for himself to be a viable fantasy option as well. 

Staying in New York, Vladislav Gavrikov just won't go away as a fantasy candidate. He's produced six points, 12 shots on net and 11 blocked shots over the last seven games, with three of his points coming on the power play. Gavrikov typically hasn't gotten power-play minutes in his previous stops, but he has taken advantage of Adam Fox's (lower body) inability to stay in the lineup this season. Gavrikov is already at 21 points in 56 games this season, so he has a decent chance of matching his 30-point output from the 2024-25 regular season with the Kings. He's blocking shots fairly well with 86 this season, which isn't an elite rate but is in line with his usual level. 

Ryan Shea has been an unexpected success for the Penguins this year, which is a good thing for his career considering general manager Kyle Dubas' tendency to stockpile defensemen. Shea has gone plus-8 with five points over his last five games. He filled the void when both Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang (foot) were out, and with Letang set to be out for four weeks, Shea should be able to hold onto a second-unit spot on the power play as well as a top-four role at even strength. Shea has broken out to the tune of 21 points in 53 contests overall, and he's added 62 blocked shots and a plus-22 rating, which shows he can be relied on in his own zone. 

Goalie Depth and Backup Targets for Tournament Uncertainty

To the crease, where Jakub Dobes is playing his way back into the mix for the Canadiens. Montreal's situation has gotten easier since it looks like Jacob Fowler's demotion in mid-January is going to stick, and Dobes has picked up the slack. Dobes went undefeated over six outings last month, though his 2.97 GAA and .893 save percentage weren't special. He started four of the Canadiens' last six games and is pushing Sam Montembeault at this time. The tides have turned frequently in Montreal's crease, so always consider riding the hot hand. 

Outside of that, the advice on goalies this week is to target the crease-mates of those goalies going to the Olympics. While not all of them will be widely available, it's worth making a speculative move where possible just in case an NHL team's primary starting goalie gets hurt during the tournament, opening the door for a backup or tandem netminder to move into No. 1 status. Some names to consider, in alphabetical order by team: Ville Husso (Anaheim), Joonas Korpisalo (Boston), Alex Lyon (Buffalo), Brandon Bussi (Carolina), Jet Greaves (Columbus), Casey DeSmith (Dallas), Anton Forsberg (Los Angeles), Justus Annunen (Nashville), Jake Allen (New Jersey), Samuel Ersson (Philadelphia), Stuart Skinner (Pittsburgh), Joey Daccord (Seattle), Joel Hofer (St. Louis), Vitek Vanecek (Utah), Nikita Tolopilo (Vancouver), Adin Hill (Vegas) and Eric Comrie (Winnipeg). In most cases, only make a move if you have to -- and you'll want to act fast as soon as you learn about one of your goalies getting hurt, as other managers could be waiting to strike or stockpile goalies. Of these netminders, DeSmith, Bussi, Skinner, Daccord, Korpisalo and Hofer have the best mix of upside, risk of teammate getting injured and fantasy availability. Not all goalies that go to the Olympics will see significant minutes, and those that don't will likely avoid injury, so particularly keep an eye on the backups of any goalie who takes on a No. 1 role for their country. 

Since there won't be any big NHL news during the break, I'll be taking a couple of weeks off from the column. I plan to have the next edition out Feb. 23 to prepare for the games right after the break, but with no trades from Feb. 4-22, I will play it by ear since there won't be a ton of non-tournament news to navigate. In any case, enjoy the Olympics, both in hockey and anything else you're looking forward to. Just be ready to make your end-of-season push when the NHL resumes. 

Stuck between two players available on the waiver wire? Check out the NHL Player Comparison Tool or the NHL Trending Players to help break the tiebreaker on your waiver wire decisions.