This article is part of our NHL Waiver Wire series.
Happy New Year! Hope all your resolutions (and fantasy hockey dreams) come true!
The calendar flipping to 2026 also brings the promise of repeat entries, though there won't be any this week. Just the usual batch of 14 new players for you to consider, with none of them above 26 percent coverage. Enjoy!
(Rostered rates as of Jan. 2)
Forwards
Jared McCann, SEA (Yahoo: 26%): I was all ready to tout McCann in early December as he had just returned from an extended absence, and then he got hurt again. Let's hope he's back for good considering how much he's achieved for the Kraken since joining during their inaugural campaign. In McCann's second game on Monday, he potted a power-play goal on three shots and was involved in a fight while skating 16:05 – 4:15 of that up a man. And then Thursday, he grabbed another marker with four pucks on net. Get McCann ASAP, as he should remain heavily involved in all attacking areas.
Bobby McMann, TOR (Yahoo: 12%): It's that time of the season where we talk about McMann enjoying a productive run. He's been hard to trust overall due to inconsistency but is currently on a seven-game stretch during which he's totaled four goals, three assists, 23 shots and 11 hits. McMann briefly took over for the injured William Nylander on the second line alongside John Tavares and provided a PPG Tuesday as part of Toronto's backup man-advantage while joining Auston Matthews on Thursday. Add him now and be ready to drop him when the improved placement ends and/or the points stop.
Brayden Schenn, STL (Yahoo: 11%): Schenn has been significantly off pace in the offensive department at 16 points through 41 contests, yet is rounding into form, recording three points, seven shots and 13 hits from the last five while winning 39 faceoffs centering St. Louis's second even-strength (with previous entries Jimmy Snuggerud and Jake Neighbours) and PP units (PPG on Saturday). As long as he stays within the top-six – or at least beside decent wingers – fantasy opportunities will follow.
Mikael Backlund, CGY (Yahoo: 9%): Speaking of forwards on subpar scoring sides, Backlund has been one of Yahoo's elite performers the last two weeks having notched five goals, four assists, 23 shots on 17:43 a night. While there's no power-play involvement, he leads the penalty kill and is perfectly positioned at five-on-five in between up-and-comer Matthew Coronato and wily veteran Blake Coleman. That type of output and favorable linemates deserve more coverage for Backlund.
Noah Cates, PHI (Yahoo: 8%): Cates has been posting a bit of everything over the last seven games with three goals, three assists, two PPPs, 10 shots, 10 hits, five blocks and 37 faceoff wins. He's been more offensively reliable in his fourth year within Philly's middle-six and secondary man-advantage (only two off his personal-best of eight PPPs) surrounded by solid wingers (most notably Matvei Michkov and Owen Tippett) while averaging just under 17 minutes. C'mon, give Cates a chance.
Collin Graf, SJ (Yahoo: 6%): Graf was brought up last week in the section featuring Igor Chernyshov (was one percent, now 14) as the pair were riding shotgun with Macklin Celebrini. Graf eventually swapped lines with William Eklund, though that didn't stop him from finding the back of the net in four straight or racking up 11 points, 22 shots, 12 hits and 10 blocks since Dec. 5. And I'm sure Graf won't complain about regularly teaming up with Tyler Toffoli (10 goals, 16 assists) and Alexander Wennberg (7, 19).
Eetu Luostarinen, FLA (Yahoo: 6%): If you haven't been following the Panthers this season, you may be unaware Luostarinen has frequently shared the ice with Sam Reinhart (or Brad Marchand) and Anton Lundell. That's led to him being projected to approach his career-high in points (43 set in 2022-23) as he's already provided 18 with seven coming across the last nine appearances in which he's also tallied 21 shots, 24 hits and 11 blocks. Luostarinen's fantasy value is also boosted by his first ever significant PP role, but that has so far only consisted of one PPG and could be gone after Matthew Tkachuk returns.
Ryan McLeod, BUF (Yahoo: 3%): Please explain how a prominent center on the league's hottest team who's accumulated two goals, six assists and a 17:40 average during the last 10 matchups (all wins for Buffalo) is still available in 97 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Not to mention the fact McLeod registered 53 points last year while holding places on both special-teams groups. The position is usually deep, and other options will seem more enticing, yet there's nothing wrong with taking a flyer on someone who's already on fire.
Defensemen
Sam Malinski, COL (Yahoo: 16%): The Avs lead the NHL standings by 10 points with an offense averaging 4.05 goals. That type of production will ultimately lead to a couple players boasting elevated stats, including Malinski at three goals, 19 assists, 67 shots and a plus-22 (Colorado also is first in GAA). There's concern for regression as he's well past his career-high in points (15 in 76 games last season) while only logging around 16 minutes a night. Almost anyone on the team should currently be considered for fantasy consumption, so Malinski is at least worth a look.
Jared Spurgeon, MIN (Yahoo: 10%): Spurgeon may not be getting a significant bump from Quinn Hughes' arrival, though the return of frequent partner Jonas Brodin has helped. And while Spurgeon hasn't done anything on Minnesota's second power play the last few weeks, that quintet is solid and supplies scoring potential. Spurgeon has also recorded three points, five shots and eight blocks from his last three outings while locked into a top-four duo and active in all situations.
Damon Severson, CLS (Yahoo: 3%): Zach Werenski's absence has allowed Denton Mateychuk an increased role – including quarterbacking the Blue Jackets' lead man-advantage – and he's taken advantage of the promotion by tallying a goal and four assists (one PPA) across five appearances. Severson has also received a bit more ice time during that stretch, where he's gone on to post six points – two of those PPAs – alongside 10 shots. Mateychuk may see a drop off after Werenski comes back, though Severson should maintain steady output.
Pavel Mintyukov, ANH (Yahoo: 1%): Mintyukov endured a few healthy scratches but has been more regularly involved of late thanks to improved all-around play and with Radko Gudas out. And if we go back to Dec. 15, he's chipped in with three goals, an assist, 10 shots and 19 blocks. Mintyukov has also reappeared on Anaheim's backup power play, where he notched his first PPP of the year on Wednesday. Monitor his progress to see if he can consistently stick in the lineup before adding him.
Goaltenders
Connor Ingram, EDM (Yahoo: 17%): Despite allowing six goals on Wednesday, Ingram remains a decent fantasy option while Tristan Jarry is sidelined. After all, Ingram started four of the Oilers' last six outings and won the first two. There will be short-term competition from Calvin Pickard, though his season stats aren't promising (3.69 GAA, .874 save percentage across 14 appearances). Ingram should keep getting work on a lethal scoring team whose next 10 opponents all rank bottom-half in goals per game.
Kevin Lankinen, VAN (Yahoo: 7%): Thatcher Demko is Vancouver's clear No. 1 netminder, yet we're all familiar with his injury history. And while he made 92 saves during the last three starts, he also gave up 13 goals. Lankinen's overall line (3.41/.885) doesn't inspire confidence, but he's come out on top in his most recent two matchups – both via the shootout where he stopped all 10 shots (!!!). Let's not forget he also registered 51 outings last year while Demko was out, making him one of the league's best backups who can still be used for streaming purposes (such as Friday vs. Seattle or Saturday vs. Boston).
Players to consider from past columns: Dylan Cozens, Leo Carlsson, Frank Nazar, Will Smith, Carter Verhaeghe, Gabriel Landeskog, Cole Perfetti, Nick Schmaltz, Anze Kopitar, Kiefer Sherwood, Brock Nelson, Zach Benson, Tyler Toffoli, Jonathan Huberdeau, Adam Fantilli, Patrick Kane, Dawson Mercer, Chris Kreider, Troy Terry, Brock Boeser, Mikael Granlund, Sean Monahan, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan O'Reilly, William Eklund, Will Cuylle, Anders Lee, Tyler Bertuzzi, Owen Tippett, Josh Norris, Eeli Tolvanen, Pavel Buchnevich, Alexis Lafreniere, Boone Jenner, Anton Lundell, Ivan Barbashev, Vladimir Tarasenko, Conor Garland, Jack Roslovic, Beckett Sennecke, Jake Neighbours, Jamie Benn, Ryan Hartman, Vasily Podkolzin, Zachary Bolduc, Logan Stankoven, Luke Evangelista, Claude Giroux, Marcus Johansson, Mackie Samoskevich, Evander Kane, Alex Laferriere, Teuvo Teravainen, Alexander Wennberg, Jake DeBrusk, Chandler Stephenson, Braeden Bowman, Sean Couturier, Jordan Eberle, Jackson Blake, Dmitri Voronkov, Pavel Zacha, Jackson Blake, Anthony Mantha, Blake Coleman, Ross Colton, Jack Quinn, Josh Doan, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Mason Marchment, Arseny Gritsyuk, Matias Maccelli, Matthew Coronato, Fabian Zetterlund, Oliver Kapanen, Ben Kindel, Emmitt Finnie, Igor Chernyshov, Andrew Copp, Ryan Leonard, Erik Haula, Matthew Wood, Brock Faber, Drew Doughty, Mattias Ekholm, Brandt Clarke, Kris Letang, Travis Sanheim, Filip Hronek, Rasmus Andersson, Zeev Buium, Noah Hanifin, Cam Fowler, K'Andre Miller, Jake McCabe, Artyom Levshunov, Vladislav Gavrikov, Ivan Provorov, Hampus Lindholm, Darren Raddysh, Brent Burns, Olen Zellweger, John Klingberg, Ryan Pulock, Sean Durzi, Radko Gudas, Philip Broberg, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Justin Faulk, Esa Lindell, Mattias Samuelsson, Josh Manson, Simon Edvinsson, Dmitry Orlov, Matt Roy, Cam York, Nick Blankenburg, Tony DeAngelo, Jordan Spence, Nate Schmidt, Spencer Knight, Jesper Wallstedt, Brandon Bussi, Jacob Fowler, Yaroslav Askarov, Carter Hart, Jet Greaves, Jake Allen, Jakub Dobes, Tristan Jarry, Cam Talbot, John Gibson, Dan Vladar, Casey DeSmith, David Rittich, Elvis Merzlikins, Akira Schmid, Joel Hofer, Jonathan Quick
