Welcome back to the weekly Fantasy Hockey waiver wire article! After a wonky Thanksgiving Week, the NHL schedule gets back to its normal cadence this week. We’re highlighting the best pickups and adds off waivers for Week 8 of the fantasy hockey season!
The NHL is back on track this week with light nights on Monday (6 games), Wednesday (3), Friday (2), and Sunday (5). Meanwhile, most teams are playing on Tuesday (10 games), Thursday (14), and Saturday (13)
In this article, we’ll be highlighting a few teams that play on lighter nights in order for you to maximize your roster for any given week. The Fantasy Hockey waiver wire is key!
Optimizing your lineup is crucial in any fantasy sports league, and fantasy hockey is no different. Given the NHL’s unbalanced scheduling, there are certain teams that have better schedules on certain weeks throughout the year.
If you are in a shallower or deeper league –– or just have a question or comment –– feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@RGilbertSOP) or in the SGPN Discord!
Subscribe to the Hockey Gambling Podcast
Go here for more daily free NHL picks!
Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Week 8 Schedule
The Columbus Blue Jackets play on all four light nights this week. Joining them in this week’s article are the New York Rangers, who play on three light nights and four times in total.
Columbus Blue Jackets
- Monday vs. BOS
- Wednesday vs. MTL
- Friday vs. OTT
- Sunday @ BOS
Boone Jenner (C, LW – 59% Rostered)
We’re going to include Jenner in this week’s article despite him being rostered in more than 50% of leagues. The reason for this exception is simply how bad the Blue Jackets are this season.
The Blue Jackets captain is the team’s leading goalscorer with 11 goals, but just three assists on the season. He’s also averaging a hair over three shots per game (64 shots in 21 games) and has four goals in his last four games.
Kirill Marchenko (RW – 9% Rostered)
Marchenko plays on the top line with the aforementioned Jenner, as well as the underperforming Johnny Gaudreau. He scored his sixth goal of the season on Sunday and now has 12 points in 20 games this year.
The young forward showed off his scoring touch with 21 goals in 59 games last year during his rookie season. He’s continuing that this season and should put up a few points this week while getting a few shots on goal per game.
New York Rangers
- Monday vs. BUF
- Wednesday vs. DET
- Saturday @ NSH
- Sunday vs. SJS
Alexis Lafreniere (LW, RW – 39% Rostered)
Lafreniere was deemed a bust by some after a few disappointing seasons to start his career. Now, however, the 22-year-old winger is strutting his stuff.
The former first-overall pick has 12 points (eight goals) in 19 games this year. He’s in the midst of a cold stretch with just one point (a goal) in his last five games, but he’s shown he can get hot with a four-game point streak before that.
Lafreniere should continue to blossom as he plays with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck on the second line.
Erik Gustafsson (D – 36% Rostered)
Gustafsson has completely refound his game in New York. The offseason signing has 14 points in 19 games this season and has done an admirable job of filling in for Adam Fox on the Rangers’ lethal top power-play unit.
The journeyman blueliner has 10 points in his last nine games and was held without a point in just one of those contests. He should be good for a few points while contributing some shots on goal as well.
