Waiver Wire Targets by Team Need for a Busy NHL Week

A packed NHL schedule is great for streaming, but it also punishes managers who chase the wrong categories. Instead of a generic pickup list, this week’s waiver advice is organized by what your roster actually needs: scoring, power-play exposure, peripherals, and short-week streaming help. With players like Josh Doan and William Eklund stepping into bigger roles, there are real schedule-driven edges to grab before your league mates react.

What’s New & Why It Matters

The common thread for this week’s targets is opportunity plus volume. The Buffalo Sabres are leaning on Josh Doan in a top-six role with first-unit power-play time, giving him multiple paths to production during a busy stretch. The San Jose Sharks are giving William Eklund steady top-six minutes and secondary power-play usage, which matters when you’re trying to squeeze value out of four-game weeks.

In net, John Gibson is locked in as the starting goalie for the Detroit Red Wings and is positioned for multiple starts in a condensed schedule. Meanwhile, veterans Ryan O'Reilly and Boone Jenner are anchoring top lines and seeing power-play work for the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets, respectively. That combination of role security and game volume is exactly what you want when every matchup is decided by a handful of counting stats.

The key is matching these opportunities to your specific needs. If you’re chasing goals, you’ll prioritize different names than if you’re trying to win hits, blocks, or faceoffs. With a busy week on tap, category targeting is the difference between treading water and stealing your matchup.

Fantasy Implications

Points-Only

In points-only formats, you care most about who is on the ice in scoring situations and how often their team plays. Josh Doan checks both boxes right now. As a top-six winger on Buffalo with first-unit power-play deployment, he’s in prime position to rack up goals and man-advantage points over a heavy schedule. Even if his shooting cools off, the sheer number of offensive-zone touches and PP1 reps gives him a strong short-term scoring floor.

William Eklund is more of an assists-and-volume play than a pure goal scorer, but his top-six role and power-play exposure for San Jose keep him firmly in the points-only streaming mix. He’s especially useful if you’re trying to smooth out streaky scoring from riskier stars; his recent form and multi-category profile suggest he’ll chip in steadily rather than in boom-or-bust bursts.

Ryan O’Reilly is a classic points-only stabilizer. Centering Nashville’s top line and working on the first power-play unit, he’s a strong bet for assists and secondary scoring. In weeks where Nashville has four games, O’Reilly’s combination of ice time and usage can quietly swing a matchup, particularly in deeper leagues where consistent 55–60-point pace players are hard to find on the wire.

Categories / Bangers

In multi-cat and bangers formats, you’re not just chasing points—you’re stacking volume across shots, hits, blocks, and special-teams production. Boone Jenner is the headline add here. Healthy and back on Columbus’ top line with power-play time, he offers a rare blend of physicality and offensive opportunity. His hits and blocks help you in the trenches, while his top-line role gives him access to goals and power-play points that many pure bangers lack.

Eklund’s value rises in categories leagues because he can contribute a bit of everything: assists, some shots, and supplementary stats. He’s the type of player who can help you close small gaps across multiple categories in a four-game week, rather than dominating a single one. That flexibility is especially valuable when you’re streaming to patch injuries or off-nights.

Doan also profiles well for categories formats thanks to his goal-scoring potential and power-play role. If you’re behind in goals, shots, and power-play points, he’s a high-leverage add for busy weeks. O’Reilly, on the other hand, is a specialist: his faceoff dominance is a cheat code in leagues that count draws, and his assist-heavy profile pairs nicely with goal-focused wingers already on your roster.

In net, Gibson is a pure volume and ratio play. With Detroit giving him the crease and a busy schedule ahead, he can swing saves and wins in your favor. Just be mindful of your goals-against and save percentage; he’s best deployed when Detroit’s matchups look reasonably soft or when you simply need raw volume to catch up in saves and decisions.

Dynasty / Keeper

Even in a week-to-week waiver context, it’s worth considering long-term angles. Eklund stands out most in dynasty and keeper formats. His current top-six and power-play role for San Jose reflects the organization’s investment in his development. If he continues to build on his recent form, he could graduate from streamer to long-term hold, especially in deeper leagues where multi-category forwards are at a premium.

Doan is more of a short- to medium-term play, but his presence in Buffalo’s top six and on PP1 hints at the team’s confidence in him. If he sticks in that role, he has a path to becoming a recurring mid-tier fantasy contributor. In keepers with larger benches, he’s worth monitoring as a potential stash if his usage remains stable beyond this busy stretch.

Veterans like O’Reilly and Jenner are less exciting in long-horizon formats, but they retain value as dependable category fillers. In dynasty, they’re more likely trade chips to contenders than cornerstone pieces, and tools like the NHL Trade Analyzer can help you gauge whether it’s time to move them for futures if you’re rebuilding.

Who to Add / Stream / Watch

Josh Doan (Add – scoring/PP exposure, standard leagues): Top-six winger with PP1 time in Buffalo, ideal if you need goals and power-play points during a heavy week.
William Eklund (Add – multi-cat, deep and categories leagues): Top-six role and power-play usage for San Jose with recent form that helps across assists and secondary categories.
John Gibson (Short-term stream – goalie volume): Locked-in starter for Detroit with a busy schedule, giving you a shot at multiple wins and strong save totals.
Ryan O’Reilly (Add – assists/faceoffs, standard and deep): Nashville’s top-line, PP1 center who piles up assists and dominates the dot in leagues counting faceoff wins.
Boone Jenner (Add – bangers with upside): Physical top-line center in Columbus who brings hits, blocks, and enough offense to matter in scoring categories.

Fantasy Takeaways

If you need pure scoring and power-play juice, prioritize Josh Doan while he’s locked into Buffalo’s top six and PP1.
For broad category coverage—especially assists and secondary stats—William Eklund is a strong multi-cat stream during four-game weeks.
Managers chasing goalie volume and wins should look to John Gibson, who’s in form and tracking for multiple starts in a busy stretch.
Ryan O’Reilly is a high-impact add in leagues counting faceoffs and assists, thanks to his top-line and PP1 role in Nashville.
Boone Jenner is a priority bangers add, combining hits and blocks with top-line usage and power-play time in Columbus.

Source: Rotowire.com. See the original for full details.