Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Picks

Week 4 (Oct 27–Nov 2) flips the script: off-nights are rare.
The slate again leans into Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, which means your best edges come from any team that sneaks in Monday, Wednesday,Friday, or Sunday.

It’s a tighter week for streamers, but smart swaps can still net 3–4 extra man-games if you hunt the light windows.

How We Pick Waiver Adds

Same process, adapted to a scarcer off-night board:

Start with 4-game teams.
Prioritize any schedule touching Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun (even one off-night matters this week).
Use the Rankings page with GTW + per-game toggle to find starters you’ll actually fit.
Late-week, open the Optimizer to roll a Sunday stash → Monday (Week 5) pivot.

Heavy slates (Tue/Thu/Sat) clog benches. One clean off-night start can be the difference in tight H2H matchups.

Teams to Target in Week 4

Confirmed 4-game teams (11):
Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues.

Below are the most streamable shapes based on off-night access.

Best 4-GP Off-Night Leverage (includes Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun)

Boston Bruins — Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat
Ottawa Senators — Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat
Pittsburgh Penguins — Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat
St. Louis Blues — Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat
Detroit Red Wings — Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun
New York Islanders — Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun
Columbus Blue Jackets — Tue/Wed/Sat/Sun

These are your cleanest insertion points this week. None of the 4-gamers offer 2–3 off-nights, so even one is valuable.

High-Volume 4-GP (heavy-night slates)

Calgary Flames — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun
New Jersey Devils — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun
Philadelphia Flyers — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun
San Jose Sharks — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun

Plenty of games, but expect Tue/Thu/Sat conflicts. Use only if your lineup has room on heavies.

Three-Game Teams Worth a Look

A bunch of 3-gamers are Tue/Thu/Sat only (see “Avoid” below). A few offer at least one off-night or a softer Sunday:

Anaheim Ducks — Tue/Fri/Sun (Fri off-night; Sunday is moderate)
Colorado Avalanche — Tue/Fri/Sat (Fri off-night)
Toronto Maple Leafs — Tue/Wed/Sat (Wed off-night)
Washington Capitals — Tue/Fri/Sat (Fri off-night)
Tampa Bay Lightning — Tue/Thu/Sun (Sunday moderate)

Use these to plug a gap if you can’t land a 4-gamer with Mon/Wed/Fri.

Suggested Streamer Profiles (Role-Based)

With off-nights limited, roles > names again:

Hits/Blocks Defensemen — Even a single Fri or Wed start can swing HIT/BLK.
PP2 Net-Front Forwards — Cheap access to PP touches; a lone light-night PPG flips PPP.
Volume Shooters — 2–3 SOG/GP turns into 6–9 SOG on three games and 8–12 SOG on four.
Faceoff Specialists (C) — Target Mon/Wed/Fri to bank FW that won’t sit.

👉 On Rankings, filter position + team + GTW, then flip per-game to spot dependable peripherals.

Week 4 Schedule Breakdown

Mon, Oct 27 → 2 games (very light, premium)
Tue, Oct 28 → 16 games (max heavy)
Wed, Oct 29 → 1 game (ultra light, premium)
Thu, Oct 30 → 11 games (heavy)
Fri, Oct 31 → 3 games (light, premium)
Sat, Nov 1 → 13 games (very heavy)
Sun, Nov 2 → 5 games (moderate)

👉 Translation: Monday/Wednesday/Friday are the rare, high-value windows.
If you can only add once, target a player who plays on one of these nights.

Why This Works

It’s still man-games math:

A skater at 3 SOG + 2 HIT per game yields 12 SOG + 8 HIT in a 4-game week.
Off-night starts keep that production in your lineup instead of on the bench.
Chain your week: grab Mon/Wed/Fri, then pivot into a Sunday stash → Monday (Week 5).

Teams to Avoid

We’re fading schedules with two games or three heavies only (Tue/Thu/Sat):

Two-game teams:
Florida Panthers — Tue/Sat
Montréal Canadiens — Tue/Sat
Seattle Kraken — Tue/Sat
Utah Mammoth — Tue/Sun
Vegas Golden Knights — Tue/Fri

Three games, Tue/Thu/Sat only (no off-night):
Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets.

These slates are prone to bench conflicts. Only stream if your roster has confirmed space on heavy nights.

Looking Ahead to Week 5 (Nov 3–9)

If you have a move left on Sunday (Nov 2), stash into Monday (Nov 3) or Wednesday (Nov 5):

Mon, Nov 3 (light): Chicago, Edmonton, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver.
Wed, Nov 5 (light-to-moderate): Calgary, Chicago, Columbus, San Jose, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, Utah, Vancouver, Washington.

Target skaters who play Monday and Wednesday (e.g., Chicago, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver) for a quick two-start boost to open Week 5.

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Final Thoughts

Among 4-gamers, prioritize those with any off-night: BOS, OTT, PIT, STL (Mon); DET, NYI (Fri); CBJ (Wed).
Use selective 3-gamers with one off-night (ANA, COL, TOR, WSH) or a softer Sunday (TBL).
Avoid 2-game teams and T/Th/Sat-only 3-gamers unless your lineup has confirmed heavy-night space.
Keep filtering by GTW + per-game to maximize starts and peripheral averages.

👉 Head to Rankings to filter by team, position, and GTW, and subscribe to the Newsletter for a fresh waiver breakdown every Monday.