Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Picks

Week 5 runs Mon, Nov 3 → Sun, Nov 9. It’s a classic “front-load off-nights, pivot to weekend churn” setup.
Chicago uniquely hits Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun—a clean off-night quad that minimizes bench conflicts. Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto also offer three off-nights each, and there’s a large Sat/Sun back-to-back cluster (great for goalie streams and last-day pushes).

How We Pick Waiver Adds

Start with 4-game teams.
Prioritize schedules touching Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun (off-nights).
Use the Rankings page (GTW + per-game toggle) to confirm starters you’ll actually fit.
Late-week, churn toward Sat/Sun B2B skaters/goalies to squeeze 1–2 extra starts.

Teams to Target in Week 5

🧲 Best 4-Game Off-Night Leverage (ranked by off-night access)

Chicago — Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun (4 off-nights; gold standard)
Vancouver — Mon/Wed/Sat/Sun (3 off-nights)
Seattle — Mon/Wed/Sat/Sun (3 off-nights)
Toronto — Mon/Wed/Sat/Sun (3 off-nights)
Minnesota — Tue/Fri/Sun (2 off-nights)
Pittsburgh — Mon/Thu/Sat/Sun (2 off-nights)
St. Louis — Mon/Wed/Thu/Sat (2 off-nights)
Utah — Tue/Wed/Sat/Sun (2 off-nights)

Still useful 4-gamers (heavier slates, fewer off-nights):
Anaheim, Carolina, Dallas, Nashville — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun or Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat shapes (1 off-night).

🔁 Weekend Back-to-Backs (Sat 8 & Sun 9)

ANA, CAR, COL, DAL, OTT, PIT, SEA, TOR, UTA, VAN
Use these for goalie spot starts and last-day category pushes (HIT/BLK/SOG).

Three-Game Teams Worth a Look (have at least one off-night)

Calgary — Wed/Fri/Sun
Colorado — Tue/Sat/Sun
Detroit — Tue/Fri/Sun
Edmonton — Mon/Tue/Sat
Los Angeles — Tue/Thu/Sun
NY Islanders — Tue/Fri/Sat
NY Rangers — Tue/Fri/Sat
Ottawa — Thu/Sat/Sun
San Jose — Wed/Fri/Sat
Winnipeg — Tue/Fri/Sun
Washington — Wed/Thu/Sat

These are ideal if you miss the top 4-gamers; each offers at least one Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun touch.

Teams to Avoid (schedule shape)

Two-game teams (hard avoid):
Columbus, New Jersey

Three games, Tue/Thu/Sat only (no off-nights):
Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montréal, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Vegas

These slates are prone to bench conflicts; only stream if you’ve verified open lineup slots on heavy nights.

Stream Strategy (Template)

Early Week (Mon/Wed): Add CHI/SEA/VAN/TOR depth for clean off-night starts.
Midweek Pivot (Fri): If you grabbed CHI, keep them for Fri. Otherwise churn into a Sat/Sun B2B team.
Weekend Push (Sat/Sun): Use the B2B pool for goalie streams and peripheral padding (HIT/BLK/SOG) when matchups are tight.

Player Picks

Chicago Blackhawks (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun)

C/LW/RW Ryan Donato — flexible triple-eligible depth piece giving goals, shots, and the odd hit; perfect off-night fit.
C/LW Colton Dach — elite physical value (~4 HIT per game) with dual-pos eligibility; easy to slide in all week.
C/LW Nick Foligno — steady hit floor with bonus PIM potential; reliable multi-cat filler.

Vancouver Canucks (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Sat/Sun)

RW Kiefer Sherwood — banger-league cheat code with huge hit totals plus real shot and goal volume.
RW Connor Garland — when active, offers shots, assists, and PP2 exposure; stash watch.
LW Evander Kane — still delivering SOG + HIT + PIM even if goals lag; premium grit stream.
RD Filip Hronek — heavy-minute blueliner giving a solid blocks/hits base and secondary offense.
RD Tyler Myers — serviceable blocks with minor SOG/HIT support.

Seattle Kraken (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Sat/Sun)

C/LW Jaden Schwartz — balanced scoring (G/A) with safe shot and hit support; thrives on off-nights.
RW Jordan Eberle — dependable points and SOG; low-risk offensive stream.
RD Adam Larsson — elite blocks, strong hits; category anchor on D.

Toronto Maple Leafs (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Sat/Sun)

C/LW Dakota Joshua — big-body presence piling up hits with occasional scoring.
LW Bobby McMann — heavy hitter with usable shot volume.
RD Jake McCabe — averaging 2.5 + blocks per game plus hits; defensive stalwart.
RD Simon Benoit — high hits, decent blocks, realistic PIM upside.

Minnesota Wild (4 GP – Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun)

C Marco Rossi — strong assists/PPP output and consistent playmaking.
C Yakov Trenin — roughly 5 HIT per game; premium banger target.
LW Marcus Foligno — ~3 HIT per game with bonus PIM potential.
RD Brock Faber — big-minute D with dependable SOG + BLK mix.
RD Jared Spurgeon — balanced across categories.
LD Jake Middleton — hits/blocks with added PIM ceiling.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4 GP – Mon/Thu/Sat/Sun)

RD Kris Letang — PP contributor with safe SOG/HIT/BLK baseline.
RW Anthony Mantha — goals, helpers, and nearly 2 SOG per game; ride the heater.
RW Justin Brazeau — if active, producing near a point-per-game pace.

St. Louis Blues (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Thu/Sat)

C/LW Dylan Holloway — rare dual-eligible hitter with solid SOG output.
C Brayden Schenn — steady hits plus PIM touch.
LW Nathan Walker — ~3.5 HIT per game; elite category swing.
RD Justin Faulk — reliable minutes yielding good BLK + SOG.

Utah Mammoth (4 GP – Tue/Wed/Sat/Sun)

C/LW Jack McBain — balanced shots, hits, and PIM mix; flexible filler.
LW/RW Brandon Tanev — 4 + hits per game monster; wins HIT each week.
D Ian Cole — elite blocks with adequate hits and PIM potential.

Anaheim Ducks (4 GP – Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun)

C Leo Carlsson — goal-scoring upside with PP usage and shot volume.
C/LW Frank Vatrano — dual-eligible volume shooter adding hits.
RW Troy Terry — steady G/A/SOG; safe offensive floor.
LW Chris Kreider — reliable goals + PPP; low-risk scoring stream.
RD Jacob Trouba — elite HIT/BLK contributor; staple in banger formats.
RD Radko Gudas — if healthy, heavy hits/blocks every night.

Carolina Hurricanes (4 GP – Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun)

C/RW Logan Stankoven — steady offense (G/A/SOG) with flexible positions.
RW Jackson Blake — three shots per game pace with G/A consistency.
RD Sean Walker — over 2 HIT + 2 SOG + ~2 BLK per game; safe category floor.

Dallas Stars (4 GP – Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun)

D Leon Bichsel — elite hit generator; perfect HIT streamer.
D Esa Lindell — dependable blocks with small offensive trickle.

Nashville Predators (4 GP – Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat)

RW Jonathan Marchessault — high shot volume, scoring touch, and underrated physicality.
C Michael McCarron — heavy hits and fighting-major PIM potential; pure banger asset.

Why This Works

It’s still man-games math:

A skater at 3 SOG + 2 HIT/GP yields 12 SOG + 8 HIT in a 4-game week.
Off-night starts keep that production in your lineup (not on the bench).
Chain your week: grab Mon/Wed/Fri, then pivot into the Sat/Sun B2B pool.

Looking Ahead to Week 6 (Nov 10–16) — Quick Stash Notes

If you have a move left late Sunday, look for teams that open Monday or hit Wednesday next week to get a fast 2-start jump. (We’ll publish exact targets in the Week 6 column.)

TL;DR

Chicago is the off-night cheat code (Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun).
Great 4-game alternatives with 3 off-nights: Vancouver, Seattle, Toronto.
Big Sat/Sun B2B pool: ANA, CAR, COL, DAL, OTT, PIT, SEA, TOR, UTA, VAN.
Avoid: Columbus, New Jersey (2 games), plus BOS/BUF/FLA/MTL/PHI/TBL/VGK (3 games, T/Th/Sat only).
Use GTW + per-game on Rankings to pick streamers you can actually start.