Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Picks

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Picks – Week 9 (Dec 1–7, 2025)

Week 9 is a classic off-night leverage week if you build it properly:

Heavy nights: Tue / Thu / Sat (with Saturday as the big hammer)
True off-nights: Mon / Wed / Fri (smallest slates of the week)
Softer hybrid: Sun — busier than a pure off-night, but lighter than Tue/Thu/Sat

We’re looking to stack four-game teams that park most of their schedule on Mon/Wed/Fri, then sprinkle in smart Tue/Thu/Sat exposure where your roster has holes.

Quick Jumpstart (early-week attack)

Early in the week (Mon–Wed), you can grab extra man-games before your league-mates react.

Teams with early-week opportunities for Dec 1–3:

Monday only
CBJ — PIT — STL

Mon + Tue
(none this week)

Mon + Wed
ANA — BUF — NJD — PHI — SJS — UTM — WPG

Tue + Wed
DAL — MTL — WSH

Tip: Mon/Wed stacks are gold this week — both are low-volume nights, so even depth streamers from these teams can crack your starting lineup.

High-Volume 4-GP (sorted by off-night leverage)

Your headline schedules for Week 9 are the teams that hammer the Mon/Wed/Fri off-nights.

Premium off-night 4-GP stacks (Mon/Wed/Fri-heavy)

These teams are built for bench-proof streaming — three true off-night games, plus a reasonable weekend finish:

Anaheim Ducks — Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun
San Jose Sharks — Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun
New Jersey Devils — Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat
Utah Hockey Club — Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat
Winnipeg Jets — Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat

Anaheim and San Jose bring pure off-night cores with a soft Sunday closer.
New Jersey, Utah, and Winnipeg trade Sunday for a heavy Saturday game, which is still great if your weekend isn’t jammed.

These five clubs should be the first place you look for Week 9 streamers.

Hybrid 4-GP volume (off-nights + heavy nights)

These teams mix off-nights with heavier slates, giving you flexibility if your Monday is already crowded:

Dallas Stars — Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun
Washington Capitals — Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun

Both offer two true off-nights (Wed/Fri),
A Sunday game to close the week, and
A single heavy-night (Tue) appearance to pad raw volume.

If you’re already tapping ANA/SJS/NJD/UTM/WPG and still have room, DAL and WSH are excellent secondary stacks.

Off-night sprinkles with 4 GP

These teams still reach four games, but lean a bit closer to traditional heavy-night volume:

Columbus Blue Jackets — Mon/Thu/Sat/Sun
Montreal Canadiens — Tue/Wed/Sat/Sun
St. Louis Blues — Mon/Thu/Sat/Sun

CBJ/STL give you a Monday off-night, plus a decent Sunday closer.
MTL sneaks in a Wednesday off-night but leans harder into Sat/Sun.

They’re solid consolation options if the premium off-night stacks are already picked over in your league.

Pure volume 4-GP (heavier nights, less leverage)

These teams bring four games, but most of that work happens on busy slates:

Chicago Blackhawks — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun
Colorado Avalanche — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun
Florida Panthers — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun
New York Islanders — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun
New York Rangers — Tue/Thu/Sat/Sun

If your roster has a lot of spare slots on Tue/Thu/Sat, these are perfectly fine volume plays.
In tighter leagues, though, you’ll often struggle to get these skaters into your starting lineup on those heavy nights.

Three-game teams worth a look

Not all 3-GP teams are created equal. A few offer sneaky off-night leverage:

Buffalo Sabres — Mon/Wed/Fri
Philadelphia Flyers — Mon/Wed/Sun
Pittsburgh Penguins — Mon/Thu/Sun
Carolina Hurricanes — Thu/Sat/Sun (good if you’re light on weekend volume)

Buffalo is the standout here — all three games land on true off-nights. In deep leagues or formats with limited moves, a BUF streamer can quietly keep pace with heavier schedules that are stuck on your bench.

Most other 3-GP teams sit in more traditional Tue/Thu/Sat patterns (BOS, CGY, DET, EDM, LAK, MIN, NSH, OTT, TBL, TOR, VAN, VGK). They’re serviceable when you just need warm bodies on busy slates, but they’re not the first place to look if your heavy nights are already capped.

Two-game warning

Seattle Kraken — Thu/Sat

With only 2 GP, Seattle skaters generally can’t keep up with four-game streamers this week unless they’re star-level names.

In most leagues, treat SEA as “hold only if elite” and look elsewhere for streaming.

How to build your Week 9 stream plan

A simple way to attack this slate:

Start with off-night cores
- Prioritize streamers from ANA / SJS / NJD / UTM / WPG.
- Aim to fill Mon/Wed/Fri with live bodies before worrying about the heavy nights.
Layer in hybrid volume
- Add DAL / WSH pieces where you have Tue/Sun gaps and enough room on Wed/Fri.
Plug holes with 3-GP off-night teams
- Use BUF / PHI / PIT as backup options in deeper formats – especially if your heavy nights are already overloaded.
Use heavy-night 4-GP teams as tiebreakers
- If you still have open slots on Tue/Thu/Sat, lean into CHI / COL / FLA / NYI / NYR for raw volume.
Check your league settings
- In banger leagues, prioritize teams with D-men and forwards who bring HIT/BLK/SOG across those off-nights.
- In points leagues, focus more on PP exposure and top-six usage from the off-night clubs.

Player Picks

Anaheim Ducks (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun)

LW Chris Kreider — Brings scoring and shot upside, with the ability to swing matchups when he’s hot. Ideal if you need goals and a strong shot floor across three off-nights.

C/LW Frank Vatrano — Offers a mix of shots and hits, with penalty-minute potential baked in. Great banger-league streamer who can still chip in on the scoresheet.

D Radko Gudas — Delivers a nice floor of shots with heavy hits, strong blocks, and PIM upside. Perfect “set-and-forget” banger defenseman for this four-game off-night slate.

San Jose Sharks (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Fri/Sun)

D Dmitry Orlov — Provides a balanced shots / hits / blocks floor with steady minutes. A solid all-around blue-line streamer for multi-cat formats.

LW/RW Tyler Toffoli — Brings legitimate scoring upside and high shot volume. Great if you’re chasing goals and power-play exposure.

LW/RW William Eklund — Offers scoring upside with lots of shots. A nice upside play in deeper leagues or if you’re hunting for a breakout in a four-game week.

D Mario Ferraro — Known for a strong hit floor and consistent blocks. Low-event offensively, but excellent for padding peripherals over four games.

New Jersey Devils (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat)

C/RW Dawson Mercer — Brings scoring upside with good shot volume, making him a strong mid-tier streaming center/wing hybrid.

D Šimon Nemec — Has been scoring of late, with shot and block upside. Nice upside play if you need offense from the back end without punting peripherals.

D Brenden Dillon — Offers heavy hits and solid blocks with PIM potential. Classic banger specialist who fits perfectly into a four-game, off-night-heavy schedule.

Utah Hockey Club (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat)

D Sean Durzi — Back in the lineup and offering solid shot volume with blocks, plus potential PP involvement. Great if you need a blend of offense and peripherals from D.

D Ian Cole — Brings high shot-blocking upside and can quietly rack up peripherals over four games. Strong deep-league target for BLK-heavy builds.

C/LW Jamie McBain — Provides high hit volume with PIM upside. Ideal for managers looking to lean into the rough stuff from a forward slot.

Winnipeg Jets (4 GP – Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat)

C/LW/RW Cole Perfetti — Offers good shot volume and point potential. A flexible multi-position add who fits almost any build if he’s available.

D Logan Stanley — Brings a decent block and hit floor with PIM upside. Not flashy, but very useful in deep banger formats when you need stability.

C Adam Lowry — Provides steady shots and strong hit volume, plus PIM upside and sneaky point potential. Great “glue guy” streamer for multi-cat leagues.

Dallas Stars (4 GP – Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun)

C/RW Tyler Seguin — Offers scoring upside with a strong schedule, touching both heavy and off-nights. Solid streaming option if you need goals and shots with decent deployment.

D Lian Bichsel — Brings high hit upside with some PIM potential. A strong depth add for banger formats where DAL’s schedule can keep him active.

C/LW Jamie Benn — Provides a decent shot floor, hitting upside, and point potential. Versatile streamer who can contribute across multiple categories.

Washington Capitals (4 GP – Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun)

C/LW Connor McMichael — Carries good shot volume and point-scoring upside. A nice middle-six scoring add who benefits from Washington’s hybrid schedule.

RW Ryan Leonard — Brings good shot volume with a decent hit floor and has been putting up points of late. Great for managers needing multi-cat support from the wing.

D Martin Fehérváry — Offers a solid shots / hits / blocks floor with reliable minutes.

D Rasmus Sandin — Brings shots and blocks, plus some offensive upside when he’s seeing PP time.

D Matt Roy — Another steady multi-cat defenseman, providing useful hit and block totals. Any of these three Caps blueliners can be serviceable in deeper banger formats this week.

Buffalo Sabres (3 GP – Mon/Wed/Fri)

D Mattias Samuelsson — Provides a decent shot and hit floor with high block upside. Great if you’re trying to maximize off-night peripherals.

LW/RW Josh Doan — Offers high shot volume and point potential. A nice upside add if you’re chasing goals and SOG across three pure off-nights.

C Josh Norris — Should be returning soon and could be an elite add if he can stay healthy. In shallower leagues, he’s the type of stash who can significantly boost your center depth once fully up to speed.

Philadelphia Flyers (3 GP – Mon/Wed/Sun)

LW/RW Owen Tippett — Brings good shot and hit volume with scoring upside. Ideal off-night winger if you’re chasing goals and banger stats simultaneously.

D Travis Sanheim — Offers a decent shot floor with high block upside. Solid all-around blue-line streamer, especially in deeper formats.

D Cam York — Plays big minutes and brings strong block upside, with some offense mixed in.

D Nick Seeler — Provides a reliable across-the-board floor in shots, hits, and blocks. If you just want safe peripherals, he’s a “plug him in and forget it” option.

Pittsburgh Penguins (3 GP – Mon/Thu/Sun)

D Kris Letang — Delivers shots, hits, and blocks at acceptable levels, with real scoring upside when the Penguins’ offense is rolling. Great in any format if he’s available.

D Parker Wotherspoon — Has been logging heavy minutes with decent hit and block floors. A sneaky deep-league add if you need late-week peripherals from the blue line.

Get a head start for Week 10. Use our Optimizer to peek ahead at the next slate’s top streaming teams and see how they fit your roster (off-night density, man-games, positional needs).

Closing Notes (Quick Hits You Can Action)

ANA/SJS/NJD/UTM/WPG are your priority four-game targets — three off-nights each is massive.
DAL/WSH are excellent secondary stacks, especially if you need Tue/Sun coverage.
BUF’s Mon/Wed/Fri trio makes them the 3-GP darling of the week.
Avoid relying on Seattle streamers unless they’re elite — two games just doesn’t keep pace.
As always, re-check line combos, PP usage, and Yahoo roster % before you burn your waiver moves.

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