Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report February 14th

Published: Feb 14, 2022
Welcome to the Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Report! The waiver wire is key to winning. It helps you improve on the team you drafted, and to help patch holes when players go down due to injury. It’s something most managers will monitor daily. Let’s take a look at who we should be adding this week.
We tend to forget just how good Jeff Skinner was in Carolina. He hasn’t lived up to his contract in Buffalo, but he’s a good player and he can help a fantasy hockey team down the stretch. He scored four goals against Montreal to bring his season total to 20-goals. Everyone scores against the Habs, but for the veteran forward, this was a good reminder that he’s a talented goal scorer on a team that is going to be playing from behind on most nights. He has a real chance at scoring 30-goals this season, and we shouldn’t rule out 35-goals if he can keep up this pace. Not terrible for a player who is only 21% owned in Yahoo! leagues.
It’s been a season to forget for the Montreal Canadiens, but with a new coach in town, some players are going to benefit from the change, specifically Cole Caufield. The rookie has scored two goals since the change and is skating on the top line with Tyler Toffoli and Nick Suzuki. The Habs are going to give their young players every chance possible to grow, and Caufield will benefit from that. The days of him skating on the fourth line will be over, and that can only help his production. He has three goals this season, but we know that he can offer so much more. He’s widely available across most leagues and should be added in deeper formats.
It’s really simple in Edmonton: add whichever player is skating with Connor McDavid. Zach Hyman would have been our first pick, but he’s probably not sitting on the waiver wire in many leagues (if he is, please add him NOW), so Jesse Puljujarvi is the next best option. The Oilers need offence from more than their two superstar players, and Puljujarvi can do that. He hasn’t been able to do it consistently, but Edmonton has a ton of games this week, so all the kid has to do is play well and the points will come.
Now that Tuukka Rask has officially announced that he is retiring from the NHL, the Boston Bruins are going to go back to what was working for them: a healthy spit between their two goalies. Jeremy Swayman has been excellent this season and deserves to play. Linus Ullmark has also played well, so Boston will most likely ride the hot hand down the stretch. Swayman is in a 50/50 split for starts, but if he can continue to play well, he could take over the starting job should Ullmark stumble. It’s hard to find a potential starting goalie on the waiver wire, but Swayman is 46% owned in Yahoo! leagues and that number should be higher. If he’s still available, it would be a smart idea to scoop him up.
I know that Calvin de Haan isn’t going to blow anyone away with his point totals, but the veteran defenceman might be the new king of blocking shots. He’s now blocked three or more shots in 13-straight games, and there seems to be no end in sight. He can also throw his bodyweight around, so in fantasy leagues that count both these stats, he should already be on your team. He can single handily help you win those categories every week and costs you nothing to add.
All stats provided by NHL.com
Player News
Rangers released RHP Adrian Houser.
The 32-year-old right-hander had an opt-out clause in his minor league deal that he planned to exercise. The Rangers would like to bring him back — preferably on another minor league pact — but Houser is now free to peddle his wares on the open market. He made nine appearances (eight starts) at Triple-A Round Rock, registering a 5.03 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 37/15 K/BB ratio across 39 1/3 innings.
White Sox released INF Brandon Drury.
The 32-year-old had been stationed on the injured list at Triple-A Charlotte since April 26 when he injured his wrist on a hit by pitch. It’s unclear if Drury plans to look for opportunities elsewhere or if this could be the end of the line for him. Prior to the injury, he was hitting .179/.319/.282 with one homer, three RBI and a 10/7 K/BB ratio through his first 47 plate appearances at Triple-A Charlotte.
Shohei Ohtani homered twice and drove in six runs on Thursday evening as the Dodgers annihilated the Athletics 19-2 in Los Angeles.
Ohtani delivered a sacrifice fly in the second inning that extended the Dodgers’ early lead to 4-2. He then helped to break the game open with a 382-foot (102.9 mph EV) three-run blast off of Jason Alexander in the third inning that made it 10-2. He victimized Alexander again the following inning — that time for a 418-foot (109.6 mph EV) two-run blast that made it 15-2. The 30-year-old superstar finished the evening 2-for-5 and is now slashing .310/.409/.673 with 15 homers, 28 RBI and 10 stolen bases. The 15 long balls tie him with Aaron Judge and Kyle Schwarber for the most in all of baseball.
Hyeseong Kim went 3-for-3 with a double, four runs scored, two RBI and a stolen base as the Dodgers pummeled the Athletics on Thursday evening.
Kim smacked a one-out single off of Osvaldo Bido in the second inning, swiped second base and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Mookie Betts. He then delivered a run-scoring single of his own in the second inning and rode home on a three-run shot by Shohei Ohtani. Kim also walked and scored on Ohtani’s two-run shot in the third inning. He then punished catcher Jhonny Pereda with an RBI double in the eighth before scoring on Max Muncy’s sacrifice fly. He has been awfully impressive to start his big league career, hitting .429/.467/.571 with a homer, five RBI and three stolen bases in his first 30 plate appearances.
Max Muncy went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI on Thursday as the Dodgers demolished the visiting Athletics.
After hitting just one home run in his first 154 plate appearances on the season, Muncy launched a three-run homer in his final at-bat on Wednesday and followed it by crushing a 408-foot two-run shot off of Osvaldo Bido in his first trip to the dish on Thursday. He also added an RBI single in the second inning and a sacrifice fly in the eighth that capped the scoring in the ballgame. With his three-hit attack, the 34-year-old slugger is now hitting .207/.323/.341 with three long balls and 16 RBI.
Justin Wrobleski picked up his first big league victory of the 2025 season on Thursday, firing four innings of shutout baseball against the Athletics.
Wrobleski came on in the sixth inning with the Dodgers leading 15-2 and all he needed to do was keep the train on the tracks to earn a victory in this one. He did much better than that, allowing just one hit while striking out four batters over his four scoreless frames. It looks like Landon Knack has the leg up on the open spot in the team’s starting rotation, so expect Wrobleski to head back to Triple-A Oklahoma City soon.