The Fantasy Hockey season has entered the second half, and the playoff picture is starting to take shape. Some players will be out for an extended period, but that opens the door for others to step up and seize their chance. 

There are a couple of players on the fantasy hockey waiver wire that should be on your roster moving forward. Let’s take a look at those names and continue to build momentum throughout the week. 

 

 

 

Fantasy Hockey Week 18 Injury Report

Tage Thompson - Buffalo Sabres - Head

Tage Thompson left Sunday’s game against the New Jersey Devils after taking a hit to the head and did not return. 

Thompson was visibly shaken up, but the team hasn’t come out and said if he is dealing with a concussion or not. We’ll have to wait for another update, so for now, treat him as day-to-day.

Kirill Marchenko - Columbus Blue Jackets - Jaw

The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that Kirill Marchenko will miss six-to-eight weeks due to a broken jaw. He was struck by a puck while sitting on the bench, making this whole situation even worse. 

Already without Sean Monahan, the Blue Jackets were looking for Marchenko to continue his scoring ways, but with this injury, he will probably be done until April, which also means he will be out for the fantasy playoffs. If you can’t stash him on IR, drop him and look for a replacement.

Kirill Kaprizov - Minnesota Wild - Lower-body

Kirill Kaprizov was having a career year, until the Hockey Gods decided to take it away from us. He was placed on IR last week and is expected to miss some time. He was able to return from his first injury stint, but it lasted just three games. 

We don’t know if he re-aggravated the same injury, but this is a blow to the Wild and fantasy owners. The unknown timetable hurts the most because we can’t plan accordingly, but it’s too early to consider dropping him. We need to wait for an update and go from there.

 

 

 

Nico Hischier - New Jersey Devils - Upper-body

Nico Hischier has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury and is still considered week-to-week. He left the game against Montreal and was unable to return. 

We haven’t seen him at practice and the team is just saying that it’s an upper-body injury and that it’s week to week. There’s no need to panic just yet, but we do want to see him back at practice and making progress. 

Matthew Barzal - New York Islanders - Lower-body

The New York Islanders have been decimated by injuries all season and the list just keeps growing. The team announced that Matthew Barzal would be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, and it could very well put an end to his season. 

He’s only managed to play 30 games this season but has racked up 24 points. It’s nothing crazy, but for an Islanders team that isn’t loaded with offensive talent, this loss will hurt. If you own him in fantasy hockey, it’s probably a safe bet to move on from him.

Quinn Hughes - Vancouver Canucks - Undisclosed

Quinn Hughes was a late scratch against the Detroit Red Wings and is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. He did take warmup, but in the end, he wasn’t healthy enough to play. 

He’s been playing with some kind of brace on his hand, but we don’t know if he’s trying to manage that or if this is a new injury. The team probably won’t give us any new information, so we’ll need to wait for an update. The positive is, he’s skating, so it doesn’t sound like he will be out long-term.

 

 

 

Fantasy Hockey Week 18 Waiver Wire

Filip Chytil - Vancouver Canucks - Yahoo!: 3% owned

It’s always a good idea to target players that are playing a lot of minutes. Filip Chytil played over 20 minutes in his first game since being traded to the Vancouver Canucks and he could continue to see a healthy amount of ice time. 

He’s going to have big shoes to fill, but all fantasy owners want to see is opportunity, and Chytil is going to get that. He’s a good pickup in deeper formats if you’re looking for some offence.

Tony DeAngelo - New York Islanders - Yahoo!: 26% owned

I did not have Tony DeAngelo being fantasy hockey relevant in 2025, but here we are. After spending some time in the KHL, the defenseman was released and signed a deal with the Islanders for the remainder of the season. Since then, he’s seeing over 25 minutes of ice time per game and has three points. 

He’s not a great defender, but New York needs someone to eat up minutes on the back end and DeAngelo is going just that, so by default, he’s going to fill some stats. He won’t wow you in any specific category, but he can do enough to be on a fantasy roster.

 

 

 

Will Smith - San Jose Sharks - Yahoo!: 7% owned 

The Sharks traded Cody Ceci and Mikael Granlund to Dallas, so there is a spot on the second line that has opened up. Will Smith was playing on the win with Macklin Celebrini, but now he’s going to get a chance to center the second line. 

He’s currently riding a six-game point streak and there’s no reason to believe that he can’t be productive down the stretch. The Sharks will be trailing in most of their games, so Smith will see a lot of ice time and be given the chance to contribute offensively.

Kaapo Kakko - Seattle Kraken - Yahoo!: 11% owned 

Maybe I’m missing something, but Kaapo Kakko being just 11% owned in Yahoo! leagues is something I can’t wrap my mind around. The kid has been fantastic since coming over from the Rangers and is seeing a decent amount of ice time. 

He’s been racking up the points and is showing no signs of slowing down. He could finish with a point-per-game as a member of the Kraken, so again-- why is he just 11% owned? This is a player that needs to be on your fantasy roster if you need scoring.