NHL Injury Report & Waiver Wire Ahead Of Week 24 Games: Stuart Skinner, Matvei Michkov
The fantasy hockey playoffs are here and it’s going to be a blast. If you’ve made it this far, congratulations.
We’re at the point in the year where every decision you make can either help you win a championship or cost you one. You can’t leave anything on the table. Let’s navigate the upcoming week and see which players we need to target.
Fantasy Hockey Week 24 Injury Report
Connor McDavid - Edmonton Oilers - Undisclosed **UPDATE**
Mattias Ekholm - Edmonton Oilers - Undisclosed
Stuart Skinner - Edmonton Oilers - Head
We are going to give the Edmonton Oilers an entire section. There is never a good time for injuries, but key players being out of the lineup for fantasy playoffs is a mountain we sometimes can’t climb.
Let’s start with Connor McDavid, who hasn’t played in over a week. We don’t know what he’s dealing with and there is no timetable for his return. You obviously can’t drop him, so we stash him on the bench and wait for some positive news.
Mattias Ekholm has missed the last two games due to injury and will not make the trip with the team for their three-game road trip. Could he join the team at a later date? Maybe, but that just seems unlikely. If you have him on your team, cutting ties with him and looking for a replacement might be best. Other defencemen on the waiver wire can help you.
Stuart Skinner took some contact to the head against Dallas and hasn’t seen any action since. The team hasn’t confirmed that he is dealing with a concussion, only that it’s an upper-body injury. If you have him on your team, you need to look for a replacement. We’ll see if he makes the trip or not.
Evgeni Malkin - Pittsburgh Penguins - Upper-body
Evgeni Malkin has missed the last three games due to an upper-body injury and is still listed as day-to-day. He isn’t the player he once was, so holding onto him at this point of the year is wishful thinking.
Pittsburgh has three games this week but only one during the week against Dallas. The matchups on paper aren’t great, so even if Malkin did return, he might not be a real factor. If you need offensive help, the waiver wire is a better solution.
Fantasy Hockey Week 24 Waiver Wire
Casey DeSmith - Dallas Stars - Yahoo!: 11% owned
I know lots of people want to run and pick up Calvin Pickard on waivers, but that’s just not the move. The Oilers have three road games this week and the matchups are brutal.
Instead, Dallas goalie Casey DeSmith is the way to go. The Stars play four games this week and have a back-to-back, so DeSmith will see at least one start. All you need from him is one solid performance and I think he can deliver.
Zach Bolduc - St. Louis Blues - Yahoo!: 7% owned
The St. Louis Blues are red hot at the best possible time. They have won nine in a row and are showing no signs of slowing down. They have three games on home ice this week against teams that allow goals, so we need to up our exposure to them.
Zach Bolduc may be skating on the third line, but he has five points in the last six games, is shooting the puck a decent amount and throws his weight around. He is filling multiple categories, which is key at this point of the season. He’s a great addition to a team that needs some extra depth.
Matvei Michkov - Philadelphia Flyers - Yahoo!: 48% owned
There is a 50/50 chance that Matvei Michkov is still on the waiver wire. Since John Tortorella was fired, the rookie has scored four goals on 11 shots and is playing over 19 minutes. This is what fans wanted to see from the beginning, but Tortorella had different plans.
The Flyers only play two games this week, but Michkov could continue his hot streak and help your team win a championship. He’s not just here to help you this week but for the week after too. If he’s available, add him.
Mason McTavish - Anaheim Ducks - Yahoo!: 32% owned
The Anaheim Ducks are a bad hockey team, but they have three good matchups this week and there are some players to keep an eye on. The best of the gang is Mason McTavish. His shot volume has been very good over the last few weeks, but the points and goals just haven’t followed.
He’s still getting the opportunity to play meaningful minutes, so he’s a nice addition to a fantasy team that is looking for some depth. He also has duo-position eligibility on Yahoo!, so that gives us even more roster flexibility.
Player News
Paul Skenes has announced that he will pitch for Team USA at the World Baseball Classic
Skenes has pitched for Team USA in two other tournaments during his career and actually spent two years at the Air Force Academy. He is arguably the best pitcher in baseball right now and will partner with arguably the best hitter in baseball right now, Aaron Judge, to lead Team USA in what figures to be an extremely competitive WBC tournament in 2026.
White Sox LHP prospect Hagen Smith (fatigue) will have his workload managed at Double-A Birmingham.
Hagen Smith’s velocity fluctuated in his last outing, and the White Sox were cautious about him showing some signs of fatigue. They shortened his last outing and will skip his next start to help him manage his workload in his first full professional season. Everything is fine with Smith from a medical perspective, but this is a good reminder that Smith is an immense talent, but fantasy managers shouldn’t expect a major impact this season as he adjusts to professional baseball.
Paul Blackburn (knee) will make his final rehab start for Triple-A Syracuse on Friday
Blackburn has already made four rehab starts, so he will need to be reinstated from the injured list after his start on Friday. As of now, there is no room in the Mets’ rotation, so the most likely outcome is that Blackburn would serve as a multi-inning reliever, which could bump Dedniel Nunez back to the minors.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora admitted the team will “take a look at” whether or not to remove Tanner Houck from the starting rotation.
After his brutal start on Monday, Houck admitted this is “probably the most lost [he’s] ever been.” The struggles really began in the second half of last season, but Houck now has an 8.04 ERA and has allowed double-digit runs in less than three innings twice this season already. Houck does have minor league options remaining, so the Red Sox could simply send him to Triple-A and give him time to figure out what’s going out. If they were to do so, that would allow Hunter Dobbins to stay in the rotation even after Walker Buehler returns next week.
MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy suggests that the Brewers could call up Logan Henderson to start on Wednesday against the Guardians.
Milwaukee has pushed Jose Quintana’s start back to Saturday against the Twins, which means they currently don’t have a starter for Wednesday’s game. Henderson is already on the 40-man roster, so he would make some sense and be an intriguing streamer in deeper formats.
Austin Slater (knee) will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte on Tuesday.
SLater had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee back on April 16th. He was given a four-to-six week timeline at the time, so he remains on track in his recovery. He could need multiple weeks of rehab games before returning to the White Sox lineup.