Welcome back to another week of Fantasy hockey. The All-Star break is done, leaving us with the home stretch ahead, so feel free to raid the waiver wire.

This week, Mikhail Sergachev underwent surgery on his broken leg and is out indefinitely; Jack Hughes (UBI) returned after missing 11 games; and Mason Marchment has $5,000 less to make it rain after bloodying Jake McCabe‘s face.

And now, let’s get to this week’s…

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Picks

Nick Foligno, LW, Chicago Blackhawks (ESPN: 2.7 per cent; CBS: 2 per cent): It’s been over six years since we last checked in on Foligno, and he wasn’t exactly having a good season at the time. Still, he was better down the stretch and then enjoyed a couple of moderately more productive campaigns before more or less fading since. One of several players brought into to add a veteran presence for this young Hawks squad, Foligno seems to be the only one that’s working out and he’s enjoying a decent bounce back effort. With goals in back-to-back games and three of the last five, he’s once again topped double-digit tallies and, as always, is racking up plenty of hits and getting under his opponents’ skin (see video below). Foligno had been playing better before slumping in January, but is clearly emerging from that now, and the prospect of getting a chance to be on a line with Connor Bedard (expected back in a few weeks) gives us hope there’s even more value untapped to come. Obviously Foligno’s days as an major offensive force are behind him, but hey, if nothing else, his wife is apparently hotter than Taylor Swift (hopefully Corey Perry didn’t notice that before Chicago cut him).

Ice Chips

• After finally breaking through as a full-time NHLer two seasons ago, Chad Ruhwedel has seen his role decrease significantly, making us wonder if the 33-year-old blueliner is on his last legs. He has managed to match his lofty 2022-23 goal total (with one), but his ice time is dwindling in recent weeks and he doesn’t supply much in the way of blocks or hits anymore. To Ruhwedel’s credit, he does what’s necessary to stay prepared, but it feels like he’s a hop, skip and jump away from hanging ’em up.
• Brad Marchand scored five goals in four games before the break, then went scoreless in two straight. Well, he rectified that on Thursday with a shorty, giving him 25 goals for the ninth time in his stellar career. A huge January that included 11 goals in 14 games sure helped. Some just get better, not older.
• Patrick Kane, who has missed the last seven games with an LBI, returned to practice for Detroit on Thursday and is expected to be back in action on Saturday. He had cooled off after a tremendous run in mid to late December, but is still averaging nearly a point per game despite suiting up just 19 times so far this season. Get Kane back in your lineup as soon as you can.
• In his first start since the All-Star break, Marc-Andre Fleury stuck it to his original club, stopping 32 of 34 Pittsburgh shots (including a whopping 10 saves on the power play alone) to earn his ninth win of the season. He’s been on a sweet roll, going nearly a month since last saving under 90.9 per cent of the shots in a game. Yes, MAF is in the regression stage of his career, but no, even at age 39, he’s far from irrelevant, remaining a very useful Fantasy asset.
• It’s been a long time coming for us to give some Fantasy love to Calgary’s Blake Coleman. Despite his current seven-game goalless drought, he’s already reached 20 markers for the first time since his Devil days. Since leaving Jersey, Coleman has more or less just been a source of secondary scoring, but this season he’s getting more PT than ever and has really responded, putting him on pace for his first 30-goal campaign.
• As a three-time 25-goal scorer, Reilly Smith was acquired by Pittsburgh to add some punch, but he had gone 11 games without tickling the twine before potting one on Friday. Yes, he missed time last month with an UBI, put zero points in five games? Smith’s playmaking has helped out on the power play to an extent, but he’s been a big disappointment since coming to the Pens.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

Critically acclaimed David Bowie had such a huge influence on so many musicians with his innovations — especially in the ’70s. Among that era’s albums was Aladdin Sane, and the fourth single from this effort was a glam rock version of the Rolling Stones‘ classic “Let’s Spend the Night Together.”

In fact, given his play since the beginning of December, it’s hard to believe his ownership is this low. Henrique isn’t scoring goals at the same pace as he did as last season, but has more than made up for that with his assist rate; he’s another player we’ll we watching closely at the trade deadline. more

Even though his playmaking ability was front and centre as he led USA to a gold medal at the WJC, don’t think he can’t put the puck in the net (as evidenced by seven goals in 10 games at last year’s World Championship and 13 in 17 games at Boston College this season). Ironically, the acquisition of Gauthier by the Ducks may open the door to Zegras ultimately being moved. more

The following season, he was definitely experiencing a major bounce back, but suffered a season-ending knee injury. The last two seasons haven’t been as great, yet Lee still flirted with 30 goals in each campaign. He began 2023-24 so slowly (just one goal in November) that he was no longer a must own Fantasy asset. But in case you missed it, the veteran has regained his scoring touch with three goals in November and six in 13 games so far this month, including his only multi-goal effort a couple of weeks ago and tallies in three straight before being held off the scoresheet in the last couple of games. The Islanders’ captain enjoyed a three-point effort on Saturday and is still capable of being a tremendous net front presence, so grab him while you can. more

He slowed down after that blazing start, but still produced a career-best campaign. Vilardi’s reward was to be shipped north to the Jets this offseason, and after being sidelined for six weeks with a knee woe, he’s back now and finds himself on the top line with Connor (knee) out 6-to-8 weeks. Having recently scored his first goal as a Jet (a game-winner to boot), Vilardi is being given a prime opportunity to show how good a playmaker he is, so he’s a must add before the rest of your league catches on. more