Published September 28, 2026 — Opening Night is Tomorrow
Most fantasy drafts are done. Your rosters are set…almost… and somewhere on your waiver wire right now, sitting quietly at low roster percentages, are players who could make the difference between a championship run and a mid-table finish. It’s 2am, you’re scrolling waivers after a couple pints after beer league hockey…the season starts tomorrow night, the window to act is closing fast. Here are ten players worth adding right now.
FORWARDS
1. Jordan Kyrou | RW | Washington Capitals | 54% Rostered
Kyrou is still available in nearly half of all leagues and that number is going to look criminal by Thanksgiving. He waived his no-trade clause to get to Washington, arrived motivated, and steps into a top-six role on a Capitals team that added Alex Tuch and now surrounds him with one of the better offensive supporting casts of his career. Four times in his career he has cracked 60-plus points. Last season was a down year at 46 points in 72 games on a St. Louis team that was going nowhere. The situation in Washington is completely different. The bounce-back is coming and he is available in 46% of leagues. That window closes fast.
The Add List Take: A down season in St. Louis obscured four years of elite production. Why you add him now: New team, new motivation, top-six role, power play time, and a chip on his shoulder the size of the Capital One Arena.
2. William Eklund | LW/RW | Ottawa Senators | 52% Rostered
Eklund was acquired from San Jose in a significant offseason trade and steps into the best offensive situation of his career. In 78 games with the Sharks last season, sheltered behind Celebrini and Smith, he posted 15 goals and 38 assists for 53 points. Now he is in Ottawa alongside Tim Stützle and Drake Batherson, two of the most dangerous offensive players in the Atlantic Division, with first power play unit time that was simply never available to him in San Jose. His 38 assists last season were generated in a secondary role. Unlock that playmaking ability with elite linemates and the numbers go up. He is still available in 48% of leagues. Add him before Ottawa’s offence announces itself.
The Add List Take: San Jose’s rebuilding identity suppressed his profile despite strong production. Why you add him now: Ottawa’s top-six is legitimately dangerous and Eklund is the new piece that makes it even more so.
3. Anton Frondell | C | Chicago Blackhawks | 50% Rostered
This is the one that is going to hurt the most if you miss it. Frondell is a 19-year-old third overall pick from the 2025 draft who posted 9 points in just 12 NHL games at the end of last season, including 3 goals and 6 assists, and is stepping into a full-time top-six role alongside Connor Bedard in 2026-27…when he comes back. He became the first 18-year-old to score 20 goals in the SHL since Daniel Sedin. He is returning to North America fully healthy and fully prepared for his first complete NHL season. He scored twice, fired five shots on net, and had two blocked shots in Chicago’s first preseason game against Carolina. He is being drafted as a 50% rostered player when his upside demands top-30 forward consideration. The first-year numbers alongside Bedard could be extraordinary.
The Add List Take: Limited NHL sample and Chicago’s rebuilding status suppressed his fantasy profile. Why you add him now: He is a generational talent stepping into a full season role alongside Bedard. This is the buy-low window. It closes fast.
4. Elias Pettersson | C | Vancouver Canucks | 48% Rostered
EP40 is available in 48% of leagues and that number should not exist for a player of his calibre. The concern around Pettersson heading into this season is understandable: he has had two consecutive seasons below the 80-point mark after posting 102 points in 2022-23, and the Canucks finished dead last in the Western Conference last season. But here is the other side of that argument: he is 27 years old, entering the prime of his career, on a team with a new coaching staff under Manny Malhotra that is explicitly building an aggressive, high-tempo offensive system around him. At training camp in Penticton this week he looked engaged, motivated, and sharp, scoring in the scrimmage with a silky dangle that had the crowd on its feet. The Jake DeBrusk pairing on his line showed immediate chemistry. Linus Karlsson on the right side gives him a dangerous third option. And the arrival of Caleb Malhotra’s father as head coach, a man who has publicly expressed belief in this group, changes the culture around Pettersson in ways that matter. A bounce-back season toward 85-plus points is entirely realistic. At 48% rostered, that is a bargain.
The Add List Take: Two consecutive down seasons and a last-place team finish suppressed his fantasy stock dramatically. Why you add him now: New coach, new system built around him, motivated and sharp at camp, and still one of the most gifted centres in the NHL. The bounce-back starts tomorrow night.
5. Luke Evangelista | LW/RW | New Jersey Devils | 40% Rostered
Evangelista set career highs with 44 assists and 56 points in Nashville last season, and then was traded to New Jersey for a conditional first and a second round pick, which tells you exactly how the Devils view his value. He then signed a five-year, $36.25 million extension before even playing a game for his new team, which tells you even more. He scored twice in his final preseason appearance for New Jersey, one on the power play off a Jack Hughes feed, one on a rebound, while skating alongside Timo Meier and Nico Hischier. CBS Sports projects him as a first-line option opening night. He is available in 40% of leagues. That is absurd for a player who just signed a $7.25 million per year extension on the basis of his 56-point season. Get him now.
The Add List Take: Nashville is a small market and his new contract has not filtered through fantasy community awareness yet. Why you add him now: First line role alongside Hughes or Hischier, confirmed power play time, five-year extension signalling organisational belief, and a breakout season written all over him.
6. Ryan Leonard | RW | Washington Capitals | 35% Rostered
Leonard delivered a quietly excellent rookie season : 20 goals and 45 points in 75 games, and enters 2026-27 with a meaningfully better roster around him and a full year of NHL experience under his belt. Washington added Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch this offseason, both of whom command defensive attention that was previously directed entirely at Leonard’s line. He is 21 years old. His point total is going one direction. And he is available in 65% of all leagues right now.
The Add List Take: Rookie season flew under the radar in a non-traditional fantasy market. Why you add him now: Year two, better linemates, 20-goal speed already established, and a Washington team that is building toward something real.
DEFENCEMEN
1. Luca Cagnoni | D | San Jose Sharks | 7% Rostered
Seven percent. For a player who became the first WHL defenceman in 30 years to score 90 points in a single season, a record that had stood since 1993. Cagnoni is 21 years old, plays on the first power play unit for the San Jose Sharks, and steps into a blue line that has Ivar Stenberg, Macklin Celebrini, and Will Smith generating offensive zone time in front of him every night. The shots from the point are coming. The power play points are coming. The assists from a kid who averaged over a point per game in the WHL with his offensive instincts are coming. He is available in 93% of leagues. Whatever the cost, it is zero. Go get him.
The Add List Take: Low-round pick profile and San Jose’s rebuilding reputation kept him off most draft boards. Why you add him now: First power play unit on the most exciting young team in the Pacific Division. The opportunity is enormous.
2. Morgan Rielly | D | Toronto Maple Leafs | 31% Rostered
Rielly confirmed during training camp that he expects to begin 2026-27 with the Maple Leafs, putting to rest months of trade speculation that had suppressed his fantasy value throughout the summer. He is now locked in on Toronto’s blue line with Gavin McKenna creating havoc up front and a power play that adds another dangerous dimension to everything the Leafs do offensively. Rielly has been a consistent 45-plus point defenceman throughout his career and is fully healthy entering this season. The trade rumour cloud has lifted. He is available in 69% of leagues. The price to add him off the wire is nothing.
The Add List Take: Summer-long trade speculation convinced managers he might not be a Leaf by opening night. Why you add him now: He confirmed he is staying. He is healthy. Gavin McKenna is now on his power play. Add him immediately.
3. Mike Matheson | D | Montréal Canadiens | 53% Rostered
Matheson is available in 47% of leagues on a Canadiens team that scored more goals than any other team in the NHL last season and features five of the top ten scorers in the league. He plays on the first power play unit in an offence built around Suzuki, Caufield, Hutson, and Slafkovksy, four of the most dangerous offensive players in the game. If you are looking for a high-floor, power play oriented defenceman at 53% rostered, Matheson is the answer. The Canadiens are going to score a lot of goals in 2026-27 and Matheson is going to be in the middle of most of them.
The Add List Take: Undersold by a roster so deep that even elite pieces get overlooked in draft rooms. Why you add him now: First power play unit on the highest-scoring team in the NHL. That equation produces fantasy points.
GOALTENDER
1. Arturs Silovs | G | Pittsburgh Penguins | 14% Rostered
Silovs is a polarising fantasy goaltender and it is important to go in with eyes wide open. His 3.07 GAA and .887 save percentage in 39 starts last season were not inspiring, and he is entering a crease competition in Pittsburgh with Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist pushing for time. The case for adding him is simple: Pittsburgh finished second in the Metropolitan Division last season, Crosby and Malkin are still capable of keeping the Penguins competitive on most nights, and Silovs is the projected starter entering opening night. In categories leagues where wins are currency, a goaltender on a competitive team is worth carrying on your roster even when the underlying numbers leave something to be desired. He is available in 86% of leagues. The risk is real. So is the opportunity.
The Add List Take: Poor raw numbers obscured his competitive team situation. Why you add him now: Projected starter on a playoff-calibre team available in 86% of leagues. The win total upside is genuine.
The regular season begins tomorrow night. Beat the waiver wire!!. Make your moves before the rest of your league does.
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