2026-27 NHL Fantasy Hockey Week 6 Primer And Pickups

I can’t recall a season where so many elite players have requested trades. Nikita Kucherov is the latest to join the crowd when it was reported Friday he was not re-signing with the Lightning and requested a trade.

Whether it’s a negotiating tactic or not – the Lightning publicly stated they were not trading him – perhaps we should’ve seen this coming in a rising cap environment, the Leo Carlsson offer sheet setting the new standard, and the lack of news in what should’ve been the highest priority for the Lightning.

Should Kucherov leave the Lightning, it could have a significant negative impact on the rest of the Lightning players. Kucherov is undeniably a top-five player in the league, and not having him will make it much harder for Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point, and Brandon Hagel to score, and even more so for the rest of the roster. If you have any of these players on your fantasy team, this development should make you a little antsy.

The good part is Kucherov intends to keep playing while he awaits an uncertain future.

If the past history of trading star players is any indication, the Lightning are very unlikely to acquire a player of similar caliber in return and will have to settle for a package that might make up for Kucherov in aggregate. The Lightning have defied the odds almost every single season, but it’s hard to see how they can still be a contender without an elite superstar who’s been driving the bus for a decade.

It’s a busy Week 6 schedule with 11 teams playing four games, and the Flames have the best schedule because they play all of their games on the off-days. The Panthers (M, W, Su) and Sharks (M, W, F) have three of their four games on off-days and the Ducks (F, Su) have two, but I like the Ducks’ schedule because their quality of competition is very poor (Oilers aside).

Fantasy managers who like to prefer two weeks ahead should note the Kraken have, by far, the worst schedule. They’re one of five teams (SEA, WSH, OTT, LA, NYI) to play only twice in Week 6, but they also play only twice in Week 7 when they travel to Helsinki to face the Hurricanes in the Global Series in Finland. That’s just four games over two weeks for the Kraken.

All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy.

Schedule

Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. Points percentages are from the 2026-27 season.

Season-long adds (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Jack Roslovic, C/RW, TOR (57% rostered)

Roslovic’s points streak is now at six games with an assist in Vancouver, and of course it was on a scoring play involving Auston Matthews. The former NTDP linemates have clicked all season, and as long as Roslovic stays in that spot, he should produce quite consistently, making him a season-long hold in what looks like a career season. Roslovic was rostered in less than half of Yahoo leagues last week so this might be your last chance.

Jack Quinn, RW, BUF (56% rostered)

Even with the Sabres juggling lines, Quinn remains a top-six/PP1 fixture. That’s a really good sign. His two points in L.A. now puts him on a point-per-game pace and it’s his third multi-point game of the season. We might see Quinn get rostered in more fantasy leagues slowly over time, but now’s still a good time to get in while his fantasy value continues to increase.

Dylan Cozens, C, OTT (55% rostered)

Cozens is very good in multi-category leagues and his scoring is starting to get some attention with three multi-point efforts in his past four games. The scoring comes sporadically because the Sens aren’t consistent in general, but Cozens has come around after a slow start. He’s a top-six/PP1 fixture on a team that has a lot of talent.

Dylan Strome, C, WSH (53% rostered)

It’s been a bit frustrating rostering Strome because he is a really good playmaker but skating relatively few minutes to his top-six peers. Among 105 players with at least 10 points this season, Strome ranks 79th in TOI/GP. It’s just how the Caps do things with their balanced lineup, though I wonder if Strome could ever be dangled as trade bait if they covet Dylan Larkin. For the relative consistency and the potential of maybe moving to another team where he gets more ice time, Strome remains a season-long hold.

Arseny Gritsyuk, LW/RW, NJ (35% rostered)

If Gritsyuk keeps this up, this might be your last chance to pick up the shifty, talented winger. He’s been one of the most popular pickups in fantasy after I highlighted him last week, and his play keeps trending up to the point where he could very much be worth rostering for the rest of the season. He scored two goals in Vegas on Friday and playing L1 and PP2. There’s a chance he might displace Luke Evangelista on PP1 later on in the season.

Neal Pionk, D, WPG (57% rostered)

Very well-rounded defenseman with four points in five games playing a huge role while Josh Morrissey remains injured. Pionk will likely gain more attention as he starts to slowly stand out from the crowd. He’s still available in a lot of Yahoo leagues.

Mid-term holds (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Alex Laferriere, C/LW/RW, LA (48% rostered)

Still the top center in L.A. playing with Artemi Panarin even with Quinton Byfield back in the lineup and, honestly, most nights you can’t even tell if Laferriere or Byfield is better. You’re getting a 1C but on a very offensively-challenged team. Corey Perry and 24-year-old minor leaguer Martin Chromiak playing in their top six tells you a lot. You get shots, hits and faceoff wins with Laferriere, but no points.

Zach Benson, LW, BUF (39% rostered)

The Sabres’ new-look lines has Benson skating alongside Tage Thompson, which makes scoring so much easier for Benson. For a feisty winger who seems to get involved in lots of scrums, Benson doesn’t offer much in penalty minutes or hits, but he’s on a four-game points streak and also scored 12 points in his past eight games.

Emmitt Finnie, C/LW, DET (15% rostered)

With Larkin sitting out for the foreseeable future, Finnie slots in as the 1C and he’s doing just fine. Fleet-footed, unafraid of any matchup, and much improved in the circle, Finnie is their top option in the middle. He’s scored five goals and nine points in his past nine games with L1 and PP1 roles. The Wings potentially getting another center back in any trade involving Larkin prevents Finnie from being a season-long hold… for now.

Berkly Catton, C/LW, SEA (6% rostered)

Not an ideal add in Weeks 6 and 7 because the Kraken play only four games, but don’t be surprised if Catton ends up leading them in scoring by the end of the season. He’s a on six-game points streak and has shown some dynamic offensive ability that Matty Beniers doesn’t possess.

In deep leagues, Catton’s still a sneaky pickup for points. The Kraken still trust Beniers most but Catton gets the high-upside line with Shane Wright and Kaapo Kakko, who’s quietly having a strong season (11 points in 14 games, 51 in 79 dating back to last season).

Alex Newhook, C/LW, MTL (3% rostered)

Oliver Kapanen wasn’t the answer and the Habs – I noted last week his ice time was unconvincing – moved on pretty quickly, promoting Newhook to Nick Suzuki’s spot on the top line. Newhook scored two goals in Dallas but that’s the only production he’s had otherwise this season (4 points in 13 games) though he’s averaging 18 minutes in his past three games. Newhook should see a spike in scoring production but don’t expect anything close to what Suzuki provides.

Charle-Edouard D’Astous, D, TB (30% rostered)

D’Astous skated a career-high 25:25 TOI in Nashville and led all Lightning defensemen in ice time at both even strength and on the power play. John Carlson still outscored him two points to one, but D’Astous’ fantasy value is starting to gain serious traction.

Fantasy managers should hang onto Carlson but for the second week in a row D’Astous seems like a season-long option on PP1 for the Lightning. It’s still a wait-and-see situation, but in deep leagues D’Astous should be rostered now, and he’s providing multi-category coverage, too, with 20 blocks and 18 hits.

Dmitry Orlov, D, SJ (18% rostered)

The Sharks power play went 0-for-3 against the Sens but Orlov again led them with 3:19 PP TOI, followed by Jacob Trouba (2:12), Michael Kesselring (1:55) and Sam Dickinson (0:29). None of them are ideal solutions, but it looks like the Sharks prefer to have a veteran presence there otherwise Dickinson or Luca Cagnoni would’ve gotten more looks. Orlov’s still the best option on a pretty good power play but his job is to just keep the puck in rather than generating offense from the blue line.

Tristan Jarry, G, EDM (39% rostered)

That’s two straight shutouts for Jarry, though he didn’t see much work with only 42 shots combined. He’ll continue to be matchup dependent but should get the bulk of the starts with a journeyman minor leaguer Matt Tomkins currently serving as the backup. Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen are expected to remain out for quite some time.

Joonas Korpisalo, G, NYR (6% rostered)

Korpisalo is back on the ice at practice so perhaps we’ll see him soon. The Rangers need goaltending help in a big way with Dylan Garand getting overworked and James Reimer getting pulled in his first start after just one period. When Korpisalo returns, he’ll get a chance to be the Rangers’ No. 1. In leagues that count volume, Korpisalo could be a good addition.

Short-term streamers (< 50% rostered on Yahoo)

Joel Farabee, LW/RW, CGY (44% rostered)
Matt Coronato, RW, CGY (20% rostered)
Matvei Gridin, LW/RW, CGY (16% rostered)

These are the Flames’ top three wingers and they all offer pretty similar upside on offense. I think Gridin is their most dynamic and Coronato their best shooter, though Farabee has scored the most points this season. The Flames have juggled their lines a little bit but, generally speaking, Farabee and Coronato skate more even-strength minutes, though all share the ice on the power play, which has bee shockingly good and ranks second in the league as of Sunday morning.

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