Fantasy Hockey: Trade deadline advice for Top 100 players: 80-61
For most fantasy hockey leagues on Yahoo, the trade deadline is Feb. 19, which means, we are firmly in the heart of TradeSZN.
If you’re on the brink of the playoffs, you’re probably looking to pull off a major move to try and bolster up for the stretch run.
And if you’re hanging around the top of your league’s standings, it’s probably wise to push all of your chips into the middle and give yourself the best chance you can at winning this thing.
In case you missed it, here is the rest of the list.
Here is my trade deadline advice on the Top 100 players in fantasy hockey.
Note: This advice is catered toward season-long leagues, but some of the advice is transferable for dynasty and keeper leagues. These rankings are ordered by player ownership percentages on Yahoo on Feb. 10. The list has been made to include 20 goalies.
80. D Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers (87% owned) - GP: 54 G: 7 A: 16 P: 23
Advice: Sell
Lately, Trouba hasn’t resembled the 50-point player he was a season ago. He’s been bumped off of New York’s PP1 and has been held pointless in seven-straight contests. He’s been useful in leagues that count hits, shots on goal and blocks, but he seems to be trending in the wrong direction for fantasy owners.
79. G John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks (87% owned) - GP: 41 W: 16 GAA: 2.96 SV%: .904
Advice: Hold
Gibson hasn’t been as good this season as he’s been in years past, but let’s be real; he was performing miracles when he managed to escape last season with a .917 save percentage on this team.
78. D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres (88% owned) - GP: 47 G: 4 A: 28 P: 32
Advice: Buy
Unfortunately, things aren’t going well for Western New York’s hockey club. Dahlin has remained a valuable piece in fantasy and recorded 11 points in his last 13 games.
77. D Tyson Barrie, Toronto Maple Leafs (88% owned) - GP: 57 G: 5 A: 27 P: 32
Advice: Buy
Barrie seems to be the punching bag for Leafs fans, and it’s fair to say he’s become ‘Jake Gardiner-plus.’ However, with Morgan Rielly out, coach Sheldon Keefe continues to roll out the 28-year-old without caution. He’s not afraid to shoot and he’s still able to find his way into the box score pretty regularly.
76. LW Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets (88% owned) - GP: 58 G: 28 A: 31 P: 59
Advice: Hold
Playing in his third complete season, Connor is poised to reach 30 goals for the third time in his career. With 11 points in his last eight games, he’s playing some of his best hockey right now.
75. LW, RW David Perron, St. Louis Blues (88% owned) - GP: 56 G: 23 A: 31 P: 54
Advice: Sell
Perron has been a wonderful surprise during the 2019-20 NHL season and is on pace for the first 70-plus point campaign of his career. However, his 12-game schedule during the fantasy playoffs (Mar. 9 -Apr. 4) is a sizeable knock against him. Don’t force it, but if the right deal comes along, don’t be afraid to let him go.
74. G Philipp Grubauer, Colorado Avalanche (88% owned) GP: 34 W: 18 GAA: 2.64 SV%: .915
Advice: Buy
After a rocky run from late December through early February, Grubauer seems to have found his game again. He’s limited opponents to just one goal or less in each of his past four starts. Additionally, the Avalanche have the easiest strength of schedule the rest of the way.
73. C, LW, RW William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs (89% owned) - GP: 55 G: 25 A: 24 P: 49
Advice: Sell
Chances are Nylander’s value will never be as high during the 2019-20 season as it is right now. Having rattled off six goals in his past nine, he’s been a regular visitor of the back of the net. Since Nov. 27, he’s been shooting just above 20 percent and that number will likely come down between now and the end of the year.
72. LW, RW Alex DeBrincat, Chicago Blackhawks (89% owned) - GP: 56 G: 13 A: 23 P: 36
Advice: Hold
If you spent a mid-round pick as I did on DeBrincat, you’re probably not overjoyed by the production he’s supplied thus far. He’s still playing on Chicago’s PP1, though, and he has been shooting the puck more recently with 22 shots in his last 6 games.
71. C Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals (90% owned) - GP: 53 G: 19 A: 27 P: 46
Advice: Hold
As it stands right now, Kuznetsov is considered ‘day-to-day.’
The hit that injured Evgeny Kuznetsov pic.twitter.com/anSlsxSV3y
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) February 11, 2020
Prior to getting injured, the centre was on pace to finish with 69 points, down three points from last year’s total.
70. C, LW Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars (90% owned) - GP: 55 G: 18 A: 13 P: 31
Advice: Buy
Despite being able to rack up the hits, Benn’s point totals have been disappointing. He’s on pace for 45 points, which would result in his first sub-50 point season since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. However, his shooting percentage is down nearly two percent from the past two seasons, which means he may be in store for some puck luck down the stretch. Dallas has 14 games during the fantasy playoffs and the seventh-easiest strength of schedule the rest of the year.
69. D Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (90% owned) - GP: 54 G: 6 A: 22 P: 28
Advice: Sell
Since the start of 2020, Doughty has notched just two points, and he hasn’t scored a goal since Dec. 7. He does have a nice schedule in the fantasy playoffs, playing 14 games, but I’m really not interested when it comes to investing in members of the Kings.
68. LW Evander Kane, San Jose Sharks (90% owned) - GP: 53 G: 21 A: 16 P: 37
Advice: Buy
Kane is a great category stuffer in fantasy. He’s top-20 among all left-wingers in: Goals, power-play goals, game-winning goals, hits and shots. You really can’t go wrong by adding him.
67. LW, RW J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks (90% owned) - GP: 57 G: 22 A: 34 P: 56
Advice: Hold
If you added Miller earlier in the season, chances are, you probably value him more than the rest of your league - as you should. He’s been a reliable contributor who has only had one pointless streak of more than two games all season. He’s firmly entrenched as a top-6, PP1 member of the Canucks.
66. C Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers (91% owned) - GP: 42 G: 23 A: 26 P: 49
Advice: Buy
One of my favourite players entering the 2019-20 season, Zibanejad has been everything and more for fantasy hockey owners. On pace for 81 points despite missing 13 games this year, DJ ZBad has been a draft-day steal. He and the Rangers play a nice 14 games during the fantasy hockey playoffs.
65. D Keith Yandle, Florida Panthers (91% owned) - GP: 56 G: 5 A: 35 P: 40
Advice: Buy
Having recorded just one point since Jan. 21, now seems like a great time to buy low on Yandle. On pace for his third-straight 50+ point campaign, there’s little doubt in my mind he’ll turn it around, especially on a loaded Florida PP1.
64. C, RW Elias Lindholm, Calgary Flames (91% owned) - GP: 57 G: 22 A: 20 P: 42
Advice: Sell
Lindholm is currently riding a seven-game point streak, his second-longest point streak of the season (9 games between Oct. 22 - Nov. 9). The concern for him, however, is his 12-game schedule during the fantasy hockey playoffs.
63. RW Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks (91% owned) - GP: 56 G: 16 A: 20 P: 45
Advice: Hold
Boeser’s going to miss some time with an upper-body injury, which will hurt the struggling forward’s trade value even more. Since Jan. 12, he has just two points in 11 games.
62. C, LW Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues (91% owned) - GP: 56 G: 20 A: 20 P: 46
Advice: Sell
Schenn is having a great year. On pace for 67 points, the second-most in a single season for his career, he’s another member of the Blues who has exceeded his pre-season draft ranking. However, see what you can get for him because St. Louis plays just 12 games during the fantasy playoffs.
61. LW, RW Teuvo Teravainen, Carolina Hurricanes (92% owned) - GP: 56 G: 12 A: 42 P: 54
Advice: Buy
Near the very top of my wish list this trade season in Teravainen. He’s recorded 13 points in his past 12 contests and benefits from a 15-game schedule during the fantasy hockey playoffs - tied for the most of any player.
More fantasy hockey coverage on Yahoo Sports
