Hopefully, you haven’t been reeling due to the Vancouver Canucks’ Covid-19 outbreak. The unfortunate incident has been a headache for everyone involved, including your fantasy team. If your team’s core includes Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, or Quinn Hughes, you may not see those games play out in time to help you in your league, especially if they’re tacked on at seasons’ end. It’s a nasty situation all around and I hope everyone comes out of it safely. Let’s look at some buy-low fantasy hockey trade targets to potentially help ease the sting of those lost games as the league heads into the trade deadline.
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3 Fantasy Hockey Trade Targets to Buy Low
For many of you, the NHL Trade Deadline signals that your fantasy hockey pool trade deadline is also here. In my Fantrax pool, our trade deadline is the Sunday after, so I still have some time. A lot of leagues will give you only one more week to wheel and deal. Regardless of when your league stops the deals, it’s time to buckle up and make that big move to send your team over the top!
Taylor Hall – Buffalo Sabres
Yes, I know he’s been in this column before and I understand your concern. He didn’t do anything for Buffalo. Hall only scored two goals. The problem with Buffalo is that their organization has been a tire fire this season. Everything they touch turns to smoke and mirrors. It seems like the storybook ending for the former Hart Trophy winner would be a trade to a contender in the next few days that results in a massive uptick in scoring. His analytics suggest a lot of bad shooting luck that can be corrected in a better situation. You can’t really get worse than Buffalo for any Taylor Hall trade destination. Hall has the capability of being a point-per-game player and if you get him away from the toxic sludge Sabres squad, it could be a real savvy buy low option to win your pool.
Mike Hoffman – St. Louis Blues
Hoffman is a well-known streaky scorer who can light it up on the powerplay at any time. The problem with him in St. Louis is he’s not really known for being a two-way player. Craig Berube is getting frustrated with him and the healthy scratches are starting to rear an ugly head. There’s a good chance that the team moves on from him before the trade deadline and gives him a fresh start somewhere else. If that happens, Hoffman may see top unit powerplay time to put him on a tear to end the season. I imagine his current fantasy trade price is lower than usual. It’s a buy-low that is based on speculation but could reap goal-scoring rewards other teams don’t foresee.
Timo Meier – San Jose Sharks
I expected Meier to have a much bigger season. He’s been plagued by inconsistency. The good news is the San Jose Sharks are still kicking around in the playoff race. They won’t take their feet off the gas pedal. Meier is only shooting 6%. He generally averages around 10-12% shooting in a given season. For that reason, plus his ability to be a high-volume shooter would make me look at Meier as a buy-low candidate who has a hot streak still to give. He’s been given more ice lately too by head coach Bob Boughner, so perhaps it’s only a matter of time.
3 Fantasy Hockey Trade Targets to Sell High
If you’re a contender right now, there’s a low chance you’re selling anything for futures. It’s time to go win the money! However, sometimes it can be smart to get creative with your moves to get a competitive edge. Especially in keeper leagues, many teams aren’t bad enough to sell off all their assets and end up standing pat. Those are the teams you can try to make hockey deals with that can boost your squad for now and the future. Let’s look at some players who may benefit you best if you swap them now.
Ryan Strome – New York Rangers
Honestly, this is just a bit of a gut feel for me because I took a double-take when I saw his current production. Strome has 36 points in 39 games, good for 26th in NHL scoring. Really? I watch a lot of the Edmonton Oilers…maybe I am biased. Strome didn’t produce for Edmonton at all, so it’s jarring to see what he’s done for a new club these past two seasons. If you look closely, he went on a 16 points in 11 games bender that probably came as a big pleasant surprise to many owners. Considering his career-high points-per-game is 0.84, and he’s sitting right now at a 0.92, I could see a cooling down of his stats hitting soon. I would be very tempted to try to trade him away for a player with more star power that I can trust more down the championship stretch.
Joel Farabee – Philadelphia Flyers
It’s been a lovely surprise breakout season for Farabee, including 27 points in 38 games for the Flyers. However, he’s gone extremely cold. He hasn’t scored a point in seven games. Considering he’s still rocking a shooting percentage of 17%, it’s possible this streak continues to the end of the year as a form of a market correction. Farabee is a great tempting young asset that could really bring in a big-time scorer for your club, so it’s a tempting sell high option knowing it looks like he’s tiring out.
Jack Roslovic – Columbus Blue Jackets
When we saw the blockbuster Patrik Laine for Pierre-Luc Dubois trade earlier this season, little did we know how valuable a piece Jack Roslovic would end up being for Columbus. He has 27 points in 34 games, playing a key role for a Columbus team desperate for centers. Despite this surprising production, head coach John Tortorella is very erratic. Roslovic received a healthy scratch recently despite being 3rd on the team in scoring at the time. He’s shooting close to 15%, which for him is a career-high. That would normally be the biggest concern for me going forward but my biggest trouble is the talent around him. Even though he could be a great future asset at the young age of 24, the future of Columbus looks a little bleak to me offensively. Will Laine stay and rebound? Is the best forward Oliver Bjorkstrand? Roslovic may be a good young piece to dangle for a big kahuna because this might be the best we see from him if the team stagnates. Plus, any player on John Tortorella’s squad this year is a bit of a fantasy headache due to the coach.
For more help in the short term please check out our latest Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire!
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