We’re midway through Week 4 of the fantasy hockey season, which means it’s time for your weekly edition of FantasyPros’ Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice!
Each week we look at a couple of buy and sell options based on performance, outlook, and other influencing factors that are driving a given player’s fantasy value up or down.
Let’s dive in and see who we should be looking at on the trade block this week!
NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice
Buy
There’s every reason to believe Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard is going to be an elite fantasy hockey asset for quite some time.
At just 24 years old, Bouchard has already collected 26 goals and 98 points across 192 regular-season contests. He notched 12 goals and 43 points, along with a healthy 205 shots on goal, across 81 games as a 22-year-old rookie in the 2021-22 season before seeing a decreased role last season. Following last season’s trade that sent Tyson Barrie to the Nashville Predators, Bouchard has exploded.
We’re midway through Week 4 of the fantasy hockey season, which means it’s time for your weekly edition of FantasyPros’ Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice!
Each week we look at a couple of buy and sell options based on performance, outlook, and other influencing factors that are driving a given player’s fantasy value up or down.
Let’s dive in and see who we should be looking at on the trade block this week!
NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice
Buy
There’s every reason to believe Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard is going to be an elite fantasy hockey asset for quite some time.
At just 24 years old, Bouchard has already collected 26 goals and 98 points across 192 regular-season contests. He notched 12 goals and 43 points, along with a healthy 205 shots on goal, across 81 games as a 22-year-old rookie in the 2021-22 season before seeing a decreased role last season. Following last season’s trade that sent Tyson Barrie to the Nashville Predators, Bouchard has exploded.
He notched 19 points across his final 21 games following the deal last season and has erupted for three goals and nine points across eight games to begin this season, including five power-play points. That latter point is key as Bouchard is the lone blueliner on the Oilers’ elite top power-play unit alongside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. He has a shot to collect the most man-advantage points of any defenseman in the league.
A 70-point season is not a pipe dream for Bouchard, both this season and for many years to come.
We’ll aim to include buy-low candidates in these pieces throughout the season and, at this juncture, the Hurricanes’ Andrei Svechnikov falls into that category.
The winger is coming off of ACL surgery late last season and has been somewhat slow out of the gate, notching an assist on four shots across his first two games of the season. He is certainly being eased back into action with just 13:58 in average ice time between those two games but there is plenty of runway with the former No. 2 overall pick.
He will be a goal-scoring machine. He is only in his age-23 season and has already amassed 112 goals across 349 games, good for a 26-goal pace across an 82-game season. He scored 30 goals with 249 shots on goal at the age of 21 in the 2021-22 season, showing immense promise as a goal-scoring threat.
He also averaged a career-high 18:03 of ice time per game last season in a top-line role before getting hurt. He had 23 goals and 55 points on 205 shots in just 64 games before his season-ending knee injury a season ago, threatening to register career-highs across the board in the process.
He’s still seeing plenty of fantasy hockey love at more than 91% rostered in ESPN leagues but this is a young, potentially elite goal-scoring winger with a high shot volume on a very good Hurricanes team. Buy now while the stock is low.
Sell
Elias Lindholm is a strong example of a player who is more valuable to his NHL team than is on your fantasy hockey roster.
The veteran pivot is off to a solid enough start with a pair of goals and eight points across 10 games. However, he isn’t excelling in any particular category with just 24 shots, seven hits, two power-play points, four penalty minutes, and a minus-five rating. The Flames have struggled out of the gate with just two wins in 10 games and their No. 1 center’s fantasy hockey value is going in a similar direction.
He has never been a massive fantasy producer but rather a solid one. He had 42 goals and 82 points on 235 shots on goal two seasons back but predictably regressed to 22 goals and 64 points with 186 shots last season as his shooting rate came back to earth from 17.9% in 2021-22 to 11.8% a season ago. For his career, he is averaging 56 points and 2.19 shots per game across an 82-game schedule.
Still, he is approaching 94% rostership in ESPN leagues. The Flames certainly don’t appear to be a contender, meaning his production will be limited and his plus-minus will remain a liability. Sell now before it’s too late.
Once an elite fantasy hockey blueliner, Victor Hedman isn’t offering anything close to what he used to.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion has notched one goal and nine points in nine games on the season but, like Lindholm, he isn’t excelling in any particular category, except for assists. He has just 20 shots, four hits, two penalty minutes, three power-play points, and a plus-one rating on the young season.
He is mostly on the Bolts’ top power-play unit but he will yield that duty to Mikhail Sergachev on occasion. His 49 points in 76 games last season were his fewest in a non-COVID season since recording 47 points in 78 games in the 2015-16 season. His nine goals from a season ago matched his lowest total since playing in just 44 games in the 2012-13 campaign.
Clearly, the 32-year-old is declining from an offensive standpoint, and for good reason. There is plenty of wear and tear on his 6-foot-7 frame with the Lightning playing deep into the postseason on a near-annual basis while he has been among the league leaders in ice time for several seasons. There is plenty of mileage on the big Swede.
Hedman’s name value is key. He could still net you some value but could also be included to sweeten a package for something more. Either way, look to move on from one of the game’s top offensive defensemen for the last decade.
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