Welcome to another edition of FantasyPros’ “NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice.”

We’re through the first month of the NHL regular season, and we’re starting to get an idea of who is for real and who might be overvalued as the season progresses. There are players out there with untapped potential, while others are being overvalued by the fantasy hockey community.

Let’s go ahead and identify some buy and sell options as we sit midway through Week 5 of the fantasy hockey season!

NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice

Buy

Sam Reinhart (RW – FLA)

I’ll be the first to admit that I had Sam Reinhart on the sell side of one of these pieces just last season. However, he is playing on another level alongside Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov on the club’s top line and power-play unit these days.

Reinhart has taken off to begin the season. He sits with nine goals and 15 points across 12 games but has also increased his shot volume. He is averaging 3.25 shots per game with 39 in 12 contests, a steep increase from his career average of 2.30 shots per game. He eclipsed the 200-shot barrier for the first time in his career last season and is on pace for a hefty 266.5 shots this season.

He’s also on pace for a career-high in points. I’d suggest it’s unlikely he continues to rack up the points at a 1.25 points-per-game pace, but he is currently on pace to score 61.5 goals and 102.5 points this season. Again, it’s unlikely he will reach these totals (especially in the goals department), and his shooting rate is a whopping 23.5%, but he has simply been electric to begin the season.

He will be more expensive on the trade market. Yet if he is playing on a non-contending fantasy hockey club in your league you would be wise to offer up a nice package for the 2014 second-overall pick.

Dylan Cozens (C – BUF)

We can’t simply highlight players who are excelling at the moment. Sometimes, we need to identify players that aren’t at peak value but are worth a roll of the dice on the trade market.

That’s the case regarding young Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens. He isn’t struggling with three goals and seven points across 11 games. Still, it’s a 52-point pace in an 82-game regular season on the heels of a 31-goal, 68-point breakout year in 2022-23.

He also isn’t shooting the puck a ton, with just 21 shots in those 11 contests. However, keep in mind he put a healthy 211 shots on goal last season, while also racking up 41 penalty minutes, 18 power-play points and 55 hits to boot. He was a solid cross-category contributor who broke out at just 21 years old.

He was injured in a fight with Garnet Hathaway that left him with a possible broken nose, but he has at least returned to practice in a non-contact jersey. Given his slow-ish start to the season and the injury, Cozens’ current value is low enough that we can fancy an offer that may entice a manager unimpressed with the early-season regression.

Sell

John Carlson (D – WSH)

John Carlson and his Capitals aren’t off to a great start this season, but he is still a player with plenty of name value who is being overvalued by the fantasy hockey community.

The veteran rar guard has notched one goal and seven points through 11 games. This is alongside just 24 shots and a minus-four rating on a Capitals team sporting a minus-10 goal differential on the season. His eight hits and two power-play points aren’t doing much for fantasy managers, either.

Still, the American is rostered in a hefty 98.8% of ESPN leagues right now. It’s a slight dip since the beginning of the season, but it’s certainly not as if managers have completely given up on the Caps’ No. 1 blueliner.

There is a solid chance he can get things turned around, but this just isn’t the same high-octane Washington offense. Nicklas Backstrom is likely done for the year and possibly his career following a resurfacing hip surgery, and Evgeny Kuznetsov is not playing like a No. 1 center. Only the San Jose Sharks are averaging fewer than Washington’s 2.00 goals per game on the season. The Caps also own the NHL’s 30th-ranked power play at just 9.1%. My, how times have changed.

Anyone, and I mean anyone, wearing a Capitals jersey should be a hard fade in the 2023-24 fantasy hockey season.

Sean Monahan (C – MON)

Sure, Sean Monahan is only rostered in 34% of ESPN leagues, so he is available on plenty of waiver wires out there. However, for those 34% of fantasy managers, he is currently a nice sell-high option.

The veteran pivot has busted out with six goals and 11 points on 31 shots through his first 12 games of the season. For context, he scored just six goals in his 25 games last season and only eight across 68 games in his final season in Calgary in 2021-22. He is seeing notable playing time with 18:44 of average ice time, his highest mark since the 2018-19 season.

However, he has had trouble staying on the ice in recent seasons. Additionally, his 19.4% shooting rate would easily be a career-high if the season ended today, as his previous best was a 16.2% mark back in his sophomore 2014-15 season. His career shooting clip is 14%.

The Habs are about middle of the pack offensively from an even strength and power-play standpoint. Monahan does have four power-play points on the season for a Canadiens team sitting at a solid 20% on the man advantage. Again, there isn’t much negative to his stat line. It’s whether or not he can sustain this production through the 82-game regular season grind.

He’s still just 29 years old, but given his injury history, it’s unlikely he can stay healthy enough to keep up his current pace. Strike now while the iron’s hot.

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