With the New Year in the rearview and the second half of the season donning on us, hockey fans have plenty to look forward to.
The trade deadline and playoff races will dominate the headlines moving forward, but keep in mind the fantasy hockey playoffs aren’t that far off.
With that, let’s dive into some names worth buying and selling with Week 14 and the future in mind.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Advice (Week 14)
(Rosterships courtesy of ESPN)
Buy
Jordan Kyrou (LW, RW – STL)
One of the better-looking buy-low cases in the league right now is the Blues’ Jordan Kyrou.
His fantasy hockey stock is on the low, as he sits with just nine goals on the season. He has added 18 helpers for 27 points in 39 games, a major disappointment coming off of a 37-goal, 73-point effort across 79 games a season ago. His current 82-game pace of 19 goals and 57 points is rather shocking for a player who appeared ready for star status.
However, there should be some serious positive regression on the horizon. After all, his current 6.8% shooting rate is roughly half of his 12.3% career mark. His 133 shots on the season are good for 3.4 shots per game, an exact match from his per-game average from last season. The shot volume has not changed. The puck luck has.
He’s still skating on the top line and top power-play unit alongside No. 1 center and superior play-maker Robert Thomas. His 18:26 of average ice time per game is a career-high. Things will get better.
A breakout second half seems likely for the 25-year-old winger.
Vincent Trocheck (C – NYR)
There are just so many areas where Vincent Trocheck could help guide your team to a fantasy hockey championship.
The veteran pivot is having a very nice season for the Rangers, with 12 goals and 40 points across 39 games. He’s added a solid 98 shots on goal in that time with 57 hits, 14 power-play points, 35 penalty minutes and a plus-three rating on the season. He’s firmly entrenched as the Blueshirts’ second-line center while skating as a member of the top power-play unit.
The good news is that Trocheck will not budge from that PP1 job. Why? He has won a whopping 61.9% of his faceoffs on the season. He has started 61% of his shifts in the offensive zone as a result. Peter Laviolette is using Trocheck to gain puck possession in the offensive zone at both even strength and on the man advantage. He is seeing 20:54 of average ice time per game as a result, his highest mark since the 2017-18 season.
His cross-category production and usage could be a major boon to your championship aspirations.
Sell
Moritz Seider (D – DET)
Those in dynasty leagues may want to proceed with caution here, but Moritz Seider is a fine trade candidate in redraft leagues.
In short, his production doesn’t exactly warrant 99.5% rostership in ESPN leagues. He sits with five goals and 23 points across 40 games. Now, that’s a rock-solid pace of 47 points in an 82-game regular season. However, he’s averaging just 1.8 shots per game as well.
If your league counts hits, Seider’s 73 on the season are certainly reason enough to pull Seider off the trade block. However, if your league doesn’t consider hits, his value takes a notable dip.
The German has also scored on 7% of his shots on the season after shooting at 3.7% and 3.6% over his first two NHL seasons. Five goals isn’t insane on the season, but he likely won’t score five more in the season’s second half.
As I always note in these trade advice pieces, sometimes you have to give up something good to acquire something more desirable. In other words, Seider is a fine fantasy hockey piece, but he has his flaws. He doesn’t skate on the top power-play unit, as that spot belongs to Shayne Gostisbehere.
Dangle Seider and his sky-high rostership and see what you can get for the young blueliner.
Devon Toews (D – COL)
Another defenseman worth sending to the trade block is Avalanche rearguard Devon Toews.
The 29-year-old has lost some of his shine this season. He broke out with 13 goals and 57 points across just 66 games in the 2021-22 season and then dipped to seven goals and 50 points last season despite skating in 80 contests. His production has dipped further this season with 24 points in 42 games, good for 0.57 points per game versus 0.73 points per game across the last two seasons.
He does have six goals on the season but only 73 shots on goal. His resulting 8.2% shooting rate is well above his 6.4% career mark and nearly double his 4.2% mark from last season. He also shot at 8.2% in his 13-goal breakout two seasons back, but do not expect this rate to be sustained in the second half.
As long as Cale Makar is in the lineup, Toews will be relegated to second-unit power-play duty. As a result, he has just five man-advantage points on the season and a mild 10 penalty minutes. He just isn’t contributing much across the board as a whole.
Perhaps someone in your league is willing to bite with the 2021-22 season still in mind.
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