As usual, the NHL season is flying by as clubs wrap up the unofficial first half of the season with the All-Star break (and plenty of time off) looming.
At the same time, fantasy hockey managers will get some time to take a step back and examine just what is going on with their roster. Perhaps a shakeup is needed, and the trade block is a nice way to get stuff done.
Let’s take a look at some names worth buying and selling before we can take a breath and enjoy the All-Star festivities.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice (Week 17)
Buy
Roope Hintz (C – DAL)
Dallas Stars pivot Roope Hintz just continues to produce.
After surpassing the point-per-game pace for the first time in his NHL career last season with 75 points in 73 games, the Finn has tallied 45 points in as many games this time around, including 22 goals after tallying 37 goals in each of his last two seasons. He doesn’t shoot the puck a ton with 107 shots on the season, but he is an efficient scorer with a hefty 17.1% shooting rate for his career, including a 20.6% mark this season.
He and Jason Robertson are quietly one of the best offensive duos in the entire league, and youngster Wyatt Johnson (included in this week’s waiver wire advice) has joined them on the top line. The trio has combined for eight goals and 20 points in five games since teaming up.
Hintz doesn’t contribute much physically, namely hits and penalty minutes, but he’s a plus-17 and has 12 power-play points under his belt. If your league rewards special teams points rather than just power-play points, Hintz is even more valuable with three short-handed goals and four short-handed points under his belt. He’s an all-situation player for this Stars team.
Add it up, and Hintz is a very nice addition for your second-half stretch run.
Filip Forsberg (LW – NSH)
I’ll admit I was bearish on Preds winger Filip Forsberg entering the season. Not because he isn’t capable, but a lengthy injury history combined with a seeming lack of supporting cast up front had me off of the Swede coming in. He’s proved me wrong.
Forsberg sits with 22 goals and 49 points across 47 games while delivering his typical high shot volume with 185 shots on goal, or 3.94 shots per game, well above his 3.08 career average. He’s racked up an impressive 16 points on the power play, delivered 77 hits and has accumulated a rock-solid 30 penalty minutes.
That is some serious cross-category production. For what it’s worth, he is also averaging 18:56 of ice time per game, the second-highest total of his 12-year NHL career to this point.
He is a very valuable addition to any fantasy hockey roster aiming for a championship this spring.
Sell
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (C – EDM)
It’s usually fantasy hockey suicide to trade a productive player who skates on the same line as Connor McDavid. However, I wrote before the season how Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was a regression candidate after a 100-point campaign last season, and, hey, I was actually right about something.
He’s been solid, but his 11 goals and 41 points in 43 games (0.95 points per game) is a steep drop from his 37 goals and 104 points in 82 games (1.27 points per game) last season. He is on pace to score just 21 goals this season, nearly a 50% drop from a season ago.
Look, he has a solid 14 power-play points under his belt, and he is a plus-11 on a surging Oilers hockey team. However, he has just 21 hits to his credit and a decent 24 penalty minutes. He really only stands out in assists with rock-solid plus-minus and power-play production figures.
Last season was an outlier. It was the only season in his 13-year career (including this one) in which he surpassed a point-per-game pace. For his career, he has 673 points in 844 regular-season games, good for 0.80 points per game. At 30 years of age, it’s not as if he has a ton of room to grow into a full-blown superstar. We more or less know what he is at this point, and it’s not a bad thing. He’s a great player.
However, he has a 94.8% rostership in ESPN leagues, plays with McDavid and has a 104-point season fresh in people’s memories. That’s worth something in the trade market.
Joe Pavelski (RW – DAL)
Making fantasy hockey decisions based solely on line combinations isn’t a prudent move. Line combos change constantly and are often overrated to begin with. However, Joe Pavelski’s stock may be in for a second-half dip.
While analyzing Hintz above, I noted that Johnson has made the leap to the top line and how that trio has dominated together. The Stars have also largely kept Mason Marchment, Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin in a line together throughout the season. That has left Pavelski on the Stars’ third line with Jamie Benn and Sam Steel.
That’s not to say he won’t remain productive, especially since he’s still skating on the top power-play unit, where he has scored nine goals this season. Overall, he has 19 goals and 42 points in 47 games. The issue is that the shot volume isn’t there. Pavelski has just 113 shots on the season (2.40 per game), 12 penalty minutes and a lukewarm plus-two rating.
He has already seen a dip in usage this season, with 16:32 of average ice time per game, over a minute less than his 17:43 from last season. In fact, it’s the third consecutive season he has seen a decrease in average ice time after skating 19:01 per game in the 2020-21 season. The drop in ice time is hardly surprising at 39 years old as the playoff-bound Stars look to keep their veteran healthy.
His production is there, but the peripherals are largely not. He’s a nice player to toss into a trade package for something much bigger before the deadline.
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