Yes, we remain in Week 17 of the fantasy hockey season, as bye weeks and the NHL All-Star break create a lengthy matchup. It’s also the home stretch of the campaign, as the fantasy playoffs will be here before we know it.
Let’s buckle up and scour the trade market for some upgrades while identifying some players who are expendable down the stretch. Below are this week’s buy and sell options.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice (Week 17)
Buy
It’s always difficult to grab star players on the trade market regardless of the time of the year. While Weegar isn’t necessarily being undervalued by the fantasy-hockey community, his lack of name value could help you grab him on the cheap.
He’s nearly 96% rostered in ESPN leagues, meaning he’s certainly not flying under the radar. What he is doing is putting forth some excellent cross-category production that can help boost your back end. With 12 goals and 29 points on the season, he is on pace to tally roughly 20 goals and 48 points this season. Only Erik Karlsson and Dougie Hamilton scored more than 20 times from the back end last season, and only 24 blueliners had at least 48 points.
Weegar has also added 122 shots, 92 hits, 122 blocks, a plus-nine rating, 36 penalty minutes, and six power-play points. I mean, that’s some hefty cross-category production for a player who is not even close to a household name, yet.
If players such as Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev are shipped out, which is quite likely, prior to the March 8 NHL trade deadline, Weegar’s role will skyrocket. Nonetheless, his current production across the board is certainly a boon to your fantasy blueline.
Admittedly, I have never been a big fantasy fan of Thomas. He appeared to be mostly an assists player with some solid power-play production to boot. However, he is showing something new this year. Dynasty managers should take notice.
Rostered in fewer than 86% of ESPN leagues, Thomas has recorded 52 points in 49 games. Given he was nearly a point-per-game producer over the last two seasons, his excellent production this season isn’t exactly shocking. However, 17 of his 52 points are goals, as he’s on pace to score 28 this season, shattering his previous career high of 20 set in the 2021-22 campaign.
Not only has Thomas’ goal-scoring production increased, the shot volume has too. Now, 99 shots in 49 games isn’t anything to write home about, but his 2.02 shots per game this season towers over his 1.40 career mark. Sure, his 17.2% shooting rate is elevated, but this is a player that owns a career 15.1% clip. He’s been an efficient scorer despite his pass-first mentality.
Thomas is doing all this on a Blues team that ranks 26th in overall offense and 25th on the power play. His 10 power-play points don’t stand out, but he is also a plus-15 on a Blues team sporting a minus-12 overall goal differential. He’s a nice 200-foot center.
Considering the steps forward for the 24-year-old already in his sixth NHL season, it appears Thomas is hitting his prime. If he can get some more offensive support from his teammates moving forward, he could turn into a bonafide fantasy stud.
Sell
There’s very little wrong with Letang if we look at his 30 points across 47 games. The veteran defenseman is also a plus-16 player who has recorded 46 penalty minutes and 84 hits while skating nearly 25 minutes per night. That’s some nice cross-category production.
At the same time, Letang has just four goals on 96 shots. This is a player who was annually surpassing, or on pace to surpass given his lengthy injury history, 200 shots per season. This year, he is on pace for just 167 shots in 82 games. For context, he had 161 shots in just 64 games last season.
Why the dip in shot volume? Look no further than the power-play usage. Letang is skating just 1:46 per game on the power play this season, good for 263rd in the league. Last season, his 3:37 of average power play time per game ranked 37th, right behind Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs.
Letang has indeed been moved to the top unit in Karlsson’s stead to shift gears a little bit. However, the group just isn’t clicking this season, and Letang’s production has slipped as a result.
At 36, who knows what type of production we can expect from Letang moving forward. He certainly is far from his prime. Perhaps it’s time to cash in your Letang chips while they still have some value.
We are D-happy with this week’s trade advice, but Andersson is currently being wildly overvalued by the fantasy-hockey community. His seven goals and 28 points in 46 games is solid, but he’s added 33 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating to his ledger. For leagues that reward blocks, he does have 114 of those, good for 13th in the league.
If your league doesn’t count blocks, Andersson is not doing much to warrant being nearly 98% rostered in ESPN leagues. Of course, many of those leagues count blocks, but, keep in mind, Andersson has just 104 shots and 23 hits. He has gone from 21 power-play points in 79 games last season to just five through 46 games this season.
The point production is on par with Andersson’s last two seasons, but this Flames roster, as constructed, is not an offensive juggernaut. It’s difficult to see the 27 year old gaining offensive momentum with this franchise moving forward.
This is a team that is going to sell assets right now. Whether the Flames bounce back in free agency remains to be seen, but Andersson has reached his peak for the short-term. You’re better off selling now than waiting for the Flames to add offensive weapons while hoping Andersson can regain his PP1 status.
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