Odds are your NHL fantasy hockey league has long seen its trade deadline pass as many 10-team standard leagues sit in the last week of the regular season before the postseason showdown.
Just in case your league does not have a trade deadline, let’s look at some buy/sell candidates ahead of the playoffs!
NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Advice (Week 23)
Buy
One of the quieter fantasy studs this season has been Rangers veteran winger Chris Kreider.
The 32-year-old won’t reach the 52 goals he scored or the 77 points he recorded as part of a career year in the 2021-22 season but his 33 goals and 65 points in 70 games this season is certainly nothing to sneeze at. The Rangers’ first-line left winger has added 219 shots, 90 hits and a hefty plus-22 rating to his stat line.
If all that wasn’t enough, the man has been on a power-play mission. He has recorded 13 power-play goals, tied for eighth in the league while adding 10 man-advantage helpers for 23 power-play points. He has struck on the power play as much as Kirill Kaprizov, Brayden Point, Mikko Rantanen and Zach Hyman.
This shouldn’t be shocking as Kreider has long been an excellent goal scorer — nine 20-goal seasons under his belt. His increased cross-category output has elevated his fantasy value this season, although that’s not a surprise either.
He’s just the type of player aspiring fantasy hockey champions should target.
Speaking of cross-category production, The Ducks’ Frank Vatrano has delivered with authority this season.
It’s been a career year for the 552-game veteran as Vatrano has already blown by previous career highs with 30 goals and 51 points across 70 games The 30-year-old has been a force elsewhere, though, racking up a whopping 128 hits with 227 shots on goal alongside 73 penalty minutes.
Twelve of his 30 strikes on the season have come on the power play and his 18 power-play points are an excellent figure considering the Ducks sit 23rd with an 18.18% clip on the man advantage this season.
Of course, on a poor Ducks club, Vatrano’s minus-23 rating is certainly detrimental. At the same time, it’s about the only area where he hasn’t been above-average on the season. In all honesty, it shouldn’t be a deal breaker considering what he brings across the board.
Vatrano has long shown flashes of a season of this caliber, giving him value not only for a playoff run this season but dynasty league managers should also be keeping tabs on the trade market.
Sell
Unlike the two names above, veteran winger Mats Zuccarello delivers in only select fantasy categories, namely assists.
Indeed, his 44 helpers on the season are impressive and he has 29 power-play points on the back of 24 man-advantage helpers, good for a share of 11th league-wide. That’s about it.
Zuccarello has notched 11 goals with 24 hits, a decent 28 penalty minutes, 145 shots and an even plus/minus rating on the campaign. He’s endured some unfortunate puck luck by way of a 7.6% shooting rate that sits well below his 11.3% mark, perhaps something to keep an eye on as a positive regression candidate next season.
For this season, he’s not doing much to help teams wishing to win it all, unless you’re severely lacking in assists and special teams points. He means far more to the Wild than he does to the fantasy community, to be sure.
Jared McCann is a nice fantasy asset who scores goals and gets a solid amount of pucks on the net. Those factors make him an excellent player to headline a package for a superstar for contending fantasy hockey teams.
The 27-year-old has scored at least 27 goals in three straight seasons, including a career-high 40 a season ago. He did so on an elevated 19% shooting rate as regression was a near certainty this season. Nonetheless, he’s scored at an efficient 15.3% clip this season.
He has added 26 assists for 53 points in 67 games on a rock-solid 177 shots on goal. He’s also contributed 18 man-advantage points and is averaging 16:34 of ice time per game.
Sure, he’s not a dynamo across the board, putting forth 41 hits, 25 penalty minutes and a minus-five rating on a Kraken team that took a step back this season. What we need to realize, however, is that this is a big-time goal-scorer entering the prime seasons of his career. A perennial 30-goal guy who pumps a quality amount of shots on goal. He could use some more help around him and doesn’t need a ton of support to score goals.
We’re not dealing with a superstar here but rather a nice fantasy player who could be packaged up for something big down the stretch.
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