We’re into the eighth week of the 2024-25 fantasy hockey season. As has been the case in previous weeks, we’ll highlight two buy-low targets you need to work to acquire this week, as well as two players you can trade at their fantasy pinnacle.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice (Week 8)
Buy
Gustav Forsling was a key rearguard in the team’s Stanley Cup championship run last season. He started the season playing pretty well, going for three goals and seven points with a +9 rating through the first 11 games in October, posting a shorthanded goal and a game-winning tally. He isn’t going to take a ton of shorts, and he doesn’t get time on the power play, which can be a drawback, but he is an offensive defenseman.
However, since November 21st, somebody turned off the offensive spigot. He has gone scoreless in six consecutive games while posting 14 shots on goal (SOG) during the span. It’s certainly not for lack of trying, as he has been very involved in the offense. He has gone 16 consecutive games since October 26 on the road against the New York Islanders without a goal.
The 28-year-old Swede has reached double-digit goal totals in each of his past three seasons in South Florida, averaging 39 points per season in the span. In addition, since arriving in Sunrise for the 2020-21 season, he has a ridiculous +147 rating across 301 NHL games.
The 26-year-old pivot from Eden Prairie, Minnesota was a sell-high candidate back in October, and he fired out of the chute with six goals and 13 points in the first 11 games. He tailed off substantially in November, going for just one goal and five points with a -9 rating.
Still, Casey Mittelstadt gets plenty of run on the power play. He is scoreless in the past seven games since going for a game-winning goal and an assist in Philadelphia on November 18th. He showed he can produce at a point-per-game clip for long periods of play, so if Mittelstadt is available for a fantasy trade, go out and get him. It likely won’t take much to pry him from an impatient fantasy manager.
Sell
The 28-year-old forward has managed 39+ points in each of his past five seasons, so nobody could blame you if you take this advice with a grain of salt. Since landing in Vancouver for the start of the 2021-22 season, Conor Garland is averaging 18.7 goals per season, while turning in 29.7 assists per contest.
Garland has been on fire with three goals and eight points on the power play, averaging nearly a point per game across 24 outings. He has eight goals and 22 points. He is currently projected for 27 goals and 75 points with 10 power-play goals and 27 points on the man advantage. All four marks would be career highs.
It’s certainly possible he can keep up the pace and have a breakout season, but it’s more likely he regresses to the mean a little bit. Even if he comes in with 52 points to tie his previous career high, that likely means a lengthy cold snap is just around the corner.
The Blues went out and signed restricted free agent Dylan Holloway via an offer sheet in the offseason. They also added fellow Edmonton Oilers rearguard Philip Broberg via the same method. Broberg missed some time due to a lower-body injury, but Holloway has paid off in spades.
Holloway posted a game-winning goal and an assist Tuesday in Winnipeg, giving him a three-game goal-scoring streak. He has four goals and seven points in the past four outings with a +5 rating. The time is now to package Holloway, as you need to strike while the iron is hot. Highlight the goal-scoring streak and the point streak in trade talks. Highlight the fact he is just 23 years old and that his eight goals and 15 points through 26 games are already a career-high. Highlight the fact he receives way more power play time in St. Louis than he did in his previous two campaigns in Edmonton.
You’re not going to get a haul for Holloway, but if you can land a guy who is more of a fantasy regular, it’s quite an upgrade over a young player starting to realize his potential. With Holloway, we’ll see growing pains, too, as is evidenced by a 10-game span with no goals and just two assists from November 5-23.