We’re heading into Week 13 of the 2024-25 fantasy hockey season. If your New Year’s resolution is to win more games and make better deals, we’ll be glad to help you out. We’ll highlight two players to go out and scoop up in a trade, and we’ll also highlight two players at the height of their value to send packing.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice (Week 13)
Buy
Sam Bennett has gone ice-cold for the defending champs. Since the ball dropped to ring in 2025, he has been scoreless in four games with a -2 rating. He appears to be a little frustrated, too, as he has ended up taking six penalty minutes (PIM), so at least he is contributing something for fantasy managers in leagues rewarding bad behavior. His cold streak isn’t due to a lack of trying, either, as he has taken 11 shots on goal (SOG) in four games in January. He has managed 23 SOG in the previous seven outings.
Bennett’s last goal came on December 3rd in Pittsburgh. His last assist was on December 16th in Edmonton. He has managed to go scoreless in nine consecutive games, posting a -9 rating since December 20th. The home fans haven’t heard Bennett’s name called out for a point since grabbing an assist on December 7th against the San Jose Sharks, while he hasn’t lit the lamp at Amerant Bank Arena since November 30th against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The time is now to scoop Bennett up. You should be able to get him either off the waiver wire or from another fantasy manager via trade for a very, very low cost. The 28-year-old is currently on pace for 25 goals and 53 points, even with the cold snap lately, which is rather surprising. He is also on track for a -31 rating and 100 PIM. If you’re in a league severely penalizing plus/minus rating and/or PIM, you might be a little coolish on the pivot. If you’re in a fantasy pool looking for scoring, though, and those other categories don’t factor in, the time is now to grab Bennett.
Another 28-year-old Florida Panthers player is also experiencing a cold snap on the back end. Aaron Ekblad is amid a six-game scoreless skid. Like Bennett, frustration appears to be setting in. He has six PIM in the six-game scoreless skid. Ekblad has disengaged a little bit on the offensive end, totaling just six SOG in the past five outings since a five SOG effort in a loss to Tampa Bay on December 23rd.
The veteran defenseman isn’t that far removed from a three-game streak with a goal and five points from December 16th to December 20th, while posting three power-play assists. Ekblad has been super streaky this season, going long stretches without points, while piecing together a few other scoring runs. He is likely to have another hot streak right around the corner. The 28-year-old defenseman is rostered in 89% of Fantrax leagues and 60% of Yahoo! leagues, so they’re certainly hoping a hot streak is coming soon. You should be able to trade for Ekblad for very cheap right now.
Sell
Matthew Knies scored on a deflection in the third period Tuesday in Philadelphia, notching his first-game winning tally of the season. He closed out the 2004 calendar year with just a single assist in his final seven games of December. Since ringing in the new year, however, Knies has been a kinetic performer. He had a hat trick with five points and a +6 rating in a 6-4 victory over the Boston Bruins this past Saturday and notching six SOG.
With an amazing five goals and seven points in the past three games, the time is now to fish around and see what you can get for the Maple Leafs sniper. Knies is on track for 31 goals and 51 points, including two goals and eight points on the man advantage. If you feel he can maintain that level, perhaps he is a ‘hold’ candidate. But, the thinking is that he still doesn’t contribute regularly.
Jason Zucker was blanked in Monday’s 4-3 shootout victory against the Washington Capitals, which has been a rarity lately. He opened the 2025 calendar year with a stunning hat trick with four points in a 6-5 overtime loss at Colorado last Thursday. Two of the games were on the power play, while he has notched three goals on the man advantage in the past three games. He also has struck for five power-play goals in the past six outings, while posting seven goals with 10 points in the past eight contests.
Zucker is on pace for 30 goals and 62 points, including 16 goals and 28 points on the man advantage. He hasn’t been over 48 points in a single season since scoring 33 goals with a career-high 64 points since the 2017-2018 campaign. Now, some players can be late bloomers, sure. He is 32 years old, so it’s a little late for a breakout, career year. In other words, his current production isn’t sustainable, and it’s a good idea to trade him while the getting is good because his value has never been higher.