We’re heading into Week 16 of the National Hockey League (NHL) fantasy season, and the real teams are starting to get itchy trigger fingers. We saw the massive trade between the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche, sending Jack Drury and Martin Necas to Denver, Chicago picking up some of the check, and Taylor Hall and superstar Mikko Rantanen landing in Raleigh.
Since I live just outside of Raleigh, I know the Caniacs are buzzing. Of course, they were buzzing last season, too, after the Jake Guentzel trade, and, well… we know how those playoffs ended. You need goaltending — healthy goaltending — to make a deep run in the postseason. Until they get that, Carolina might be just a very good team — not a great one.
Anyway, as we focus on fantasy hockey, let’s peruse the league for two buy candidates and two candidates to sell right now, so you can make your own run to that championship. It’s just Week 16, but it’s never too early to start planning your parade route. Let’s get started.
NHL Fantasy Hockey Trade Advice (Week 16)
Buy
Some feel the end is nigh for Brent Burns, but that isn’t the case. He has gone scoreless in the previous six games and has just four goals and 18 points with a -1 rating across 51 games. He is on pace for six goals and 29 points, but, again, the team just added Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall, two big-time offensive producers.
The goal totals might not increase anytime soon for Burns, but it’s hard to imagine he doesn’t see an uptick in assists. He has been relatively underwhelming, with two goals and six points as his best production in a single month, coming back in December. You’re not going to want to sell the farm to get Burns. But, if you can add him on a trade with a guy you just added off of the waiver wire, you know what he is capable of. He managed 10 goals and 43 points last season in 82 games, and he hasn’t tallied fewer than 43 points in a full NHL season since 2012-13.
The big piece in that multi-player trade for Colorado was acquiring Martin Necas, the leading scorer for Carolina. However, don’t sleep on Jack Drury. He is playing like he has a new lease on life in Denver, scoring in each of the past two games. He scored on his only shot attempt against the New York Rangers in a matinee game Sunday, and he followed that up with a goal on the Island on three shots.
We should temper expectations a bit, as he is averaging just 12:17 of time on ice (TOI) in the past two games, and none of that has been on Colorado’s vaunted power-play unit. So, don’t expect Rantanen-type numbers. That’s not why he was brought to Denver. But, if you’re in a fantasy pool with an advanced scoring system, considering faceoff percentage, Drury can certainly be of tremendous use to you.
His previous best in a season was eight goals and 27 points with a +4 rating set just last season in Raleigh, and he had two power-play goals and seven points on the man advantage. Currently, he has five goals and 11 points through 42 games in Carolina and Colorado this season. If he were to get to the 30-point mark this season, he would be producing about a half-point per game the rest of the way for the Avs. That would make him a decent C3 or C4 in leagues of 12 or more teams. Don’t expect much more than that, but he is a good low-cost buy.
Sell
Mason McTavish has started to gain some fantasy traction lately, and he is making a name for himself. Previously, he was simply known as the son of Craig McTavish, who is the answer to the trivia question “Who is the last helmetless player in the NHL?”.
Anyway, McTavish is on a roll lately, bagging six goals with an assist and a +4 rating across the previous four games. The four-game goal-scoring streak is the longest of the 22-year-old’s NHL career, and easily the biggest offensive spurt to date. He has seven goals and 10 points in January, which puts him just a single point shy of his record of 11 points in a single month set last October with the Ducks.
The seven goals, though, easily set a career best for a single month. McTavish has quietly averaged 18 goals and 42.5 points per season in the past two campaigns, and he is on target for a career-best 20 goals and 43 points. Can he take it to another level? Perhaps. He is just 22 years old, and this ‘sell’ advice does not apply to those in dynasty pools. But, if you’re in a seasonal league and you can secure a more tried-and-true veteran for the red-hot McTavish, go for it.
The 23-year-old Bavarian-born JJ Peterka isn’t dotting a lot of fantasy rosters right now, but that could change soon. He bagged a hat trick with four points and an amazing +6 rating against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night. One of his three goals stood up as the game-winning tally, too.
Peterka has managed four goals and 13 points across 12 games in January, producing four multi-point games with three or more shots on goal in each of the past four outings. If you have him rostered in a deeper league, you should be able to flip him for something good. The numbers are impressive, especially if you word them correctly to other fantasy managers. Peterka is another player you will want to hang onto in dynasty pools. In seasonal play, though, upgrade immediately if you can.
Daniel E. Dobish is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Daniel, follow him @danieledobish.
