The Fantasy Hockey season is nearly through week 13 of 25 meaning that we are a little over halfway through the season. Most leagues trade deadlines will occur during February somewhere between week 18 and 21.
You’ve got a few weeks left in front of you to try and improve your team via trade and address any key positional weaknesses. Here are five key trade targets that could put your team over the top this season.
Mark Scheifele (C), Winnipeg Jets
Mark Scheifele is having a strong season, outproducing his ADP and pre-season projections by a large margin. He is the eighth ranked centre in season long fantasy points with 380.8 through 41GP. A large part of Scheiffele’s success has been goal scoring, where he ranks fourth in the NHL with 23G. You might think that his high goal total would correlate to being among the NHL’s leaders in SOG, but that isn’t the case. He has been amongst the most efficient shooters, converting on an astounding 25% of his shot attempts.
Zach Hyman (LW,RW), Edmonton Oilers
Zach Hyman hasn’t had the season that Edmonton Oilers fans or fantasy managers had hoped to see, to date. He has missed time due to injury and is riding a five-game goaless streak while skating on the Oilers third line. You might find a league manager receptive to an offer on the Oilers forward. It’s important to understand that Hyman won’t stay in this position and that his return to the Oilers top line will take place. You’re trading for a player who had scored 10G in 9GP leading up to this goaless streak and has a ixG of 15.73, which ranks 19th in the NHL this season.
Kirill Marchenko (RW), Columbus Blue Jackets
The average fantasy manager is still lagging behind in understanding how good Kirill Marchenko and the Columbus Blue Jackets PP1 grouping has been for Fantasy Hockey. Marchenko has doubled his point production from his previous two seasons in the NHL, now averaging over 1.0 points per game. Over his last 10GP he has accumulated 6G and 9A while being a +12 skater. The Blue Jackets are playing extremely well at home and are amongst the league leaders in goals scored with 137 and goals against with 145. Marchenko will only gain value between now and season end as the Blue Jackets are engaged in high scoing games every night.
Jakob Chychrun (D), Washington Capitals
Only three NHL defencemen have double digits in goals scored. Cale Makar (13), Zach Werenski (12), and, you guessed it, Jakob Chychrun(11). The defender has found new life as a member of the Washington Capitals and has gone from being widely available in all fantasy formats to one of the NHL’s fantasy defenceman with 291.4 FPTS. His offensive contributions have been so strong that the Capitals have kept him a part of their PP1 group, even after Alex Ovechkin returned to the lineup from injury. Look for him to continue his strong fantasy production down the stretch in all formats.
Mackenzie Blackwood (G), Colorado Avalanche
In a move where the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks traded goaltenders, Mackenzie Blackwood went from backstopping one of the leagues worst teams to being traded within his own division to a Stanley Cup contender. He now ranks sixth amongst all goalies with 296.6 FPTS. Of late, he’s been one of the leagues top goaltenders securing wins in five of his last six starts. He owns the leagues fifth best SV% at .917% despite playing the majority of the year in San Jose. I wouldn’t hesitate to trade a household name like Ilya Sorokin, Jeremy Swayman, or Juse Saros to acquire Blackwood, who I have highlighted as a potential league winner.
Give these five players a look in your fantasy hockey league. Each has significant opportunity down the stretch on teams who are poised to produce goals and win games. You can’t go wrong with any of these option as you look to improve your roster in the lead up to your league’s trade deadline.
Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire
