Justin Rosser March 15, 2021
This articles stats are based off of league settings including G, A, +/-, PPP, SHP, GWG, SOG, HIT, BLK and the standard goalie stats of W, GAA, SV% and SHO.
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As all fantasy managers want to make their push for the playoffs, whether it is for the first place BYE or just making the cut, everyone is looking to improve and build the strongest playoff team possible. Hopefully I can guide you to making a savvy move or two and pay nickels on the dime at the same time (no, I did not try to…rhyme). So pull up those bartering pants, sanitize those hands, put on your mask and let’s go!
BUY LOW:
Elias Pettersson (C) VAN:
Pettersson is injured with an upper body injury he has missed 6 games already and will likely miss the next 3 (their road trip). Even with missing 6 games, he is still ranked 135 and i think this is the time to strike and sneak in an offer with a frustrated owner.
Pettersson started the year really slow, then absolutely turned it around and just before his injury he had 5 goals and 2 assists in 5 games. He won’t be the cheapest option, but you can definitely get a major discount on him, especially right now just after the update of him not joining the team on the road.
Note: One slightly negative thing is that the Canucks are tied for most games played on the year with Ottawa at 31. So expect to have one of those “2” game weeks coming up…
Cale Makar (D) COL:
Cale Makar is one of hockey’s future stars and just like Elias (see above), he is a target you can make an offer for because of injury, hopefully at a discounted price. This depends, is the owner a keener and knows Makar’s a top level talent or just another frustrated owner that wants active players in their lineup. If the owner is a knowledgeable one, this will be pretty hard to pull off as he is about to come back from injury from the looks of it. But if it’s an owner that you can talk into a deal, point out that he is currently ranked 337.
This is the toughest of the buy lows, but has immense upside and I would definitely be trying to trade a 2 for 1 giving him a pretty good defenseman in return with a forward(maybe one of the sell high players below). This all depends on their roster construction, but don’t make blind offers, see what they need position wise and send them that forward that also fills a hole, point this out to them as it might entice them to bite the bait.
Patrik Laine (LW, RW) CLB:
I know…I know, he is playing horrendous this year. Surrounded by endless drama in Winnipeg, it seems to have boiled over to his new team in Columbus. Currently playing on Columbus’s second line, he still gets tons of ice time.
Laine is one of the purest goal scorers in the NHL and he is bound to get hot. This is probably the cheapest Laine has ever been since entering the league. At this point some owners might be so frustrated as to almost just give him to you to get away from the +/-.
Ranked at 341, he still has 9 goals and 6 assists, his problem is his +/-, sitting at -10. Last year Laine had 28 goals and 35 assists in a shortened season. Making a deal, you could get him for so cheap that the only thing you see is upside, this could be like turning DIRT TO DIAMONDS. So please, minimize this internet browser right now and go look which lucky GM gets a bail of a lifetime (make them believe), while you laugh to the bank.
ILYA Samsonov (G) WAS:
Drafted 22nd overall in the first round of the 2015 draft. The Washington Capitals moved on from Braden Holtby confident in their young Russian netminder. He has missed extensive time this year and has only played in 7 games, since returning, the trend is directing towards him being the top guy.
This deal would need to be done sooner than later, Washington is a good hockey team (wins) and Samsonov will start getting more and more starts in the coming weeks. He is really good, his stats on the year of 2.77 GAA and .902 SV% are deceiving, he passes the eye test extremely well. Out of his 7 starts, 5 of them are WINS and he should get a lot of those.
Jump on him early before his stock rises and becomes unrealistic to purchase. He was 81% Rostered 1 1/2 weeks ago, now currently 88% Rostered.
SELL HIGH:
James Van Riemsdyk (LW) PHI:
JVR, JVR, JVR, the more i say it, the more i start to hear VCR, VCR… the 31 year old winger has rejuvenated his career so far this year and now is the time to sell high. He has not performed like this in a long time and i think you can really cash in on him.
Playing on Philly’s top line and top PP line currently, his value has never been higher than it is right now. He has 12 goals and 16 assists on the year and a +8. He does not get many accessory categories, although he has a decent amount of shots with 60.
Why should you sell him and not keep him?? Well last year he had a total of 19 goals and 21 assists in 66 games. There is no way he keeps up the pace he has been at and you can get something great for him right now. Fresh off back to back games with a goal, people will perk up when they see his ranking of 91 and his points so far, do your wheeling and dealing and jump off this train before it hits the end of the track, IT’S A DEAD END!
Zach Hyman (C, LW) TOR:
Positionally Hyman is set up to produce point on the top line of Toronto. Having quite a good season, with 10 goals and 8 assists on the year, his ranking is really boosted by the +14 total so far. As the owner of Hyman, you have to be able to give up what has potential, to what you know has a more consistent ceiling.
Ranking 63 on the year and only 66% Rostered, that has to tell you that people understand that his ranking is inflated because of that awesome +14, right? Wrong, people just see rank 63 and they assume constant production for the rest of the year, but the Maple leafs shift their lines around a lot and next game you could see him on the 3rd line again.
I like Zach Hyman and when you sell him, point out his rank, show the other trading party that he is on the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, do a sell job and go get a consistent top liner in return.
I just can’t trust him as the consistency is up and down, with 3 goals and 0 assists in his last 3 games and a really light week for games to be played, a quick trade would benefit you the most.
Maxime Comtois (LW, RW) ANH:
Comtois came out of nowhere, he has snuck up the rankings like a ninja. Ranked 97 with 9 goals and 10 assists and a +7, he proves to be a decent asset. He is also a bit of a banger having 54 hits on the year.
Playing on the top line for the Ducks and the second PP unit, he is only 37% owned, you ask youself, how is he that low owned? Simple, he plays on the Ducks and they are not a good hockey team. His high production has most likely hit a high point and NOW is the time to sell.
He has already started to cool off, with 4 assists and 0 goals in his last 6 games. Don’t wait for him to regress to the point of dropping him, get something for him. It might not be an absolute stud, but you can get a more consistent player or pair him with someone and trade up. There is always teams that need more depth talent that aren’t active enough on waivers and free agents.
Dustin Brown (RW) LAK:
Normally playing on the top line, Brown missed last game to what we believe a light upper body injury. Brown was definitely a waiver add for you and he was just on a monster heater. The window to receive above average return might have dwindled a bit, but he is worth a shot at selling on that extreme heater he went on recently. He has cooled off in his last 8 games played he has 2 goals and 0 assists.
With 13 goals and 6 assists on the year, sell the fact that he is a goal scorer and that he can hit with 45 on the year. He has definitely hit his peak, while serviceable i believe his regression will only continue more.
Oh and during trade talks, don’t mention that he is 36 years old, it might turn them off of the deal *wink wink*.
Thanks so much for reading my article and remember to check out my “SNIPERS CORNER – 60 AND UNDER” article i write. Give me a follow on twitter @Justinrosser10.
Justin Rosser March 15, 2021
Fantasy Marksmen 