Fantasy Hockey: Key pickups who might benefit from a trade
By Jason Chen, RotoWire
Special to Yahoo Sports
With just weeks to go until the trade deadline, the next stretch of games will determine whether teams are sellers or buyers.
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For the sellers, it’ll give their young players a chance to play; for the buyers, the emphasis will probably be on veterans and experience. Here’s a list of 10 players who could see their roles and minutes increase, thanks to a potential trade.
Blake Coleman, Devils (47 percent Yahoo owned)
One of the holdovers from the Lamoriello era and having an eerily similar career trajectory to long-time Devils great John Madden, Coleman has emerged as a very good, versatile, two-way, middle-six winger on a half-decent team.
He’s scored 18 goals — 15 at even strength — and ranks fifth in ice time among the forwards while playing on the second power-play unit in Travis Zajac’s absence. Sustainable or not, Coleman is at least a high-volume shooter and ranks 11th in the league in hits with 142. His three-position eligibility and ability to contribute in multiple categories makes him a valuable fantasy asset.
It’s unlikely Coleman will get more than 17 minutes per night, but the Devils will play host in all four games this week, which includes the Kings and Hurricanes, so it’s a very favorable schedule.
Erik Gustafsson (39 percent), Dylan Strome, Blackhawks (9 percent)
Who cares about defense if your only chance to win is to outscore your opponent? The Blackhawks will live with Gustafsson’s defensive warts because his offense has been so good. He scored two goals against the Wild on Saturday, including the overtime winner on the power play.
If Duncan Keith is moved, Gustafsson will surely get an even bigger role, and with the addition of Dylan Strome — owned in only nine percent of Yahoo leagues … what’s wrong with you guys? — the Blackhawks power play has suddenly become one of the league’s most potent.
Corey Perry, Ducks (37 percent)
This is just a reminder that Perry, still a potential 20-30-50 player with 70-plus PIM, has returned, and he should be more than 50 percent owned before long. The good news: Randy Carlyle likes his vets, so he threw Perry back on his first line right off the bat.
Perry finished the night with four shots on goal and played 16:29. The bad news: the Ducks really stunk in a 9-3 loss Saturday. Still, based on his usage and past historical performance, Perry is a worthwhile waiver wire add.
Andreas Athanasiou, Red Wings (17 percent)
We won’t begrudge any long-time Wings fans for drowning their misery in liquor, but it’s time to get excited about AA again. The speedy forward is getting a twirl in the spotlight, taking Dylan Larkin’s spot on the top line and leading the Wings to a 2-0 win against the Sens on Saturday, logging more than 18 minutes for the second straight game. Larkin’s injury is not long-term, but in the interim Athanasiou’s got plenty of intriguing upside.
Derick Brassard, Panthers (5 percent)
His career hit rock bottom in Pittsburgh, so anything he does with the Panthers will be quite the accomplishment. However, he did play 15:32, which is significantly more than his final game with the Pens (11:58), and managed to get an assist on Mike Hoffman’s end-to-end goal.
It’s an encouraging start, though Riley Sheahan also played more than 15 minutes, so I think Bob Boughner’s just testing to see what both guys have got. Either way, Brassard’s role can’t get any smaller than it was in Pittsburgh, and if he gets moved again there’s always a chance his role will increase on a new team.
Conor Garland, Coyotes (7 percent)
He’ll never be a reliable top-six forward because there’s so many holes in his game. That said, give him the puck in the offensive zone and good things happen. The bounces continue to go his way after the break, scoring his 10th goal of the season after picking up a fortuitous bounce in front of the net to beat Martin Jones one-on-one.
He’s definitely earned the right to stay based on his skill alone for the goal-starved Coyotes, and playing on the top power-play unit with Clayton Keller also gives him a bit more fantasy value.
Vince Dunn, Blues (5 percent)
The Blues are no stranger to blockbuster moves and if any of their defenseman gets moved, Dunn is the biggest beneficiary. At 22, he’s the new kid on the block, so trading him makes no sense for a team already looking to hit the reset button. He is owned in just five percent of leagues even though he leads all Blues defensemen with 21 points, one more than Alex Pietrangelo, who is owned in 73 percent of leagues. Dunn might have more offensive upside than any defenseman on that roster, too. The bad news is that his fantasy value depends very much on his role, and the Blues power play doesn’t get a lot of opportunities or convert a lot of their chances.
Anthony Cirelli, Lightning (4 percent)
Cirelli will be a career bottom-six forward, but a very good one. He’s already Jon Cooper’s most trusted faceoff specialist, and that’s where he derives most of his fantasy value. A 15-15-30 campaign puts him on waiver wire territory, but if you factor in his team-leading 323 faceoff wins and 35 blocked shots, suddenly he becomes a pretty versatile asset.
His role has certainly expanded over the course of the season, and despite his recent cold streak (three assists in 11 games) he has a reputation for coming through in the clutch.
Devon Toews, Islanders (2 percent)
Ryan Pulock has been great this season, but it’s Toews about whom the Islanders are excited. With 86 points in 130 AHL games, Toews (no relation to Jonathan) has proven that he can create offense, an ability that’s been lacking from the Islanders blue line since Mark Streit. Toews’ role isn’t big now, but he’s certainly someone to watch for now that his minor league days are clearly in the rear-view mirror.
Valentin Zykov, Golden Knights (2 percent)
We shall see if Zykov, who played a career-high 17:32 in a 3-1 loss to the Panthers on Saturday, sticks on the first line. He’s already playing on his third team this season, and despite tantalizing skill hasn’t been able to overcome his poor skating. The Knights like to play fast, so that will be an interesting fit, and at crunch time Gerard Gallant will surely put together his old first line. Zykov is a huge gamble for those two-percenters who own him, but I applaud the conviction and certainly do believe he’ll get a longer look than he did with the Oilers, who love selling low.
