Fantasy Hockey: Week 18
As the NHL Trade Deadline approaches there will be a lot of moves made which means multiple rosters and depth charts being affected.
Arguably the best option at forward still left is Timo Meier who could see a similar boost in potential that Vladimir Tarasenko had when he was traded to the Rangers.
Meier is having an unbelievable season on one of the worst teams in the NHL and a move to a better team would benefit him even more.
Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov have been on the trade block for a while but now they are out until they get traded.
Gavrikov will most certainly be moved to a contender meanwhile Chychrun still has term on his contract so realistically anyone could target him.
A very interesting move involving both players would be Gavrikov being traded to a contender which would help him and Chychrun getting flipped to replace Gavrikov in the Blue Jackets lineup which would keep his potential the same.
Ryan O’Reilly is a name that has the potential to be a gamechanger for a team when healthy.
If O’Reilly lands with a team like Colorado expect his value to skyrocket because there would be a lot more talent to spread the puck around to.
Another Blue who will likely be traded is Ivan Barbashev who is a productive player now and will most certainly be on another team.
Barbashev generally sits on the right side so any team needing help at right wing would probably jump at the opportunity to add him and give him an opportunity for top six minutes.
The Red Wings may move on from Tyler Bertuzzi and he may benefit significantly from a change in scenery.
Two teams that could look at him are the Edmonton Oilers who could uses some help on the left side behind Evander Kane or the Minnesota Wild who are in desperate need of scoring behind Kirill Kaprizov.
The Chicago Blackhawks have decisions to make with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
The Dallas Stars would be an ideal spot for Patrick Kane to land as he would potentially be on a line with Jamie Benn and Wyatt Johnston which would help his production.
An ideal place for Toews to land would be with the Colorado Avalanche as he would likely take JT Compher’s spot on a line with Mikko Rantanen and Evan Rodrigues.
Brock Boeser is an interesting case as Vancouver does not need to trade him but may try to with all the roster turnover that is expected to happen with the Canucks.
If he does get traded, then his value would be completely dependent on the other right wingers on his new team’s roster.
John Klingberg could also benefit from a change in scenery and going to a team with a little more offensive firepower than the Ducks would be a huge boost for him.
James Morrison is a Junior majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email jpm6920@psu.edu.
