The calendar has moved to December and the NHL schedule has passed the quarter pole. You should be well aware of your trade needs by now. Don't be afraid to deal a hot player, or pick up someone who is cold as chances are, he will revert back to form.
Best of luck with your trades this week.
TRADE FOR
Valeri Nichushkin, RW, Avalanche (65 percent rostered)
Nichushkin returned to action Tuesday after missing eight games with a lower-body injury. The talented winger had five goals and seven assists in 17 games before his injury, including one goal and two assists on the power play. He started Tuesday as a third-line winger but he really is a top-six forward and should return to that spot in the near future.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Nichushkin and a seventh-round pick for Brad Marchand and a 12th-round selection. (This is a pretty even trade, but if Nichushkin stays healthy the remainder of the season, he will out-perform Marchand.)
Timo Meier, RW, Devils (90 percent rostered)
Meier has been red-hot of late, as he is on a six-game scoring streak in which he has five goals and eight points. Meier has had a couple of mediocre seasons with the Devils, picking up 53 and 52 points in each of his last two seasons. He is a capable scorer, tallying 35 goals and adding 41 assists in 77 games with the Sharks, back in the 2021-22 campaign. He is showing signs of being able to come close to hitting that mark once again this season, as he has 10 goals and 22 points in 26 games. Meier has five goals and nine points on the power-play this season.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Meier and a 10th-round pick for Jamie Benn and a fourth-round selection. (Meier is a better player right now than Benn and the margin will increase once Jack Hughes returns to the New Jersey lineup.)
Brandt Clarke, D, Kings (22 percent rostered)
Clarke can be had in most leagues via waivers, but if he is not available in your pool, this is a good time to trade for him. Clarke has taken over as the Kings' top blueliner, even before the lower-body injury to Drew Doughty. Clarke was selected eighth overall in 2021 and is currently quarterbacking the top power play. He has three goals and nine assists in 26 games, including a goal and two assists in his last four appearances. At the age of 22, Clarke has plenty of upside.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Clarke, Gabriel Vilardi and Adam Fantilli for Alex Ovechkin, Vince Dunn and Anthony Cirelli. (This is a pretty even trade. I like Ovechkin and Dunn, while Vilardi is on the top line in Winnipeg, and Fantilli is a future star.)
TRADE AWAY
Jesper Wallstedt, G, Wild (69 percent rostered)
Wallstedt has been absolutely outstanding this season. He is 8-0-2 with a league-leading 1.74 GAA and .944 save percentage. So why trade him? Well, Wallstedt is sharing the net with Filip Gustavsson at this time, and no matter how well Wallstedt is playing (and he has been sensational), he is going to see only limited action compared to top goalies like Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Vasilevskiy. You should be able to score huge in a trade involving Wallstedt at this time.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Wallstedt for Roman Josi. (I saw another trade, straight up for Yaroslav Askarov, and I like both deals. Wallstedt has played well to date, but is still playing only 35 to 40 percent of the games. Josi is a star, and Askarov is a better goaltender, in my estimation, and plays more.)
Mitch Marner, RW, Golden Knights (99 percent rostered)
Marner has played well in his first season with Vegas but not like he has in the past. Marner has five goals and 25 points in 26 games, the first time in eight years that he has not averaged well over a point a game. Marner had 611 points in 498 games in his last seven seasons in Toronto, averaging 1.23 points per game. His .96 points per game are very good this season, but it's still more than a quarter-point less than poolies have become accustomed to.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Marner, Erik Karlsson and J.T. Miller for Jake Guentzel, Troy Terry and Jake Sanderson. (A good trade for both teams, though I really like Guentzel and Sanderson more than Marner and any of the other two players. Terry has been solid this season as well.)
Jason Robertson, RW, Stars (100 percent rostered)
Robertson has been on fire of late with 13 goals and nine assists in 11 games, heading into action Tuesday. He was held off the scoresheet against the Rangers, but still has 16 goals and 35 points in 27 games. He had one great season, scoring 46 goals and adding 63 assists in 82 games during the 2022-23 campaign, and, while hitting 80 points in each of the last two seasons is great, the time to trade Robertson is now, at the height of his value. He has five goals and 15 points on the power play to date.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Robertson, Frederik Andersen and Seth Jarvis for Jacob Markstrom, William Nylander and Mikko Rantanen. (You're picking up an awful lot for Robertson, and I'm not sure he is even one of the best two in this trade, as Rantanen and Nylander have had better careers.)
