As the NHL heads to its one-day Thanksgiving break, a point in the season where teams that are in the playoffs, usually remain there, teams like the Vancouver Canucks are rumored to be making players available in trade. While it is highly, highly unlikely that Quinn Hughes is going anywhere, don't be surprised if the likes of Evander Kane and/or Kiefer Sherwood, both unrestricted free agents at the end of the season, are headed out of town.
TRADE FOR
Shea Theodore, D, Golden Knights (95 percent rostered)
Theodore got off to a horrible start with only two assists in his first eight games. He has been much better since then, picking up three goals and eight helpers across his last 14 games. Theodore has been an offensive stud for the Golden Knights over the last five seasons with 234 points in 300 games heading into this season. He rarely comes close to playing a full season due to injuries, but this season could be the exception.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Theodore and Dylan Larkin for Zach Hyman and Adam Fox. (Theodore should be at least equal to Fox and possibly better, while Larkin is a better player than Hyman at this time.)
Brock Nelson, C, Avalanche (39 percent rostered)
Nelson is another player who got off to a slow start. The former Islander had three goals and five points in his first 16 games, a terrible total considering he is their second-line center and the Avalanche have lost only once in regulation time this season and lead the NHL in goals. Nelson has turned it on of late with three goals and seven points during a five-game scoring streak, before he was held off the scoresheet Sunday in Chicago. Nelson has had at least 56 points in each of his last three seasons, including 75 with the Islanders in 2022-23.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Nelson and Lukas Dostal for Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Jacob Trouba. (I'm a big fan of both Nelson and Dostal, while Pageau and Trouba are just run of the mill players in fantasy hockey.)
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Lightning (100 percent rostered)
Vasilevskiy is 9-5-2 with a 2.36 GAA and a .913 save percentage. He has been outstanding of late, winning his last four games and six of his last seven contests. Vasilevskiy has allowed only three goals on 100 shots in his four recent wins and has returned to his stud status in the NHL – and fantasy hockey.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Vasilevskiy for Cam Talbot. (C'mon. Really. Vasilevskiy for Talbot? Vasilevskiy has been a top-three goaltender – and probably higher – for the last eight seasons and is still only 31. Talbot is 38 and while his 9-3-0 mark is good, he has an .892 save percentage and is sharing the Detroit net with John Gibson.)
TRADE AWAY
Kiefer Sherwood, RW, Canucks (59 percent rostered)
Sherwood got off to an amazing start with the Canucks, scoring nine goals on 24 shots in his first 12 games. He has come back to earth of late with three goals on 18 shots – still a very good shooting percentage – in his last 11 games. Sherwood could be on his way out of Vancouver as the Canucks are wallowing in a tie for 13th place in the Western Conference, seven points out of a playoff spot, and he is slated to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Sherwood is second to Yakov Trenin in hits, and, while that gives him extra value, he is trade bait at this time of the season.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Sherwood for Tage Thompson. (This is an okay trade at best if you really need hits, but Sherwood is a bottom-six forward on most teams, if he gets dealt, while Thompson is the star of the show in Buffalo.)
Trevor Zegras, C, Flyers (65 percent rostered)
Zegras has seven goals and 21 points in 21 games this season. He has rebounded nicely since his trade in the offseason from Anaheim, where he had 47 points over 88 games in two injury-plagued seasons. He could return to the 60-plus point mark this season, a milestone that he hit in 2021-22 and the following year, but I think the best thing to do if he is on your team, is to trade Zegras while his value is at its highest.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Zegras and Pavel Zacha for Tim Stutzle. (Unless you need two players whose last names contain Zs, Zegras and Zacha for Stutzle – who does have one Z – is a bad trade. Another example of trading two okay players for one star.)
Spencer Knight, G, Blackhawks (88 percent rostered)
Knight has been a major reason that the Blackhawks are having a renaissance this season. The Blackhawks are 10-8-4 despite being on a three-game losing streak, a lot better than last season when they were 31st in the NHL with 61 points in 82 games. Knight is 7-5-1 with a 2.38 GAA and a .924 save percentage, which makes him a top-seven goaltender at this time. I don't foresee the Blackhawks keeping up this effort and they should fall in the standings. That makes Knight a great trade candidate right now, given his great start to the season.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Knight for Nick Schmaltz and Ivan Demidov. (Knight has been a great goaltender this season, but Schmaltz has been near the top of the NHL scoring race, and Demidov should explode soon as his skills are outstanding.)
