Well, the holidays are coming up, and what better way to spend them than deciding how to deal with the underperforming players on your roster? You might have selected a player early on in the draft and don’t know what to do. Should you hold on and wait to see if they eventually rebound? Or is what you are seeing probably just going to be what you will get for the rest of the year? Let’s explore some of the names.
Pavel Buchnevich – LW, RW – St. Louis Blues
Pavel Buchnevich did not have a great start to the year. To be fair the whole Blues team didn’t start well at all, but Buchnevich owners were definitely feeling the pain. Midway through November, Buchnevich only had six points in ten games. However, though he may not be ranked too high in your league yet, Buchnevich has rebounded solidly. He is back to his standard at a point-per-game pace for the year, and over the past two weeks, he has been scoring over a point per game. Buchnevich is a player that should not be traded away—hold on to him instead, and benefit from him finding his groove.
Jonathan Huberdeau – LW – Calgary Flames
This one hurts. I picked Jonathan Huberdeau very early in my draft and am paying the price mightily so far. Let’s remember that despite the stats this year, Huberdeau is one of the best playmakers in the league, and should be a big point producer. The key word though is “should”. Calgary is in a very weird spot, and it seems like they are still trying to figure out how to play with each other.
Huberdeau has gone from a heavy offence team in Florida, to a pure defence-first team in Calgary. Unfortunately, because of the systems in Calgary, I think it is time for fantasy managers to sell Huberdeau in a trade. It would be worth trading him for some lesser names who are producing at a higher rate as I am not sure how realistic it is to expect Huberdeau to get back to his usual over-a-point-per-game pace. Capitalize on his name value while you still can.
Moritz Seider – D – Detroit Red Wings
Derek Lalonde… why do you have to pair Moritz Seider with Ben Chiarot? Don’t you see what you are doing to the poor guy? Seider looked like one of the best defencemen to draft in the pre-draft rankings, yet so far this season, Seider looks like the player just might have been selected too high. However, I don’t think it’s got to the point where he should be traded.
Sure he might not be putting up the monster number that owners were expecting, however, he is still contributing, and Seider has the ability to contribute with hits and blocks. I know he hasn’t produced based on his average draft position, however, the upside is just way too high with Seider. Hold onto him and hope for a bounce back.
MacKenzie Weegar – D – Calgary Flames
Another victim of the system in Calgary. MacKenzie Weegar is probably a player who should be traded from your fantasy team if you are able to find some value. Because of the Flames’ defence-first playing style, Weegar’s point totals have taken a huge hit. He has been outstanding on the defensive side of the game, however, unfortunately, this does not mean too much in the world of fantasy hockey. Weegar doesn’t have the same name value as the other names on this list, so it might be hard to find a trade worth pulling the trigger on, but if it is there, take it.
Nobody is perfect
This season, a lot of us have learned the hard way about pre-draft rankings and how they can come back to bite fantasy managers’ chances of winning their leagues. However, the main thing to keep in mind is that you should not panic into making a trade. Even for players that have been identified as those who should probably be traded, a trade should only be made if you believe it will benefit your fantasy team. It shouldn’t be made just to finally get rid of the underperforming player so you can stream someone from the waiver wire. Take a step back, breathe, and develop a plan as to what type of return you would be looking for.
Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire
