Fantasy Hockey Mailbag: Is Korpisalo a must add after trade to the Kings?

Jakob Chychrun was finally dealt to the Ottawa Senators after sitting out 10 games for trade-related reasons.

Chychrun was just one of many players held out while awaiting a trade, which brought up an interesting discussion among a few from the fantasy hockey community on Twitter. Would you factor in players sitting out for trade-related reasons when drafting your fantasy team?

It’s an interesting question. On the one hand, it’s really hard to plan that far ahead when selecting your squad. On the other, players like Chychrun, Patrick Kane and Timo Meier were almost locks to get traded this season. So, now that we know teams appear to be sitting players as they get closer to a deal, if there are players who we know in pre-season are likely to be dealt at some point, it’s a new wrinkle to at least consider when drafting.

Now, you probably wouldn’t shy away from a top-tier player, necessarily, if they are a likely trade candidate, but if you are deciding between two comparable options and you know one could potentially miss games at some point for a trade, maybe that sways you into the other direction at draft time.

Losing someone as important as Chychrun for 10 games could be devastating, so if you can solve that problem early without sacrificing value on your team, that could give you an edge in your league.

Let’s get to your questions:

It appears that way for now. With Tyson Barrie being shipped out in the Mattias Ekholm deal, it’s really opened the door for Evan Bouchard to bounce back in the final six weeks of the season and salvage his fantasy year. Bouchard’s skillset is probably best right now for the top power-play unit out of all the Edmonton Oilers defencemen, with Ekholm and Darnell Nurse skating on the second unit.

What you need to be just a bit cautious of is are the Oilers done making trades? They could potentially add another upgrade on defence before the deadline that could hurt Bouchard’s value. An Erik Karlsson trade seems difficult and complicated, but the Oilers have at least been linked to the defender as a team that’s interested. If they were to add Karlsson, Bouchard’s value plummets.

If those are your other two goalies, the upside of Joonas Korpisalo is probably what I would go with. I don’t necessarily think it’s a lock that Korpisalo’s value skyrockets, but he is moving to a better team which always helps. You have to consider the learning curve it takes for a goalie to get used to the new team in front of them, as far as defensive positioning and structure goes, which is why we don’t always see a ton of goalies change addresses around the deadline. I’m not saying he’s going to be a bust with the Los Angeles Kings by any means, I just wouldn’t drop anyone significant for him.

There’s also Pheonix Copley to consider. Copley’s numbers haven’t been great, but his record is spectacular. He’ll provide solid competition to Korpisalo for starts as long as he keeps winning games.

Since you have two pretty good options already on your roster, though, I think betting on Korpisalo makes the most sense. If he doesn’t end up playing really well you could always flip him back for a streaming spot.

So, this is a good example of what I was talking about in the answer above. As much upside as Korpisalo has, I wouldn’t drop either Adin Hill or Filip Gustavsson for him. Those two are more secure options right now, where Korpisalo is worth taking a chance on. If things don’t work out Korpisalo with Los Angeles, you’re going to be kicking yourself you gave up one of those two.

At this point in the season and if not a keeper league, I think you have to do what you have to do. It’s probably going to feel very weird dropping Jonathan Huberdeau after the season he had last year, but things just haven’t clicked for him with the Calgary Flames. A point per game the rest of the way seems really unlikely for Huberdeau right now, so there are probably better options on waivers based on schedules. If there’s a coaching change, Huberdeau will be someone to circle back on next year.

I’m in the same camp as you when it comes to Erik Gustafsson’s value with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I don’t think the move North is going to help him at all and he probably even has a difficult time cracking the lineup on a regular basis now given how loaded the Toronto Maple Leafs are on defence now. Gustafsson’s real value is when he’s quarterbacking a power play, which I don’t see happening unless there’s an injury to Morgan Rielly. This is one case where a deadline deal did Gustafsson no favours.

Jonathan Quick going to Vegas is a decent opportunity, but I have a hard time believing he’s going to be a major fantasy contributor down the stretch. Quick was on a very strong team this year already and only managed an .876 save percentage. He’s also 37 and it sometimes can be tricky for goalies to acclimate to their new teams quickly (no pun intended) post deadline. If you’re desperate, Quick could be worth a look, but don’t expect too much at this point.

So, by my count you’d have to move on from 11 players. Right off the bat the only goalie I’d probably consider keeping is Stuart Skinner. Carter Hart is an option, too, but I think it’s going to be a while before the Philadelphia Flyers are strong again. There’s no guarantee Ilya Samsonov re-signs in Toronto and both Sergei Bobrovsky and Jeremy Swayman aren’t worth a spot.

Then I think you could move on from Dmitry Orlov, Noah Hanifin and Kirby Dach, plus Pavel Buchnevich and Arturri Lehkonen. They’re good players but you have better options on your roster. So, that leaves two more. I think then it’s probably Neal Pionk and Tom Wilson if your league doesn’t have hits. If it does, I’d probably keep Wilson over Elias Lindholm.

Not easy choices at all but a good problem to have.

Normally I prefer to carry three goalies to protect you in case of injury and to hit your minimums, but that gets a little less important this late in the season. You could probably get away with just using Tristan Jarry and Igor Shesterkin, and then just adding streaming options when needed. Come the playoffs a goalie could start only once or twice and with a tough matchup, so sometimes it’s more effective to leave yourself flexible. Still, I think Skinner could be an interesting option to add if he completely takes the job over again.

Talked about Gustafsson earlier and I think Luke Schenn falls into a similar category. Schenn played quite a bit with Quinn Hughes on the Vancouver Canucks and received fairly heavy minutes, something he likely won’t see with the Maple Leafs. Schenn figures to be on the third pair or the teams seventh defenceman. He’ll still be effective for hits but his numbers will likely drop.

Depending on how many players you can keep, essentially anyone in the top 30 or 40 in scoring league wide would make sense. Also look at category specialists that provide a lot of offence. If your league has hits for example, think about someone like Tom Wilson that has the ability to produce offence while piling up the hits. Lastly, have a look through your waiver wire to see if any talented players that have big injuries were dropped. Cole Caufield comes to mind there.

If your league has hits, I’d probably keep Anders Lee. He can run hot and cold, but his offensive upside combined with the hits make him valuable in leagues with that category. As for your defence, I don’t see either Cam Fowler or Owen Power as a big upgrade there, although Fowler is playing pretty well right now. You might be better keeping Tony DeAngelo and then if he goes downhill post deadline, maybe use that as a streaming spot.

He could have some value next season for sure, but I don’t think you can carry five goalies going forward and I wouldn’t drop any of your others for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Buffalo Sabres netminder struggled mightily last month and you’d be better off adding another skater to your roster for some balance with all the goalies you have.

I wouldn’t drop Brandon Hagel if it can be avoided. He’s in a loaded top-six and has been pretty consistent all year.

I’d also hold onto Vladimir Tarasenko for longer to see how Patrick Kane’s addition boosts the New York Rangers top six. They might have the most loaded top two lines in hockey right now and I wouldn’t be removing anyone from that group unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Possibly a slight boost, but I don’t see either Nino Niederreiter or Rasmus Sandin being major difference makers down the stretch. Niederreiter has only cleared 50 points once in his career and while very talented, Sandin really hasn’t provided much offence in Toronto. Granted, they’ll both be given bigger opportunities and larger roles, though I still think you should temper your expectations for each. Treat them as streamers if they get hot.

If I’m reading this right and you have only six teams in your league, your waiver wire is probably full of talented players. In that case, if it’s a one-year league, you could probably drop Johnny Gaudreau for someone playing a bit better at the moment.

Gustav Forsling isn’t a must hold. He’s effective for shots, hits, blocks and plus/minus, even if he isn’t a huge point producer. If your’re looking for an impact player in one category as opposed to someone that’s more balanced, you could definitely move on from Forsling.

With the first-round pick they acquired for Rasmus Sandin and suddenly a plethora of defencemen at their disposal, it’s possible they look to ship Justin Holl and that pick out for a scoring forward. Who knows what Kyle Dubas has up his sleeve.

I’d hold onto Filip Hronek after that somewhat surprising trade to the Canucks. I’m guessing he plays with Quinn Hughes, which should only help his point totals. Hronek is fairly effective for hits and does have some offensive upside, so if his numbers improve playing with Hughes, he’d be a good guy to have around in deep leagues.

It’s too early to drop Nik Ehlers just yet. He’s definitely struggling a bit, but looking at the glass half full, his ice time went back up significantly in his past two games. If that trend continues, he’ll start finding the score sheet again.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have had a bunch of injuries on defence this year, including Zach Werenski, Adam Boqvist, and now Vladislav Gavrikov missing time for trade-related reasons, and no one has really stepped up to take advantage of it in a major way. I’m not saying it’s impossible for Nick Blankenburg to do it, but attaching yourself to his rocket ship is unlikely to move the needle too much.

On the surface this deal seems fine, just be careful about that draft pick if it’s for next season. You wouldn’t want to miss out on a chance to draft Connor Bedard, who could be a keeper for the next 15 years. I think he’s going to go very high in drafts and people won’t regret taking him.

Lars Eller’s cap hit isn’t too crazy, so I’m sure if the Colorado Avalanche really wanted to, they could work Gabriel Landeskog back in. The question is, though, do they want to? Friday will be very telling if the Avs add a significant piece, as that might signal they plan to leave Landeskog out until the Stanley Cup playoffs. Either way, the fantasy playoffs are a week and a half away and Landeskog just started skating recently, so it might be more realistic to expect him back later in the fantasy season.

A major one. The Oilers have the best power play in the league by a mile that is clicking at a historic pace, and Barrie was quarterbacking it. He was on pace for 58 points, the second most of his career. Now he goes to a Nashville Predators team with the 25th-ranked power play, and he won’t even be on the first unit. Nashville is also 25th in goals for, while the Oilers are first in that category, too. Not good for Barrie at all.

It’s so tough to predict goalies from one-year to the next. Filip Gustavsson does look really good, though, and the Minnesota Wild are a very friendly team for goalies. His goals-against average and save percentage have been spectacular and he’ll likely be in a tandem again with Marc-Andre Fleury next season, so he should continue to get plenty of playing of time. Picking him will probably come with a bit of uncertainty because he doesn’t have a huge sample size in the NHL, but you definitely won’t find him on waivers in 2023-24.

I’d probably take my chances with Dmitry Orlov and Shayne Gostisbehere. Orlov looks pretty good so far playing with Charlie McAvoy and while I don’t love the move to the Carolina Hurricanes for Gostisbehere’s value, he can quarterback a power play. If he gets a shot on power play one for the Canes, he has a lot of upside.

At this point I’d say Martin Jones is too unreliable. Even at the best of times his numbers outside of wins weren’t good and he even lost the net recently to Philipp Grubauer. I wouldn’t really trust him in a playoff matchup where you don’t want your stats to get destroyed because of one ugly game.

I don’t think Ekholm will end up being a huge points guy, but as mentioned earlier, if Orlov continues playing alongside McAvoy, I think he could be worth holding. Eight points in four games since joining the Boston Bruins is certainly a good start.

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