NHL Trade Tips: Trade Malkin

Happy Thanksgiving to all! The NHL has passed the quarter mark in the regular season, and head-to-head leagues are at the one-third mark of the campaign. By now, you should know what your strengths and weaknesses are and should wheel-and-deal appropriately.

Here are some players that you could deal for and trade elsewhere.

TRADE FOR

Pavel Buchnevich, W, Blues (48 percent rostered)

The Blues changed head coaches this week, firing Drew Bannister and hiring former Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery. This is good news for Buchnevich, who got along quite well with Montgomery when the new coach was an assistant with the Blues under Craig Berube. Buchnevich had only five goals, eight assists, 11 hits and 39 shots on goal in 22 games under Bannister, but he managed to score once (albeit into the empty net), have four shots on goal and four hits in a 5-2 win over the Rangers on Monday. Buchnevich sees first-line time and first power-play duty with the Blues, and he had 206 points in 216 games with the Blues ahead of this season.

Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Buchnevich for Brenden Dillon.

Carter Verhaeghe, C, W, Panthers, (93 percent rostered)

After a pair of 70-plus point seasons, Verhaeghe got off to a slow start this season with nary a point in his first four games. The 29-year-old then got a bit hot with 12 points in 11 games, before slowing down with one assist in five games. He now has a goal and an assist over his last two games. Verhaeghe has been uncharacteristically bad in plus/minus this season, as he is a minus-18, including a minus-14 in his last seven games. He has been a plus-75 over his last four seasons, so this reversal should change. I would expect Verhaeghe to start breaking loose very quickly, and he should begin producing on the power play, where he has only one assist in his last eight games.

Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Verhaeghe for Fabian Zetterlund.

Jeremy Swayman, G, Bruins (98 percent rostered)

Swayman is starting to come around, as the Boston netminder has given up only two goals on 34 shots (.941 save percentage) over his last two games. Swayman was put behind the eight-ball at the start of the season after he missed all of training camp as a RFA holdout. It cost him and the Bruins dearly, as he was 5-7-2 with a 3.47 GAA and an .884 save percentage until Nov. 18. His worst numbers coming into this season was a 2.53 GAA -- set last season -- and a .914 save percentage during the 2021-22 campaign. Swayman is an outstanding goaltender, and the hope is that he has finally turned the corner this season.

Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Swayman and Matthew Tkachuk for Matt Duchene and Filip Gustavsson.

TRADE AWAY

Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Hurricanes (84 percent rostered)

Kochetkov is a strong goaltender, but he is too injury-prone to keep. Kochetkov is 1-2-0 with a 2.43 GAA and a .904 save percentage. While his win totals and GAA are good, his save percentage is average at best. Kochetkov is currently out with a concussion he suffered in overtime Saturday, and he will likely be out of action for at least this week. While he has been fairly healthy this season, he suffered a concussion last season and that has me worried about how easy it may be for another concussion to occur.

Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Kochetkov for Sergei Bobrovsky.

Evgeni Malkin, C, Penguins (70 percent rostered)

Malkin got off to a great start, but he has faltered of late. The 38-year-old had 11 points over his first five games, but outside of three multi-point games between Oct. 26 and Nov. 8, he has been relatively quiet since then. Malkin has five goals and 15 assists in 23 appearances this season, but the Russian has two assists over his last 11 games with a minus-11 rating. He has only one power-play point over his last eight games and only a goal and an assist on the power play across his last 18 contests. Malkin is a nice player, but he is not close to being the superstar he was in past years.

Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Malkin for Artturi Lehkonen.

Aliaksei Protas, C, W, Capitals (22 percent rostered)

Protas was a nice pickup a few weeks ago as he was playing alongside Alex Ovechkin. However, Protas has not picked up a point over his last three games, coincidently the exact amount of contests that Ovechkin has missed with a broken fibula. Protas has seven goals and 18 points in 21 games this season, and while that seems like outstanding production -- and it is -- Ovechkin is out another 3-5 weeks, and that is too long to go without the superstar on your wing. Protas also doesn't see any time on the power play, so if you are able to get rid of him, now is the time.

Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Protas and an eighth-round pick for Wyatt Johnston and a 15th round pick.