Capped: Analyzing Potential Trade Targets like DeBrusk, Kessel, and Severson – Part 3

Jamie Molloy

2022-03-03

In this week's installment of 'Capped' I am going to be touching on a few more of the players that could have themselves wearing a new home uniform in the next couple of weeks after the NHL trade deadline concludes on March 21st. Like the title suggests, this will be the finale for this small series for the time being (unless by popular demand you want to see another part, if so please let me know) after discussing 12 different players that may have new homes. The list of excellent NHL talent is starting to dip a little bit and are becoming slightly less fantasy relevant. When we get into the week of the trade deadline there may be more names available, if that happens to be the case I'll try and touch on a couple of them in some sort of way. The others in this series can be viewed here.

Remember, before pursuing anything within your league please make sure that you understand the rules, the scoring, and the features that your league uses.

*None of these players have been officially traded as of yet, these are the ones that are believed to be on the move come the NHL trade deadline, and there is a reality where some do not end up being traded.*

#1) Jake DeBrusk – LW – Boston Bruins

Contract: $3.675M – 1 Year remaining (expires this summer)
Roster Percentages: 6.2% ESPN, 22% Yahoo, 28% Fantrax

Jake DeBrusk, the former first round draft pick has made it known that he is looking for a trade out of Boston this year. He hasn't really had a prime opportunity throughout his career to be able to do what he was known for when they drafted him, that being score goals. The moment they added Taylor Hall, it meant DeBrusk was the guy that would be demoted to the third line. Given Boston's lack of offensive depth on their third line, he wasn't really receiving a bunch of support. With DeBrusk currently having 24 points (14 goals and 10 assists) in 49 games this season, that would equate to a 40-point pace over a full 82 game season. That isn't necessarily great for a player that has played 293 games in their career and was selected 14th overall in 2015. You may be asking why I am writing about him then if these numbers aren't that great, well its because he has 9 points in his last 6 games with 7 of them being goals. The Bruins currently have DeBrusk slotted on the top line with Marchand and Bergeron, with Pastrnak on the second line with Haula and Hall. No matter what kind of skill a player has, if they are playing with elite players, they should always be considered fantasy relevant in some way. Acquiring a guy like DeBrusk is taking on a risk, but this is a safer risk to take in my eyes. This may just be what he's needed in his career to really take off. If he can get confidence going in this type of role and keep producing right before the deadline, he may be able to carry this to whatever team he may end up going to. He doesn't really over a lot of areas for category leagues outside of shots and potentially points, but if your league is a points league, he may be able to help generate down the stretch. Even if it is a categories league, he could be an injury replacement pickup with scoring potential given his rather low roster percentages.

#2) Phil Kessel – RW – Arizona Coyotes

Contract: $6.8M – 1 Year remaining (expires this summer)
Roster Percentages: 55.2% ESPN, 10% Yahoo, 35% Fantrax

When it comes to Phil Kessel, we all know who he is as a player, a speedy winger with a nose for scoring goals and putting up points. While he isn't having the best year in Arizona, I can't really blame the 34-year-old for having a down year on a team that has scored the fewest goals in the NHL this season with a league low of 122 goals in 53 games (2.3 goals per game). Given the Coyote's position in the standings, mixed with the direction that the franchise is looking to take (rebuild), I would expect a contending team to take a chance on Kessel at the deadline. He has shown in the past that he has what it takes to keep up with elite players when he has a supporting cast. He has two Stanley Cups to his name as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and he was a key member of those winning rosters. While I don't expect him to put up 90 points again, I would expect him to go to a contending team and immediately start putting up better numbers in the back half of the season. Like DeBrusk, outside of being a threat down the stretch for points and being a guy that likes to shoot the puck (112 shots in 53 games, 2.11 per game) he may not do too much outside of those areas along with average TOI (17:12 minutes per game). So far on the year Kessel has 33 points (6 goals and 27 assists) in his 53 games played, with a shooting percentage of 5.4% this season. That is 5.5% lower than his career average, expect that number to improve down the stretch to some extent. If Kessel can get better linemates than who he is currently playing with (Crouse and Galchenyuk) I would expect him to start scoring more. Something to note is that Kessel has the second longest active 'iron-man' streak in the NHL with 947 consecutive games played, so at worst he is someone that hasn't been too banged up as of late.

#3) Mike Hoffman – LW/RW – Montreal Canadiens

Contract: $4.5M – 3 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: 49.5% ESPN, 13% Yahoo, 38% Fantrax

Hoffman, like Kessel and DeBrusk would be a fine add through your league's free agency given his low roster percentages or through a relatively cheap trade given the cap-hit that he carries along with the production that he has had this year. Mixed with the idea of there is uncertainty as to what team he goes to and what position he gets with said team, he may be a riskier option, but he still carries name value if you were looking to flip him at the deadline or if you were looking for a potential depth scoring option. Hoffman hasn't necessarily been thriving in Montreal this season, but when you look at the team's stats, there really hasn't been a bright spot on that roster all year long. Montreal has averaged just 2.35 goals per game (127 goals in 53 games), their powerplay is the 31st ranked in the NHL with an abysmal 12.26% on the season so far. Nobody has been excelling in Montreal this year. Hoffman currently has 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points across his 39 games played this year (37 points in an 82-game pace). While these numbers aren't exactly attractive, he is a guy that could probably be obtained for a low price in a trade, he could be a free agent like I said earlier, and he is a guy that carries term on his contract as well. So, if he does get traded to another team, he could very well rebound and become 20-25 goal scorer and 55+ point player that we all remember him being. If that does become a reality, that sort of production for $4.5M isn't exactly horrible.

#4) Damon Severson – D – New Jersey Devils

Contract: $4.166M – 2 Years remaining
Roster Percentages: 25.5% ESPN, 34% Yahoo, 64% Fantrax
First and foremost, I am genuinely shocked that he isn't owned in more leagues across the big three fantasy platforms. For a player at his position that has 31 points (7 goals and 24 assists) in 52 games (48-point pace in a full 82-game season) on a team that is tied for sixth worst in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators, he really should be rostered more. If he is a free agent in your league, he is worth considering picking up, but he is also a valuable trading asset as well. He is 8 points shy of tying a career best of 39 points which he had in a full 82-game season back in the 2018-19 season, let me remind you that he is close to tying that career high in 30 less games. With the Devils having other players on the points like Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Graves, Ty Smith, Luke Hughes (currently playing for Michigan in the NCAA), they could be enticed to move Severson at the deadline seeing how they are underperforming this season. Of the guys on their blue line, he is the one who is most likely to go in my eyes given his production, his contract, his term, and his overall defensive ability. He would most likely warrant the largest return of the ones who are likely to be moved. Currently averaging 23:27 minutes of TOI this season he leads the team in that category, and yes that is including the likes of Dougie Hamilton. If Severson does get moved at the deadline, expect him to go to a team that is looking to fill a hole on their second defensive pairing. Severson also has 63 blocks and 54 hits this season, so just over 1 per game for each of those areas, while that isn't elite production in that regard, it is average. He can produce in multiple areas, definitely worthy of adding for the right price.

While none of these players have been officially traded as of yet, there is a lot of speculation that they will end up in a new home after the trade deadline as concluded on March 21st. There is going to be plenty of players moved on and around the deadline, these are just the ones that I feel will benefit fantasy managers going forward.

If you want to have any questions answered or interact with me please feel free to interact with me on the forums or in the comments of the articles, or on Twitter @JamieMolloy_DH.

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