At this point of the season, you should know if you’re a contender for your fantasy championships, in need of a rebuild, or if you’re simply treading water.

If you’re already out of contention but believe you have a contending team for next season, it’s a shrewd time to start making some moves. In this case, your focus should be either on teams that are rebuilding but have some veterans they may be looking to trade, or contending teams with players that aren’t doing so well.

Many fantasy leagues mimic the NHL and have their trade deadlines close to the NHL. With the NHL trade deadline about a month away, it’s a good time to start contacting your fellow fantasy general managers instead of waiting until your league gets trade fever and prices start rising.
Below are 10 older players whose trade values are low, but the players could rebound next season. No one under the age of 25 will be found on this list.

10. Patrick Kane
Kane is struggling mightily this season, but that’s to be expected when every Blackhawk with a bit of talent has been traded away. He is still putting up a 62-point pace, but he’s a free agent this summer and is expected to begin playing elsewhere next year. Many fantasy general managers who are close to a championship are holding on to Kane with the hope he will be traded to a contender at the deadline. That means it may not be as easy to acquire Kane as others on this list. However, a contending fantasy squad might be losing patience waiting for a trade, so you want to be ready to swoop in if the opportunity arises.

9. Bryan Rust
A few years ago, Rust became one of the biggest surprises in the league. He went from a bottom-six player into a top-six role due to all the injuries on the Penguins, and performed so well that he couldn’t be taken out of that role once everyone came back healthy. Since then, he’s had an 82-game pace of 83, 60 and 79 points. This year, he’s dropped to a 50-point pace despite spending most of the season with Sidney Crosby. There is some concern as he lost his spot on the top power-play unit and hasn’t been able to recover that role. Last year, he signed a six-year deal that pays him $5-million plus a year, so he should retain a top-six role for at least one more season.

8. Cam Talbot
Depending on the number of teams and keepers in your fantasy league, it can take a while to get a couple of number-one netminders. You have to overpay for the likes of Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin and Jake Oettinger. Top prospects are also usually grabbed, so forget about Yaroslav Askarov and Jesper Wallstedt. Even middle-of-the-road netminders and top backups are gone. Your best bet is to find a struggling netminder and hope you can acquire him for cheap. Talbot falls into this category. He’s been dealing with injuries, but he’s still a great option for next year. Despite his struggles this season, in the last 2.5 years, his 63 wins are tied for ninth in the league. And aside from Sergei Bobrovsky, every other netminder ahead of him has started 13 to 45 more games. He’s a UFA this offseason, so there’s a chance he goes to a contender next season and continues his winning ways.

7. Vladimir Tarasenko
Will this finally be the season that the Tank is traded out of St. Louis? It feels as if he’s been rumored to be moved in each of the last five seasons, but he keeps sticking around. No matter, as he is a UFA this offseason, so he may be on a new team next year even if the Blues can’t find a trade partner. Tarasenko has been an inconsistent player over the last few years, but he still has an 82-game pace of 63 points this year. That’s considered a down season but is still pretty decent. Can you count on a 70-point-plus season next year? That’s the question to be asking if you’re looking to trade for him.

6. Tyler Bertuzzi
Much of Bertuzzi’s value won’t be known until the summer when he becomes a UFA and is free to sign with any squad. His value might drastically increase this season if he is dealt to a powerhouse team at the trade deadline, so it’s smart to get him before that happens. He was rumored to be on the trade block in years past, and you have to believe that Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman will deal Bertuzzi if he can get a good offer. Bertuzzi was showing progression as his points-per-game mark had gone up each year until this season where it has dropped tremendously, from 0.91 points per game to 0.29. There are also his constant trips to the IR to worry about. However, the right landing spot in the offseason could lead to his first point-per-game season.

5. Aaron Ekblad
Was last season’s Florida Panthers offense a fluke? Jonathan Huberdeau finished with 115 points. Alexander Barkov reached 88 points despite playing 67 games. Sam Reinhart was a point-per-game player for the first time in his career, finishing with 82 points and crushing his previous high of 65. Four defensemen reached at least 37 points. Mason Marchment, Anton Lundell, Anthony Duclair, Carter Verhaeghe, etc. all performed greater than expected. Many of the Panthers (and former Panthers in some cases) are struggling this year, so maybe last year was a one-time thing. Ekblad is one of the most disappointing from last year’s team, as he’s dropped from a 77-point pace to a 48-point pace. That 48-point pace is pretty consistent with his production before last season. If you believe the 77-point pace was part of a larger one-season team wonder, you stay away. If you believe it was proof of how great Ekblad can be, you enquire about acquiring him.

4. Sean Couturier
The availability of Couturier in your league will vary greatly depending on how many injured reserve slots you have. He’s been out for the entire campaign so far, and rumors surfaced on the weekend that there is a chance he comes back this season. Whether he plays this year or not, you are hoping he can return next season and get back to the 70-point pace he had for four straight campaigns before his injuries started. He hasn’t played a game in 14 months, and if he’s out until October, that puts him out for 22 consecutive months. There have to be fantasy GMs out there that are frustrated with his lack of games, so you may be able to get him cheap.

3. Jonathan Huberdeau
Similar to the section about Ekblad, it may be tempting to believe last year was part of a “once-in-a-lifetime” season for Florida. The difference with Huberdeau is that he was elite before last season, as he had three straight years of a 90-plus point pace before last year’s “breakout” of 115. His first campaign in Calgary has not gone as great as many had hoped as he had a rough start to the season. Even though he has 24 points in his last 30 games, that can still be frustrating as anything below a point-per-game can’t be considered good enough for an elite player. Chalk this season up to a lost cause and hope he can be back to his old ways a year from now.

2. Jacob Markstrom
You might still need to overpay for Markstrom, but it won’t be as much as it would have cost last summer. Thanks to a dreadful season, it might never be cheaper to acquire Markstrom, especially if he is on a fantasy squad contending for a championship. That owner might be willing to move him for immediate help. Markstrom had a 37-15-9 record last year with nine shutouts. He already has 13 losses this season with zero shutouts. It’s frustrating as some coaches will let their netminders play through bad streaks, but Markstrom is losing starts to Daniel Vladar (just three starts for Markstrom – all losses – in the past eight games). However, you can’t expect that usage to continue next season.

1. Jack Eichel
It wasn’t too long ago that Eichel was considered elite, but he’s definitely taken a step back in that regard in the last few years. Injuries have played a large role in that. He’s missed at least 15 games in five of the past six seasons and has already missed 13 games this year. He’s only met the point-per-game mark in two of his eight years in the league, and not since 2019-20. He’s now pointless in his last five. If you believe he can get back to that “elite” status, this may be the best opportunity to buy low on Eichel.