It’s no secret that fantasy general managers overvalue youth.

Give a GM the choice between two equal players, but one is a 22-year-old and one a 35-year-old, odds are the fantasy general manager will choose the younger player. 

This creates a disparity in a player’s fantasy value. Since more fantasy general managers value youth over age, younger players are generally more expensive to trade for, and older players can usually be acquired for a lower price. 

Put it this way: Who would cost more to acquire in your league, Nick Suzuki or Vincent Trocheck? Just compare the two:

Suzuki: 17 goals, 31 assists, 49 points, seven power-play goals, 23 power-play points, 115 shots, minus-14, 20 PIM, 414 faceoff wins, 50 hits, 24 blocked shots

Trocheck: 15 goals, 32 assists, 47 points, nine power-play gals, 17 power-play points, 125 shots, plus/minus zero, 41 PIM, 575 faceoff wins, 100 hits, 47 blocked shots

The only significant advantage Suzuki has is in power-play points and his age (24 years old versus Trocheck’s 30). 

If you’re looking to contend for a championship, your best bet may be to trade for those older players.

With the NHL trade deadline fast approaching, so too is the trade deadline in fantasy leagues. Below are 10 older players that can help you win a fantasy championship – players that should be easier to acquire than their younger counterparts. For the purposes of this article, an 'older player' is at least 30 years old. 

Keep in mind that we're looking for players you might be able to get at a discount. So, players such as Nikita Kucherov, J.T. Miller, Artemi Panarin and Victor Hedman won't be listed, even though they are all in their 30s. 

10. Blake Coleman

If you have Coleman and you are out of the running, you should already be making inquiries to trade him. The 32-year-old forward has 21 goals, one off his career high. His 43 points are already an all-time best, as is his plus-24. His shooting percentage of 17.2 dwarfs last year’s 9.6% and is significantly better than his previous high of 11.5%. He’s also doing all this with very little power-play time. If you’re going for a championship in a keeper league, you trade for him with the idea it’s a pure rental for this season. 

9. Jack Campbell 

It was widely reported how much Campbell struggled when he was sent to Bakersfield early this season, but he’s been playing great hockey in the minors for the past month. Since December 30, Campbell has a 6-2 record with a 2.25 GAA and a .933 SV%. With those numbers, he could be due for a call-up soon, which would put him back on the radar of fantasy general managers. There’s also a chance Campbell will be dealt by the Oilers before the deadline. He’s still owed $5 million per season for the three years after this one, so if a team does trade for him, it will be with the intention of giving him playing time. A call-up or a trade will boost his value, so it’s best to get him dirt cheap now if you can and hope for the best. If he struggles in his first game or two, he’s an easy drop and didn’t cost you a lot. 

8. Ryan O’Reilly

O’Reilly has been having a resurgence in Nashville, on pace for 69 points. That is his highest pace since 2020-21, when his production in the shortened season translated to 79 points over 82 games. With 18 goals, he’s only 10 off his career high. He’s averaging 2.4 shots per game, his highest since 2018-19. He’s a beast with the man advantage, with 19 power-play points – only five off his all-time best. Maybe the most surprising aspect of O’Reilly’s usage this season is his offensive zone starting percentage, which is at 57.3%. That is a significant increase from last year’s 44.2%, and easily the highest of his career. 

7. Matt Duchene

There may have been some concern with Duchene heading into the season. Going to a new team, there was plenty of preseason talk that he would center the Stars’ third line, limiting his value. Instead, he has spent most of the season on the second line with Tyler Seguin, and is a fixture on the second power-play unit. It’s led the 33-year-old Duchene to 48 points in 51 games, a 77-point pace. Dallas is the third highest-scoring team in the league, only 0.03 goals per game behind the league-leading Canucks. If you believe that the Stars can keep up that offensive force, then it’s worth looking into Duchene. 

6. Charlie Coyle

Two years ago, Coyle finished with 44 points. Last year, he had 45. This season, he’s again at 45 points. The big difference is that in the last two years, it took him 82 games to reach that point total. This year, he’s done it in 52 games. That’s what happens when you go from a bottom-six role to a top-six line. He’s playing alongside Brad Marchand at even strength, while also getting looks on the top power-play unit at times. The 31-year-old Coyle’s 10-game point streak was snapped on Saturday night, but he has 24 points in his last 20 games. 

5. Mark Stone

I’m in a points-only keeper league, where we keep 15 players (any position) plus two rookies. Each October, we have a five-round draft consisting of about 60 players. Last October, Stone was dropped and available in our draft. I grabbed Stone with my last pick, 58th overall. Many of my fellow GMs shied away from him because of the concern about his injury history (he only had 38 and 30 points in each of the last two years). The 31-year-old Stone has been excellent this year, with 51 points in 52 games, and no missed games as of yet. If you trade for him, you’re betting on his health, but it could be worth the gamble. 

4. Anze Kopitar            

For the fourth time in the past five years, Kopitar is on pace for at least 70 points. The one season he failed to meet that mark, he had an 82-game pace of 68 points. He’s been fairly consistent in points over this past half-decade, but the rest of his numbers this season are also fairly consistent with the last few years: 1.8 shots per game, plus-15, six power-play goals, 14 power-play points and 11 faceoff wins per game. At the age of 36, many fantasy general managers may be waiting for his decline, but you can expect him to stay consistent for the rest of this year. 

3. Jonathan Marchessault

After Sunday’s action, the Vegas forward had 26 goals, tied for 12th in the league. He also had 178 shots, tied for 13th. He might end up flirting with 40 goals this season. His career high is 30 goals, so he seems like a sure bet to beat that mark. He’s also on pace for 66 points, the fourth-straight campaign he’s been on pace for 60-plus points. Marchessault is on a hot streak, with 13 points in his last nine games. The 33-year-old also has 12 power-play points, and is averaging slightly more than a hit per contest. He’s been a pretty constant and underrated player over the last few years.

2. John Tavares

The Leafs forward is having a disappointing season, with only 40 points in 50 games. That’s a 66-point pace, his worst pace since his rookie campaign of 2009-10 when he finished with a 54-point pace. Tavares has been having some poor luck this year. He’s averaging 3.7 shots per contest, the highest of his career, but his shooting percentage is 8.1%, easily the lowest. If he shot his career average, he'd have 24 goals instead of 15, and would be slightly under a point per game. A couple of weeks ago, Tavares was at the top of my list of Top 10 Players with Low Individual Points Percentage (the percentage of points that a player gets a point on a goal scored while he is on the ice). Tavares’ IPP at the time was far below his normal levels. Since then, he has picked up a point on five of the six goals scored while on the ice, so the rebound has already begun. 

1. Alexander Ovechkin

The time to buy low on Ovechkin may be long gone, but you still may be able to get him cheap as a lot of fantasy general managers are frustrated with the Capitals forward. Ovechkin has goals in five straight games, and has 16 points in his last 15 contests. In that time, he also has 43 shots, five power-play points and 19 hits. His only negative is that he was a minus-six in that time, but that’s more indicative of poor netminding rather than defensive lapses by the team. Ovi is not the beast he was in his prime, but at age 38, he can still go on streaks that will win you a championship.