Stock Rising - This is where you'll find players that you may find on your waiver wire or sitting on your bench. These are players that could bring in big returns if traded now. Ultimately, its up to you whether you believe they'll stay valuable or if you should try to cash in on them now. I wouldn't recommend dropping an established player to acquire these players. These are guys that ideally, would round out the bottom half of your roster.
Buy Low - Players in this section don't mean you should try to sell them or just flat out waive them. All of the players in this section are players that are in a slump and you should try to trade for. These are guys that are talented and will come around eventually.
Sell - If these players are on your team, you're much better off checking the waiver wire or trading them.
Stock Rising
Pekka Rinne (35%) - Making his third and final appearance in the Fantasy Factor Stock Market report is Rinne. I just don't get it. I said way back in December that this guy was an emerging star and he still has a lower ownership level than Manny Legace, Pascal Leclaire and Jimmy Howard. This month he's 7-2 with a 1.96 GAA.
(Photo by Mark Humphrey / AP)
Alexandre Burrows (28%) - In addition to be a point per game player over the past couple weeks since being united with the Sedin twins, he's also a great source of PIM. He's a bit of a gamble pickup in points, but he'll always get you the PIM you need.
Tomas Plekanec (63%) - The Habs may be falling apart, but Plkanec doesn't seem to notice. He has 5 goals in his last 5 games and every bit like the sniper Montreal thought they had all season.
Matt Cullen (14%) - Since taking over as the Canes second line center, Cullen has been on fire scoring 14 points in his last 13 games. I wouldn't expect his success to last and to be honest I'm surprised its lasted as long as it has, but he may not be a bad rental player while he's hot.
Jaroslav Halak (5%) - If you were unsuccessful in your attempt to acquire Carey Price, don't worry, right now Halak is the man in Montreal. The skidding Canadiens have won 3 of their last 4 with him in goal and he did himself a big favor last night with a shutout victory in Vancouver.
Buy Low
Dustin Brown - My favorite "nobody knows about him yet" player is currently away from the team while his wife gives birth to their child. Before he left though, he started a hot streak that scored him 7 points in his last 5 games. This kid has a world of talent and would be the perfect fit for the Pens top line with Crosby. In the meantime, he'll have to keep lighting the lamp for the "never on TV" Kings
Ales Hemsky - He only has one point in his last four games, but for most of the season he has been a pretty consistent point producer and now is the time to steal him away while he's on a mini-slump.
Simon Gagne - Over the past three months, Gagne has become the forgotten man in Philly. After starting off the season on fire, Gagne now has just 4 goals in the last two months. Help may be on the way for Gagne though with the return of Daniel Briere. Briere was Gagne's center when he was on fire in the beginning so this could be the boost he needs to get back into his usual form.
Andy McDonald - He's back and he looks every bit as good as he was before he got injured. He's a great source of power play points and assists. He's available in 68% of ESPN leagues, so you may not even need to swing a deal for him.
Sell
Markus Naslund - I like him, but I just don't see it happening for him. Just 18 goals and 18 assists this year isn't cutting it. I wouldn't recommend just dropping him, but try to package him up with someone else and try to get a quality player in return.
Erik Cole - You may want to wait until after the trade deadline to drop him, but he's been a horrible disappointment this season for the Oilers and for his owners. Cole's name is mentioned in a lot of trade rumors, but I think it'll take more than a change of address to get him jump started.
Brad Richards - He'll miss most if not all of the remainder of the regular season. Its safe to say he can be dropped.
Petr Sykora - Miro Satan was on the last Sell list on the stock market report and this time its the other under achieving Penguins winger. He has one goal in the last seven games and Shero is talking about extending him? Hmmm, I hope he's willing to play for free.
Posted
Feb 25 2009, 12:18 PM
by
Nick Fruscello