The big trade of the past week was Quinn Hughes heading to Minnesota with Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick in 2026 going to Vancouver. It certainly overshadowed Tristan Jarry going to Edmonton with Stuart Skinner (and other pieces) headed to Pittsburgh. The deals result in lots of winners and losers on the respective teams, which should be considered when looking to make a deal this week.
Best of luck with your trades this week.
TRADE FOR
Dustin Wolf, G, Flames (87 percent rostered)
Wolf had a tough go of it Tuesday in a loss to the Sharks, but he had won four straight games while giving up six goals on 106 shots, regaining his hold on the top job in Calgary, as Devin Cooley had been threatening his spot. Wolf is 10-13-2 with a pair of shutouts this season, and, save for Tuesday's debacle against San Jose, he has played well of late.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Wolf for Beckett Sennecke. (Sennecke is a highly regarded rookie, but offensive players are a dime a dozen, and if you are able to get a starting NHL goaltender like Wolf, make the deal.)
Zeev Buium, D, Canucks (56 percent rostered)
Buium gets a big boost in his value after the trade to Vancouver. The just turned 20-year-old has outstanding offensive skills, and had a goal and an assist in his first game as a Canuck on Sunday. Buium will play for a team that likely won't make the playoffs, and Vancouver will let him play a lot and allow him to make his rookie mistakes without regard to the score. Buium has four goals and 16 points in 32 games, including 10 points with the man advantage, and should get between 40 and 45 points this season
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Buium an a seventh-round pick for Brent Burns and a third-round pick. (Buium will get huge minutes on the power play while the 40-year-old Burns has averaged 46 seconds of power play time this season and averaged only nine seconds of pp time in his last seven games. Heading into action Tuesday. The only way this trade makes a little bit of sense is if you play the plus/minus category.)
Matt Boldy, RW, Wild (100 percent rostered)
Boldy has found the back of the net four times in his last six games, plus he has five assists, giving him 19 goals and 38 points across 34 NHL games this season. Boldy has improved his point total in each of his four seasons in the NHL and is looking to smash his 73-point effort in 2024-25, as he is on pace for 92 points this season. He will be helped by the acquisition of Quinn Hughes to the power play.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Boldy, Kyle Connor and Brady Tkachuk for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (This has to be a give up deal in a dynasty league with Boldy, Connor and Tkachuk on the final years of their contracts and Nugent-Hopkins on a fresh and inexpensive contract. If not, the fantasy manager getting Nugent-Hopkins should look for another hobby.)
TRADE AWAY
Noah Dobson, D, Canadiens (96 percent rostered)
Dobson has a goal and an assist (both in the same game against the Blues on Dec. 7) in his last 11 games. The offensive thrust that the Canadiens had hoped for has been seen only on occasional nights, as Dobson has four goals and 18 points in 33 contests. He has really stumbled on the power play, as he is averaging a mere 1:30 of ice time, compared to 3:00 last season with the Islanders and 2:59 the year before. Dobson has only two helpers with the man advantage, so perhaps now is the time to deal the 25-year-old in fantasy pools.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Dobson and a second-round pick for Spencer Knight and a seventh-round pick. (Dobson does have some value based on his second to last season on Long Island, and Knight has been a stud goaltender since he was dealt from Florida to Chicago, ahead of the 2025 trade deadline.)
Auston Matthews, C, Maple Leafs (100 percent rostered)
Matthews had a strong game Tuesday with the game-tying goal and one assist, but the season has not gone well for the three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner. Matthews really seems to be missing Mitch Marner who left for Vegas as a UFA during the offseason. He has been better of late with five goals and nine points in his last nine games, but poolies are expecting more than 50 goals and 100 points in a season from Matthews, not 14 goals and 23 points in 27 appearances. He is a tough player to lose faith in, but perhaps it's time to cut bait. Don't forget that he is headed to the 2026 Olympics, which won't help his cause upon his return to the Maple Leafs lineup.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Matthews for Connor Hellebuyck. (There are so many fantasy managers trading Matthews at this time, and it ranges from Brayden Point to Dylan Larkin to Jack Hughes to Moritz Seider and finally Hellebuyck. There are so many multiplayer deals as well, as getting rid of Matthews seems like the thing to do ahead of Christmas.)
Gabriel Vilardi, RW, Jets (80 percent rostered)
Vilardi has been great since Oct. 23, when he had four assists in his first seven games. The talented winger, who benefits from playing alongside Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, has 16 goals and 26 points in 25 games, giving the Jets one of the top lines in the NHL. His previous best was 61 points set last season, and while he will smash that mark if he remains healthy, poolies should be able to get plenty for the first-line winger.
Example of a completed deal from the Yahoo Trade Market: Vilardi for Brayden Point. (Vilardi is having a career year, however, Point has been a stud the last three seasons before this one, averaging 89 points per year. He was off to a slow start this season, but he has two goals and five assists in his last four appearances.)
