Frozen Fantasy: Serious Offers

Uneven trade offers are the worst. Yet they seem to come in all the time. 

Or at least that's my perception.  

Sometimes I think the uneven ones numb us and make us lazy. We don't even want to look or try to tweak them to work. I think it's just the exhaustion of everything we've been through over the last few years. 

I know that's the case for me. I just don't have the energy. 

But some days, there are offers that really make you pause. On Sunday, I received one of those and an hour after I saw it, I had to say yes. 

My Cale Makar and Jake Guentzel for his Auston Matthews and Aaron Ekblad. 

I'll admit any offer asking me for Makar is an automatic no. I love D. I LOVE Makar. I was rolling my eyes until I saw who he was willing to give up. His best forward, and a Hart winner at that. 

This wasn't your bag of pucks for my eight-course meal offer. 

I respect his thinking and sincerity. That means something to me. Matthews is already performing at an elite level in this format, and I think he's going to continue to get better. Makar is great, but the Avs are hurt (again). And they need a real 2C to even out the load. 

Guentzel is good. Is he going to be better than he was last season? Maybe, maybe not. Ekblad is the weak link, but right now he's underperforming relative to his ability. 

I said yes because I feel the floor of this deal is break-even. And I think the potential ceiling leans toward me. Mind you, I'm sure he thinks the same. 

His risk is a little higher because his need is a little greater – he's fighting for the last playoff spot, while I'm in the middle of the eight-team hunt. 

Still, I think we both win here. I hope we both accomplish our goals.

Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week. 

Lukas Dostal, G, Anaheim (1 percent Yahoo!) – Dostal won't be unrostered for long. On Saturday, he stacked the pads 46 times in a 4-3 win over the Oilers and the entire NHL took notice. He's long been the goalie-of-the-future with the Quackers, but that timeline has been accelerated. John Gibson remains sidelined and Anthony Stolarz is on the IR. Dostal doesn't exactly have a great team in front of him to help his development, but he showed Saturday there are times he can do it alone. Dostal has shown enough to get more starts when John Gibson returns late this week. 

Brandon Hagel, LW/RW, Tampa Bay (34 percent Yahoo!) – Hagel has been here before, so I won't take much time. He's a first-line, PP1 winger on a five-game, nine-point streak that includes five snipes. On an elite team. Surrounded by and skating with elite linemates. I'll stop now. 

Alex Kerfoot, LW/RW/C, Toronto (4 percent Yahoo!) – There's a huge drop-off in production from the Leafs' big four to Michael Bunting, and then a similar big drop to Kerfoot. So why is he here then? There have been recent signs of life in his game. Kerfoot scored twice Tuesday against the Ducks and has eight points (three goals, five assists) in nine games heading into this week. He's really clicking with Pierre Engvall and David Kampf on the Leafs' third line and that trio was the team's best on Thursday. And he saw some time alongside Auston Matthews on Saturday. I don't expect long-term value here, but Kerfoot can help as a spot starter in a deep league.

Adam Lowry, C, Winnipeg (16 percent Yahoo!) – Lowry's four-game, four-point scoring streak (two goals, two assists) was snapped Saturday night, but he still has seven points in his last eight games. And he's won 53.6 percent of his face-offs (67 wins). The Jets have to juggle their power-play units with Blake Wheeler out for a while and Lowry will get a shot on the second crew. He might be a stealth fantasy surprise. 

Sonny Milano, LW/RW, Washington (1 percent Yahoo!) – There are a lot of Caps on this list – you see a lot of details while waiting on the Alex Ovechkin record. Milano's three-assist game Saturday was a bit lucky – there were a few broken plays in there. But there's potential fantasy value in bit players who are also waiting on the Great Eight. Milano is on the second line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and has seven assists over his last six games. Three of those helpers have been on the PP. Right now, that's the fantasy difference between him and teammate Anthony Mantha (10 percent Yahoo!), who also has seven point in six. No PP time despite a gig with Ovechkin. I like both, but Milano has the edge for now. 

Dmitry Orlov, D, Washington (35 percent Yahoo!) – Check your wire. Now. Orlov was an out-of-sight, out-of-mind guy because he missed about half of the Caps' games so far. He came back a week ago, immediately logged 21:29 and put up two assists in his first outing. And heading into Saturday, Orlov had three points (one goal, two assists) in three games along with 13 shots, five hits and four blocks. He added six more blocks and another hit Saturday against the Leafs. He's a gift if you can scoop him up. 

Conor Sheary, LW/RW, Washington (7 percent Yahoo!) – Can you use a top-line winger who rides shotgun beside Alex Ovechkin on the Caps' top line and gets time on PP2? Thought so. Since the start of December, he's notched eight points (three goals, five assists) across nine games, and half have come with the man-advantage. Not sure you need more info than that. 

Sam Steel, LW/C, Minnesota (7 percent Yahoo!) – The Wild certainly didn't envision Steel as their top-line center when they inked him to a one-year deal in August. He came to Minny to resurrect his career, and here he is between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Steel is a great skater who thinks the game at a high level. He's gritty and greasy in possession, and is happy to work the crease despite his sub-6-foot size. And at 24, he might finally be growing into his scouting report. Steel had a goal and five assists, including one on the PP, in his last five games. The Wild need production from the 1C spot and Steel could keep the gig for a bit. No one else has worked there, so roll the dice. I just did. 

Conor Timmins, D, Toronto (2 percent Yahoo!) – Timmins is finally showing off the skills that made him an early second-round pick by the Avs in 2017. His ice time has started to grow with each game played and he's on a three-game, five-assist streak coming out of Saturday. Morgan Rielly will be back soon and Timmins will likely slip into the D7 role when that happens. But right now, he can plug in short-term and help. And who knows what will come with that blue line – it seems like the infirmary a little too much. 

James van Riemsdyk, LW/RW, Philadelphia (7 percent Yahoo!) – van Riemsdyk is another out-of-sight, out-of-mind guy because of injury. He came back and exploded with a four-point game last Sunday against the 'Yotes, and followed it up with another goal Tuesday against the Avs. He has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 12 games and is on PP1. JVR might be slower than ever, but he hasn't lost his hands. He's worth a look in deep leagues – even first-line guys on bad teams are valuable in those formats. 

Back to serious offers. And achieving your goals. 

We need to reframe how we look at trades. Instead of trying to outright win every deal, I believe we need to look at deals that work for both sides. No matter your format.

That's where serious offers come in. That's where you build trust and earn respect. 

And it's that trust and respect that will help you achieve your goals. Because there will come a day when you need a trade partner more than they need you. But they'll be more likely to entertain you because you didn't waste their time peddling pucks earlier in the year.

Until next week.