Ten Players I’m Selling For The Second Half

If you didn’t see the list of players that I’m buying for the second half, you can check that out here.  Let’s get right into my list of ten players that I’m selling!

1) Jack Eichel – Eichel is playing at a career high points pace, but there are some underlying concerns.  His assist totals are being buoyed by secondary assists.  In fact, Eichel’s secondary assist rate is more than double the rate of eight of his other nine NHL seasons, and that one season was only 21 games played.  Compared to his previous three seasons for Vegas, Eichel is getting more than one secondary assist per 60 minutes extra this season.  That’s pushing 30 extra secondary assists, a number that is completely unsustainable.  Add in that he went from over four shots per game to three shots per game and it would be shocking for Eichel to maintain this pace.  While he should be very good, he’s been a top ten forward and I’d be shocked if he’s a top 20 forward the rest of the season.

2) Brayden Point – Sometimes it’s as simple as Point can’t shoot 32% forever.  Even for a guy who regularly has a very high shooting percentage, this is insanity.  He’s down to under 2.5 shots per game which is also discouraging.  Given his poor hits and PIM, there’s potential for a rough stretch here.  Point should avoid that playing with Kucherov, but this pace is impossible to maintain.

3) Sergei Bobrovsky – Out of goalies that have played at least 15 games, Bobrovsky is 33rd out of 40 in GSAA.  His save percentage is sitting below .900 now and it’s solely a matter of poor play.  Yes, we’ve seen Bob get on long heaters before, but the Florida blue line is much worse now than before.  He should be a middling #2 goalie in 12’ers just for wins, but I’m not expecting a turnaround in his ratios.

4) Lukas Dostal – Dostal is second in the league in GSAA, which shows how elite that he’s been so far this year.  The problem is that even with that, Dostal has a .914 sv% and won less than half of his starts.  If his level of play drops a bit, which is to be expected (only Hellebuyck can be expected to approach this elite level long term), Dostal could easily turn into a 3.00/.900 goalie.  Push comes to shove, I probably wouldn’t hold him in a 12’er, although it is close.

5) Brandt Clarke – I love Clarke’s talent, and he’s been a top 25 defenseman so far this season.  The problem here is twofold.  One, his minutes have been gradually decreasing lately.  Two, Doughty is going to be back by the end of January.  I don’t trust the Los Angeles coaching staff to keep Clarke on the top power play, and to give him the necessary minutes to be a fantasy hold.  I’m keeping him for now, but if I had to guess, I would predict Clarke ends up on the waiver wire in 12’ers at some point this season.

6) Patrick Kane – There are a few different types of sells.  Some are superstars who are having good luck.  Some are players who are going to have their role diminish.  In Kane’s case, it’s a player that’s underachieving and there are no signs of it turning around.  Kane does have five points in four games with McClellan, but his minutes are worrisome.  Playing with Copp is a huge drop off at center as well.  The only way I could potentially see Kane ending up a hold again is if he’s traded to the perfect spot.  More than likely, he’s stuck as a middling streamer.

7) Brady Skjei – Like Kane, Skjei has struggled mightily this season.  I was hoping that Skjei would maintain his Carolina level in Smashville, if not improve with big minutes.  Instead, he’s been atrocious.  It doesn’t matter for fantasy, but last season, Skjei had 36 giveaways.  This year, he already has 50.  He’s still owned in around 50% of leagues, but I have no interest outside of the deepest of leagues.

8) Mikael Granlund – After a hot start, Granlund really cooled off in December, not only in points, but in shot rate too.  While the workload is still there, Celebrini’s return has put more of a focal point on his line and on Celebrini on the power play.  There’s also a chance that Granlund is traded, which would completely torpedo his value.  I had him as a hold in my last hold/stream list, but now I lean towards elite streamer with downside.

9) Josh Norris – You look at Norris still on the point of the top unit and playing with Giroux and think that it could get better.  Then you see that Norris has only eight assists and his 14 goals are a result of him shooting 20% and I can’t understand why he’s owned in over 60% of leagues.  Pinto moved onto a line with Tkachuk now, and I have Norris as a middling streamer at best.  I’m really not interested at all.

10) Rasmus Andersson – I’m a huge fan of Andersson as a player, and he got off to an incredible start for the Flames.  In his last 27 games, he has six points.  Yes, he blocks a ton of shots, but why is he owned in 95% of leagues?  He’s a streamer for blocks at best in anything with 14 or fewer teams.  Perhaps a trade can reinvigorate him, but I don’t see him being moved.  For now, Andersson is clear waiver bait.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!