Fantasy: 5 moves you need to make in Week 18

Every Monday, theScore offers a weekly fantasy hockey column detailing a handful of moves you should make. This edition focuses on Week 18. Ownership percentages and position eligibility are courtesy of Yahoo.

Add Tyler Toffoli

Team: Kings
Position: LW/RW
Ownership: 10%

Toffoli seems like a lock to be moved before the Feb. 24 trade deadline. The 27-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent and the Kings are clearly sellers.

Whichever team trades for Toffoli will likely acquire him to play a second-line right-wing role - the same he's currently playing in Los Angeles. However, on a club with playoff aspirations, he'll likely get to play with better linemates than Adrian Kempe and an aging Jeff Carter.

Toffoli is having a respectable season with 14 goals and 30 points in 56 games. He's also tied for 17th in the league in expected goals at five-on-five (11). If he were to wind up in, let's say, Calgary, he could explode down the stretch skating with someone like Matthew Tkachuk, for example.

Sell high on Elvis Merzlikins

Team: Blue Jackets
Position: G
Ownership: 76%

Merzlikins is the biggest story in the NHL right now. The rookie netminder has five shutouts in his last nine games and has sported a .962 save percentage during that span. He leads the league in both save percentage (.930) and shutouts (five).

It may sound crazy to trade a player who may have saved your season, but Merzlikins' value is at its peak right now. The 25-year-old looks to have a bright future, but his play of late is unsustainable. He's due to come down to earth a bit at some point.

Additionally, the Blue Jackets will be without top defenseman Seth Jones indefinitely and are also missing a handful of other important pieces.

You shouldn't necessarily trade Merzlikins for the best offer you can get, but if someone in your league is desperate for a goalie and is willing to pay the price, don't be afraid to let Elvis leave the building.

To be clear, Merzlikins should only be shopped in re-draft leagues, not keeper formats.

Add Damon Severson

Team: Devils
Position: D
Ownership: 15%

If you're a Seth Jones fantasy owner and in need of a replacement, turn to Severson. The Devils blue-liner is riding a six-game point streak with two goals and four assists. Four of those points have come with the man advantage, where he quarterbacks New Jersey's top unit. He's also averaging 25 minutes per night during this six-game stretch.

Add Kevin Fiala

Team: Wild
Position: LW/RW
Ownership: 17%

Fiala has been red-hot of late, potting four goals and adding three assists in his last four games. He played a season-high 19:55 on Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche, which showed a growing trust between Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau and the 23-year-old Swiss forward.

Buy low on Brady Tkachuk

Team: Senators
Position: LW
Ownership: 79%

Tkachuk is already a valuable commodity in leagues that reward hits and penalty minutes, but he could begin to produce more offense down the stretch. The 20-year-old is third in the NHL in expected goals, behind Alex Ovechkin and Sebastian Aho, with 24.1. He only has 16 goals on the season, so the numbers would indicate he's bound to start finding twine more as the campaign goes on.

Tkachuk has just three goals and four assists in his last 17 games, so his owner may be willing to part ways with him for below market value.

(Analytics source: Natural Stat Trick)

Josh Wegman has been theScore's resident fantasy hockey expert since 2015. Find him on Twitter @JoshWegman_.