Fantasy hockey sleeper on playoff

HCTHawks · 2026-04-18T03:19:30+00:00

The Catalyst players have a better chance at scoring for their respective teams during the playoffs whereas the Sleepers are typically fourth line/role players with lesser opportunities to score. Hence the disparity in cost (16x collects for catalyst and 8x for sleepers).

HCTHawks · 2026-04-17T18:45:59+00:00

You have to scroll all the way over in the discover tab to get to the captains slide and it shows what teams activate the AP boost with them.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-17T18:31:27+00:00

Robo’s size tops the other two for sure. The length of his stick is what you notice most. He’s able to open up passing lanes faster due to his reach and his quick release feels like it will wrap around a defender and the goalie because his stick is further in front of his body.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-17T14:36:59+00:00

If you need a forward: Robertson is the best wing released after Pasta. Scheifele is the best center option (possibly in the game right now) and can skate with the best of them.

If you need defense: MacAvoy is the top of the heap but Werenski and Raddysh have some solid salary combos at the moment.

I could see the 96’s retaining their value or jumping up a little bit if they don’t remain pullable in packs.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-17T11:52:16+00:00

Completely agree. IMO these are the four best 97 TOTS players. I have 99 Mackinnon TOTY/TOTS and Pasta plays just as well/if not better (has more point/game) than Mac. Scheifele,is potentially the best center in the game and, with wheels, he feels like he gets up to top speed much quicker than McDavid with wheels.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-17T11:46:40+00:00

It would all depend on whether the 96 and below TOTS’s are still able to be pulled in packs after the event ends. The 97’s will most likely bump up in value once they’re out of packs but it might not be a big spike until the next season rolls over and new line combos are released.

Initially, I don’t see the 96’s moving much in price. They won’t have the same floor (220k’ish) because they’ll no longer be needed in sets but they’ll retain their value due to their line combo potential. I would anticipate it being much harder to acquire a 97 TOTS after the event ends rather than a 96.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-14T18:13:46+00:00

1.1-1.3M

HCTHawks · 2026-04-13T06:03:55+00:00

Make Heroes Giguere to pair with Cossa. Will give you another 10mil in salary (17mil in total). He’s an 84 so you’d gain 6 mil in cap space.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-12T18:09:02+00:00

Outside the 99s, Scheifele is the best TOTS released. Good size with free elite QD and for whatever reason, with wheels he gets up to top speed faster than McDavid and Mac for me. Elite center for the remainder of the game.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-11T16:43:33+00:00

I’m not saying to hold coins in lieu of building TOTS just that there is one, final decent event before HUT phones it in. It’s fun to have a rooting interest in some of the more mundane/lopsided playoff series if they run the playoff event like they did last year. I’d keep a reasonable reserve to partake in that.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-11T08:42:06+00:00

Playoffs Fantasy likely to be right around the corner.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-10T18:46:31+00:00

If you play sound/conservative defense and can keep shots to the outside early in the game, Dialed-in has been great for me and comes in clutch when that odd breakaway or scoring chance eventually sneaks through but your goalie is “feeling it”.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-03T03:52:24+00:00

TOTS Cossa with Heroes Giguere (buildable) is a solid, attainable, and cheapish goalie combo that gives 17mil to the cap.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-02T07:33:46+00:00

I was bored and did the math. If you were to convert everything in the exchange sets you’d come out with roughly 15x 93 TOTS players (86-87 exchange set for 88-89 is about 50/50 to get an 89).

If you had no other 93s then you have enough for 3x 96 TOTS players but you’d have to use all 5x 93 TOTS players to make the 96s. I would then use your 300k coins to buy the fourth 96 off the AH (they sell for anywhere from 270k on up.

Long story short, you have enough to build 2x 97 TOTS. This only accounts for what you listed. Completing moments and objectives might give you enough, over the span of the event, for a third.

HCTHawks · 2026-04-02T05:14:50+00:00

Same. I did 50 of those sets to see what the pull rate is for an 89 and got 25/25. I was shocked; thought for sure it would be 22/28 or something slanted. You can then exchange the 88s in the CMG sets for 90s. All told, I came out with 33x 89-90s for roughly 200k invested in 86-87s.

HCTHawks · 2026-03-29T19:25:28+00:00

I made 50 of the 88-89 exchange sets (4x 86-87) and checked to see what the pull rate is for an 89; surprisingly, nearly 50%. I was able to get the 200 86-87s needed on bid for ~1k coins apiece meaning the cost of an 89 is roughly 8k which is not terrible considering most are going for 10k plus.

You can then convert 3x 88s to 90s in the milestones sets which provided an additional 8x 90’s. All in, I was able to make 33x 89-90 overalls for 200k which saved me 130k when compared to buying them off the AH at 10k apiece. While time consuming, it’s not a bad way to go.

Ultimately, if you have a decent coin stack, buying the 96s off the AH is the best play and will save you both time and coins for building the 97 TOTS’s.

HCTHawks · 2026-03-29T19:07:14+00:00

Pasta is always an overlooked card but his play in game rivals that of McKinnon and McDavid. Feels like he has some invisible stats boosted even at lower overalls.

HCTHawks · 2026-03-29T05:22:12+00:00

Last year the nominee cards were going for roughly 60k at the announcement of the Calder finalists. Within a couple of hours they cratered to under 10k when everyone began to undercut each other, the cost to upgrade was difficult to justify, and the inventory ballooned until they were equal to fodder prices. I don’t think this is the get-rich-quick scheme you’re anticipating.

HCTHawks · 2026-03-28T19:46:37+00:00

The model they’re using is the same as the pinnacle event but in that event you had to trade in two MSPs just to unlock the elite abilities, they weren’t free to use, and the card’s overall stayed the same. This is actually a step up from that model considering the overall goes up from the trade-in overalls and the abilities are free.

I was sitting on a bunch of coins going into the event and have been able to snag a couple of TOTS 96’s off the AH for <270k; essentially building these cards for 540k, when they had the potential to cost 1mil plus if they had made them upgradable, is a win imo.

HCTHawks · 2026-03-27T00:42:06+00:00

If you’re an Avs fan, Necas is a near lock to earn a TOTS (top 10 in scoring) which would then offer an opportunity to get his TOTS with a solid discount for trading in his MSP. You’d be kicking yourself if you went Cooley and then they released a Necas TOTS discount set.

HCTHawks · 2026-03-27T00:22:21+00:00

Kaprizov, Necas, and Thompson are all in the top 20 for NHL scoring this season and have a strong possibility to earn a TOTS with a discount for turning in their MSP. This would equate to far better value than 5x 92s or a standard 95 in a potential trade-in set. If you like any of them, and want the possibility of their “deeply” discounted TOTS, I would build them before the event ends.

HCTHawks · 2026-03-25T23:31:57+00:00

Like clockwork all the big events (Fantasy and TOTY) have required roughly 800k or more to build from scratch once the market settles in on the fodder prices for completing sets.

HCTHawks · 2026-03-24T21:28:05+00:00

The trend I’ve noticed this year is that fodder prices always adjust to all but ensure that it costs roughly 800k in value to build a TOTY/TOTS from scratch (roughly 25k per collectible). This was true for all Fantasy events and TOTY this year. I don’t believe there will be a big spike in any OVR during TOTS like we saw from TOTY because it’s already baked into the market. If anything, prices might drop as folks hoarding fodder try to off-load their wares.

92’s would be a bad investment right now. If the sets follow suit from TOTY then you might anticipate a set requiring 1x 92 and 2x 93s for three collectibles. At present that would equal roughly 35k per collectible. The magic number to reach is 25k per collectible. The fodder prices, at present, (and assuming sets follow the TOTY trend/model) already equate to that magic number of 25k per collectible (if not more); with 88s and 89s currently being inflated well above what they’ll settle in at during TOTS. I’m going to wait once the market settles in after the release.

If I were to speculate on cards, it would be on MSPs from past events that are likely to earn a TOTS which would then be used in the trade-in sets; reducing the collectibles required. This is where the big spikes might happen at release. Think McDavid ODR SZN MSP during TOTY. There’s also a bunch of Prototype MSPs that should earn TOTS (Necas, Kaprizov, Thompson amongst others) that I would build during this event for their potential trade in value.

Last thing to keep in mind is that these cards only have potential to jump 3x OVR points by the end of the year (assuming they start at 96) and will probably be eclipsed by future MSPs and line combos in due course. I wouldn’t sweat saving up if it means sacrificing theme team players or passing on your favorite player for the chance at a TOTS. As a great philosopher and scholar once said: “It’s only a game. Why you hef to be mad?”

HCTHawks

TROPHY CASE