Every Thursday, we examine three players you should consider acquiring on the trade front in your pool.

The art of buying low is a skill that must be learned and honed.

Offer too little and the opposition will scoff. Offer too much and your hand will be tipped in terms of how much you desire a certain player, resulting in a trade too even to be of good value.

When it all comes together, managers can indeed reel in high-end talent at below-market cost. To that end, here are three players to target in a trade.

Pavel Datsyuk, F, Detroit Red Wings

Getting up there in age, the Red Wings dynamo has experienced a fair share of injury issues over the past calendar year, limiting him to 45 games during the 2013-14 regular season and forcing him to miss seven games so far this season.

But when he's on the ice, Datsyuk continues to produce with the best of them. To wit, the 36-year-old is averaging more than a point per game this season with five goals and five assists in eight games.

Scheduled to make his latest return to the Red Wings' lineup Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks, there may not be a better time to secure his services, ideally at good value upon convincing his current fantasy owner that he's damaged goods and that you're taking a big risk by adding him to your squad.

In reality, that's partly true, as chances are he'll be sidelined again at some point over the course of the season.

If, however, he stays healthy, or if he's added but not essential to your club's success, the possibility exists to add an elite-level fantasy player at pennies on the dollar.

Drew Doughty, D, Los Angeles Kings

Pegged by many as a Norris Trophy candidate heading into the new season, the Kings blue-liner has chipped in seven assists in 16 games, placing him well down the list of points leaders at his position.

Los Angeles ranks 19th in the NHL with 2.56 goals per game and 26th with an 11.8 percent success rate on the power play. Injuries to key forwards Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar have caused the Kings offense to sputter with Doughty feeling the pinch on defense.

Doughty has been firing a considerable amount of shots on goal (39), putting him on pace for a career high 200. A career 6.5 percent shooter, the puck's going to start going in at some point and the added assists will follow as the team as a whole gets on track offensively.

As such, Doughty's still a good bet to be one of the higher-rated players at his position come season's end, so jump on him before it's too late.

Jeff Skinner, F, Carolina Hurricanes

With two goals and two assists in his past three games, the hockey world is being reminded of just how good Skinner can be.

Like Datsyuk, Skinner's young career has been beset by injury (concussions, specifically), but the 22-year-old recently hit the 100-goal mark and there's certainly much more where this came from.

Those 100 goals came in 269 career games, meaning Skinner is good for an average of 30 goals for every 82 games. A two-time 30-plus goal scorer through four NHL seasons, he's a bit off that pace to start 2014-15, but he appears to be kicking things up a notch, with 12 shots on goal in his past three games.

Carolina is streaking and Skinner is heating up. Try to get on board and see where this Hurricane takes your squad.