The NHL trade deadline is over and some players, for better or worse, have landed on new teams. Of course, with any change becomes opportunity. Let’s take a look at some of the fantasy relevant deals over the past few days and analyze which of these trade deadline moves you can use to your advantage to bolster your fantasy teams for the stretch run and playoffs.
Trade Deadline Moves – Forwards
Giroux to Florida
The biggest beneficiary of the deadline are those managers who own Claude Giroux. Giroux moves from the lowest scoring team in the NHL in the Flyers to the highest scoring team in the Panthers. That’s a difference of nearly 100 goals! Giroux is expected to play next to Aleksander Barkov at even strength as well as on the top powerplay unit. Expect around 25 points in the final 20 games of the season.
Tippett to Philadelphia
The other side of the Giroux deal sent Owen Tippett to the Philadelphia Flyers. Tippett has played just 42 games as a Panther this season and only three since February 1st. He’ll get an opportunity to turn his season around in Philadelphia. He skated on the third line with Morgan Frost and Oskar Lindblom in his first game but also skated with the top powerplay unit. He has increased value this year and should be looked at as a sleeper next season as the Flyers’ forward group stabilizes.
Lehkonen to Colorado
Artturi Lehkonen is enjoying the most productive season of his career on one of the worst teams in the league. Now on Colorado, with a hole in their top-six due to the injury to Gabriel Landeskog, Lehkonen will likely slot in beside Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky to start. With a great schedule ahead, Lehkonen makes for a great pickup in mid-to-deep fantasy leagues.
Johansson to Washington
Marcus Johansson’s value is directly tied to the health of T.J. Oshie. If Oshie is out long term, Johansson will likely play on the second line next to Nicklas Backstrom and Anthony Mantha. He had 58 points in his final season with the Capitals. There is some short-term value here.
Hagel to Tampa Bay
Brandon Hagel is owned in just 12% of Yahoo leagues based on his production as a Blackhawk. He had career highs in goals (21), assists (16) and points (37) while averaging the most ice-time of his career (17:28). The 23-year-old gave us a taste of what he’s capable of, but for the rest of this season on the Lightning, don’t expect that level of success. As evidenced by his 10 minutes of ice-time in his first game in Tampa, he’ll be a role-player in the bottom-six of the lineup.
Jarnkrok to Calgary
Calle Jarnkrok may have value in deeper leagues depending on where he plays in the Flames lineup. In his first game with his new team, Jarnkrok lined up on the second line between two natural goal-scorers in Tyler Toffoli and Andrew Mangiapane. Line shuffling in game two had Toffoli replaced with Blake Coleman. Either way, his value is higher than it was with Seattle. He can be looked at as a decent streaming option when Calgary has a favorable schedule moving forward.
Vatrano to New York
Like Jarnkrok, Frank Vatrano’s value is tied to his position in the lineup. Despite predominately being a left-winger with the Panthers, Vatrano moved over to the right-wing when arrived in New York increasing his fantasy hockey value in the process. The move allowed him to skate on the second line with Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin. Through three games, he’s averaged 15:33 minutes of ice time – more than 3 minutes than he was getting in Florida. He has just one goal – an empty-netter – with his new team. Still, he’s worth a flyer until he lands in the bottom-six.
Copp to New York
Vatrano’s move to the bottom-six may have been sealed when the Rangers acquired Andrew Copp. Copp is a big power forward that has proven that he can produce while playing with offensive players. A spot on either of the top lines would make Copp very valuable as he also is a decent source of shots, hits and blocked shots. He can be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the deadline.
Rakell to Pittsburgh
Pending unrestricted free agent Rickard Rakell is in the midst of his second disappointing season in a row. He has just 28 points in 51 games – a far cry from the 69-point season he had five years ago. Now on Pittsburgh for the final 19 games of the season, Rakell can get a chance to raise his stock next to Evgeni Malkin. If that’s who he lines up beside, he’s worth adding to see if he can develop some chemistry in that position.
Domi to Carolina
One of the trade deadline moves that got in just under the wire, Max Domi was moved to the Carolina Hurricanes. Despite being on a better team, its highly unlikely that Domi will play meaningful-enough minutes to be worth picking up in most league formats.
Brassard to Edmonton
Like any newcomer in Edmonton, any player has potential value until they don’t. They do if they play next to Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Until they don’t play with either player, there is a sense of optimism. Watch out to see where he plays in the lineup. If he gets a chance in the top-six, he’s worth taking a chance on. Brassard has a helpful floor of hits with 61 in 31 games this season to go along with his 16 points.
Trade Deadline Moves – Defensemen
Giordano to Toronto
Mark Giordano isn’t going to put up the points he did earlier in his career. But now, in his hometown of Toronto, the 38-year-old will see an improvement on his current 0.42 points per game. Giordano will play a larger role and should improve on his numbers. Expect around 10 points in the final 20 games for the offensively potent Maple Leafs.
Lindholm to Boston
Hampus Lindholm is a better “real-life” player than fantasy player. By moving to a better team in the Bruins and potentially playing with Charlie McAvoy at even-strength, he may see marginal improvements in points and plus/minus, but don’t overvalue him. It’s one of the trade deadline moves that won’t matter in fantasy hockey much.
Trade Deadline Moves – Goaltenders
Fleury to Minnesota
Marc-Andre Fleury has an unmatched pedigree by most NHL goaltenders. The 37-year-old has a long and impressive list of accolades next to his name. Unfortunately, this year hasn’t been one to remember. The reigning Vezina trophy winner has a 19-21-5 record with a 2.95 GAA and a .908 SV% so far this season with the Blackhawks. Now on a much better team in Minnesota, you can expect those numbers to improve. He should get the bulk of the starts ahead of goaltending partner Cam Talbot.
Kahkonen to San Jose
As a result of acquiring Fleury, Wild General Manager Bill Guerin decided to move a goaltender out. Kaapo Kahkonen was that goaltender. Kahkonen will likely split starts with James Reimer down the stretch, giving him little value behind a Sharks team that is falling out of the playoff picture.
