The day has finally come! The NHL Trade Deadline is here, and per usual, I will be updating this post throughout Monday with every trade that happens, minor or blockbuster. I’m going to start off with recapping everything that happened before Monday, and then starting around 11 AM on Monday, I’ll be back for all of your trade deadline analysis. Let’s get to it!
- New York Islanders acquire forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forwards A.J. Greer and Mason Jobst, a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
The first big move since the Columbus-Winnipeg trade, the Islanders got ahead of the deadline working with New Jersey. First off, from the Devils perspective, Greer and Jobst are longshots to be NHL’ers, especially Jobst. It was a good return for two pending UFAs, but these two should be in the AHL. Right now, the roles that I wanted Palmieri and Zajac to be in are reversed. For some reason, Zajac is playing first line left wing, while Palmieri is on the third line. To be blunt, this makes no sense to me as Zajac could be part of a defensive line with Pageau and Palmieri can go on a tear with Barzal. I don’t think this lasts, but for now, it bumps Palmieri down to someone I was definitely looking to add, to a potential spec add for the upside. In other words, I wouldn’t be rushing to add him now, but if you want to take the gamble, it makes complete sense to me. He did score on Sunday night against the Rangers while on the second power play which is a nice good sign.
- Chicago Blackhawks acquire forwards Brett Connolly and Henrik Borgstrom, defenseman Riley Stillman and 2021 7th round draft pick from the Florida Panthers in exchange for defenseman Lucas Carlsson and forward Lucas Wallmark
This trade makes a lot of sense for both sides. Chicago eats Connolly’s contract to get two players with potential, while Florida clears cap space to go for it now. Borgstrom is a high upside, former first round pick who could be a guy who revitalizes his career on his second team. It’s something to keep an eye on going forward. Stillman has been waiting for a chance in the NHL and should get it sooner than later. He hasn’t shown a ton of offense going back to juniors so there’s a chance this trade ends up meaning nothing in fantasy, but I hope he gets some games down the stretch to take a look at him. Wallmark has been a decent depth forward for Carolina in the past so perhaps he does that again in Florida and becomes a deep league option. Don’t see much from Carlsson.
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire forward Riley Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 2022 conditional seventh round pick in the NHL Draft.
This was done just to give Toronto more space from LTIR. No fantasy impact.
- Colorado Avalanche acquire forward Patrik Nemeth from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for fourth-round selection in 2022 NHL Draft.
Depth defenseman for Colorado as insurance. No fantasy impact from Nemeth and I don’t see anyone from Detroit who takes Nemeth’s spot being viable.
- Colorado Avalanche acquire goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Colorado acquires another goalie to potentially be the backup. I have very little faith in Dubnyk, but he’s going to be a big favorite in games he starts to get the win, so you can use him at your own risk. Pateryn is the typical journeyman right now as he’s bounced around the league. He may get some games for the Sharks, but I don’t see any fantasy value.
- Florida Panthers acquire defenseman Brandon Montour from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Good for Buffalo to get a third for Montour, who is a pending UFA and has been up and down at best since going to Buffalo. The question is what Montour does Florida get? If he’s playing his best, he could be a fantasy asset even in 12’ers. If he’s not, then he won’t bring anything. I have no idea where he’s going to go into the lineup and the Panthers don’t play until Tuesday. Since it will take him playing his best to be fantasy relevant, I’m not grabbing Montour now, but I’ll be watching his first couple games to see how Coach Q is using him.
- Tampa Bay Lightning acquire defenseman David Savard from the Columbus Blue Jackets, as part of a three-team trade with the Detroit Red Wings, in exchange for the Lightning’s first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
First off, amazing return for Columbus to get a first for Savard. I get why Tampa did it as they’re co-favorites for the Cup right now, but Jarmo made an amazing move here (and did another one on Sunday). Savard is a borderline elite defensive defenseman, but that doesn’t help us in fantasy. He should have a great plus-minus, but that’s about it.
- New Jersey Devils acquire defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Decent spec add for New Jersey with Siegenthaler buried on the depth chart in Washington. He’s not fantasy relevant at the moment, but maybe New Jersey gives him a big role down the stretch to see what he has. Could be something here for deep leagues.
- Montreal Canadiens acquire defenseman Jon Merrill from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and forward Hayden Verbeek.
I like this move for Montreal. Merrill is a solid depth defenseman who was strong in Vegas when he was there. Again, I don’t see much of a fantasy impact unless something crazy happens in Montreal. Verbeek, the nephew of Pat, looks like minor league depth. He split last season between the ECHL and AHL while playing 7 AHL games this season.
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire forward Nick Foligno from the Columbus Blue Jackets and forward Stefan Noesen from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a first-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft going to Columbus and a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft going to San Jose.
The second big move for Columbus and it’s very similar to the first trade from a non-fantasy perspective. I get why Toronto did this, but at the same time, I don’t like this move for them as Foligno isn’t the player he used to be. Maybe he’s revitalized in Toronto, but for Columbus to get a first and a fourth for him is borderline robbery, especially when you consider that Aaron Portzline has already reported that it’s likely he goes back to Columbus this coming summer. Fantasy wise, the move for Foligno is an upgrade in terms of the team he’s on, but his role is certainly going to be smaller in Toronto. My guess is he goes on the third line and second PP unit, but I’m only guessing. I’m fine with streaming him after his seven day quarantine to see what happens in his first game, but I’m certainly not rushing to add Foligno.
- Toronto Maple Leafs acquire goalie David Rittich from the Calgary Flames in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Add Toronto to the list of teams adding bad backup goalies. Rittich has been below average for the past two seasons. Like the other goalies that have played there, you can stream him for the likely win, but it’s risky because the numbers probably won’t be great. Odds are he only gets a handful of games so maybe he gets hot.
- Boston Bruins acquire defenseman Mike Reilly from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
This move could have some sneaky fantasy implications. There’s been a few guys since my time at Razzball who looked like there wouldn’t be a ton of fantasy value, but it turned out that they did. Andrighetto comes to mind as the main one I highlighted and he caught fire. With all of the injuries Boston has, Reilly could go right onto the first PP unit. He did fairly well in that role for Ottawa when Chabot was out and there’s more talent in Boston around him. I could see him turning into a hold, but it depends how long it takes for Boston defensemen to return, and how long until Reilly gets into their lineup.
- New York Islanders acquire defenseman Braydon Coburn from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.
Random depth for the Islanders. Coburn’s days of being fantasy relevant are well in the past.
- The Sabres have agreed to trade Taylor Hall to the Bruins in a deal that also will see Curtis Lazar go to Boston, with Buffalo receiving Anders Bjork and a 2021 second-round pick.
This trade hasn’t been confirmed at the time of this writing, but it’s being reported by multiple outlets. This is a great gamble for Boston at that cost. All of these teams are too worried about grit and whatever else that they overpay for someone like Foligno but then Hall goes for far less. Sure, he’s had a bad season, but he was good in last year’s playoffs with Arizona. Anyways, Hall should slide right onto the second line with Krejci and then either Pastrnak or Smith. It’s too hard to say what happens with Hall, but we can only hope that this move sparks him. This is potentially a big boost for David Krejci into being a hold again. I want to see if Hall goes right onto PP1, or if Nick Ritchie keeps his spot there. This could hurt Ritchie’s value quite a bit. We’ll have to see the first few games for that, but if Hall was dropped in your league, he’s worth taking a chance on. Krejci can be grabbed if you need assists as well. Lazar is a nice depth forward for Boston, but he doesn’t provide fantasy value. Bjork has been a great defensive forward who brings little offense so that doesn’t do anything for us either. Maybe Buffalo gives him a bigger role offensively, but we have to see Bjork get that role and do something with it first.
- Pittsburgh Penguins acquire forward Jeff Carter from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for conditional draft picks in 2022 and 2023.
The 36 year old goes back to Pennsylvania after a long time in Los Angeles. I don’t see him doing much in Pittsburgh, although he’s still a big volume shooter meaning he can get hot with some shooting luck over the last month of the season. I’d bump him up to a solid streamer from a bottom end one, but don’t let the name value trick you into thinking this move shifts the needle much for the Penguins.
- Chicago Blackhawks acquire forward Adam Gaudette from Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Matthew Highmore.
Change of scenery trade. I like Gaudette more as a player and I’m interested to see what kind of opportunity Chicago gives him. There should be something here in deep leagues at least. Vancouver saves a bit of money here, but Highmore is a long shot to be fantasy relevant.
- The Oilers have acquired Dmitry Kulikov from the Devils for a conditional fourth-round draft pick.
Depth add for the Oilers. Kulikov is pretty washed at this point and it’s been close to a decade since he was relevant in fantasy.
- Tampa Bay Lightning acquire defenseman Fredrik Claesson from San Jose Sharks in exchange for rights to goaltender Magnus Chrona.
Claesson gives some depth to the Lightning. Chrona is a 20 year old who has been playing at the University of Denver. He’s only 20 so it’s hard to say what he turns into; he’s a goalie after all! Either way, good for the Sharks to get a lottery ticket for a guy they don’t need.
- Colorado Avalanche acquire forward Carl Soderberg from Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for forward Josh Dickinson, rights to forward Ryder Rolston.
A familiar face goes back to Colorado. Soderberg is insurance for the Avs; I’m not sure he even makes their healthy lineup at this point. Dickinson has been in the ECHL while Rolston is at Notre Dame. Rolston was just a fifth round pick who is an okay lotto ticket for the Blackhawks. Nothing to see here for now.
- The Flyers will receive a seventh-round pick in 2022 from Montreal for Erik Gustafsson.
It wasn’t that long ago that Gustafsson scored 60 points, but his career has been in a tailspin since. If he gets PP time in Montreal, there could be some deep league value, but that’s no guarantee with Petry and Weber in the fold. Odds are, this has no fantasy impact, but it’s a nice move for Montreal for only a seventh.
- Sam Bennett to the Panthers for a 2nd in 2022 and Emil Heineman
Another example of teams desperately wanting to add grit and such, Bennett gets a second chance in Florida. Heineman was just a second round pick making this quite the steep price for Florida. Bennett is a decent bottom sixer, but I don’t see the offense ever developing. Heineman has great speed and can play up and down the lineup. Odds are, he ends up being a guy who is only relevant in deep leagues, but maybe the offense develops enough where he ends up on a second line.
- Mattias Janmark, a 2022 5th round pick, and Nick DeSimone to Vegas. Chicago gets a 2021 2nd and 2022 3rd, while San Jose gets a 2022 5th.
Janmark has put his career back on track in Chicago this season. His salary was low enough for Vegas to fit him in, hence the price. Still, a steep price to pay. I see Janmark going on the third line and being a bottom end streamer. The only upside will be if there’s an injury to someone in the top six. DeSimone is from my backyard in Buffalo so I’m a bit familiar with him. Odds are he’s a career AHL’er.
- Toronto acquires Ben Hutton for a fifth round pick.
Depth for Toronto. Can’t see Hutton being fantasy relevant.
- Toronto acquires Antti Suomela from the Sharks for Alexander Barabanov
Suomela never found his footing in San Jose despite getting the opportunity. I doubt he sees the lineup. Barabanov has scored at a solid rate in the KHL so I’d like to see him get some games for the Sharks to see what he has. Nothing here for now, but could turn into something with Barabanov.
BLOCKBUSTER:
- Anthony Mantha to the Capitals for Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, a first round pick and a second round pick.
Wow! Did not see this one coming. Vrana has fallen a bit out of favor with Laviolette, but still, this is quite the price for Mantha, even considering I’m a big Mantha fan. This move could do wonders for Mantha’s value… or not change it much. I’m willing to bet on Mantha and would grab him immediately (he’s available in about 50% of leagues). Vrana could turn his season around, but he’s still at solid streamer level for now. Hopefully he gets time with Larkin. Panik was a salary dump who could play for Detroit, but even if he gets back into the lineup, I don’t see fantasy value. This is a potential win-win, but you have to like this move for Detroit getting that kind of return.
LAST UPDATE: 3:37 PM
Looks like some more minor deals will be coming through. If anything else big happens, I’ll be back.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back tomorrow right away as Monday is actually a busy night of action. The usual daily notes will be back. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. I’ll get to them when there’s a brief break between trades today; I would really appreciate feedback today to hear from people following along. Thanks for reading, take care!
