Welcome to my favorite post of the year, my live trade deadline post! From now until all of the trades come through later today, I will provide all of the details for each trade with my instant analysis. I will launch this post with everything from over the weekend as well since I haven’t given my thoughts on those at this point. Be sure to keep checking this page as I will be constantly updating it. Any questions can be asked in the comments section and I’ll get to them as soon as I get a chance. Here we go!
Charlie Coyle to the Bruins for Ryan Donato and a 2019 fifth round pick. The first move from last week that got the ball rolling was the Bruins adding a solid middle sixer in Coyle. From a fantasy perspective, this move doesn’t really do much for Coyle. He’s started off as the third line center in Boston, a smaller role than he had with the Wild. He’s a decent streamer but that’s it barring a shift into the top six. The winner here is Donato. Sure, he’s only on the third line, but he’s been playing 16+ minutes a game and getting power play time. Donato has four points in three games since joining the Wild. I am a big fan of Donato for dynasties and think he’s a solid streamer at the moment.
Carl Hagelin to the Capitals for a 2019 third round pick and a conditional 2020 sixth round pick. Really nice get for the Capitals but this trade does nothing in fantasy. Hagelin is playing on the fourth line to start in Washington.
Nick Jensen and a 2019 fifth round pick to the Capitals for a second round pick in 2020 and Madison Bowey. Jensen has been somewhat of an analytics darling this season. He should do very well on the Caps third line, but he won’t do much in fantasy. Jensen immediately signed a 4 year, 10 million deal which gives him some security. Bowey has really fallen off over the last year. Perhaps he gets back on track in Detroit, but he’s a project for now.
Matt Duchene and Julius Bergman to the Blue Jackets for Vitaly Abramov, Jonathan Davidsson and two conditional first round picks. The first blockbuster of the year comes from a team deciding to go all in. I applaud Jarmo for going for it. Duchene’s value gets a small boost but nothing drastic since he was already amazing in Ottawa. Going onto line 1 with Panarin and Atkinson is fantastic. This slides Pierre-Luc Dubois down to line two which hurts his value a fair amount. He’s still an easy hold, but it is a setback. Dubois sliding down helps Razzball favorite Oliver Bjorkstrand move back into solid streamer status and another guy maintaining his value due to another trade (spoiler alert!). Bergman doesn’t move the needle at all; welcome to the Razzball database! Abramov has a chance to be a decent winger, but I’m not a big fan for fantasy. Davidsson is a lotto ticket who makes his first appearance here as well. All in all, solid return for the Senators if they can hit on those picks. The Ottawa lineup is a mess right now, so I will wait to see what happens with Stone over the next 15 hours before I make judgment.
Mats Zuccarello to the Stars for a 2019 second round pick and a 2020 third round pick. Both can turn into firsts; the second if the Stars win two playoff series, the third if the Stars re-sign Zucc. I really liked this add for the Stars, but Zucc was hurt in his first game (after scoring) and is out at least four weeks. That makes him an easy drop in redrafts since that time frame is close to the end of the season. It looks like only a second and a third for the Rangers in return as both of those conditions seem unlikely (especially winning two rounds) but it’s still okay value even if those conditions don’t happen.
Ryan Dzingel and a 2019 seventh round pick for Anthony Duclair and two second round picks (2020/2021). Dzingel should maintain his value for Ottawa but could see a slight boost playing with Dubois. That makes him an elite streamer. Perhaps Duclair has some value if he gets big minutes down the stretch, but I’ll have to see it for a couple games first.
Ben Lovejoy for Connor Carrick and a 2019 third round pick. This trade means nothing to me and I’m unsure why the Stars think getting Lovejoy is worth a third round pick. The first completely irrelevant trade of the year in both real life and fantasy!
Filip Zadina was recalled by the Red Wings. I’m a big fan in dynasties; there’s a chance he makes an impact right away. I want to watch a couple games to see if I’d stream him in redrafts, but the upside in undeniable.
Nicholas Baptiste to Toronto for future considerations. AHL Depth for the Marlies. I could see Baptiste being called up for the fourth line and playing well enough to stick for about 8 minutes a game, but that’s it.
Spencer Watson to the Kings for Matt Iacopelli. This trade means nothing. The end.
Brandon Montour to the Sabres for Brendan Guhle and a 2019 first round pick. Odds are that it is the Sharks first round pick, but there is a path to it being the Blues first. I have been much lower on Montour in fantasy than consensus over the past two seasons and I was correct. Is there a chance it changes in Buffalo? Perhaps if he plays with Dahlin and gets power play time. Perhaps he just needed to get away from Carlyle and he flourishes in Housley’s system as Montour’s strength comes from his ability to exit and enter zones. However, I’ll have to see it to believe it. Montour is a bottom end option right now in 12’ers. Guhle has had a really tough season and was bypassed by Pilut and a few other defensemen in the Buffalo system. I like the Ducks taking a chance on him as he should become a solid third pairing guy with offensive upside. He’s a fine deep dynasty flier.
Gustav Nyquist to San Jose for a 2019 second round pick and a conditional third in 2020. This is coming out very late so when the conditions on that pick come out, I will update this. I kind of figured Nyquist would get a little bit more, but perhaps it was because he would only waive for certain teams with the Sharks being one of them. Great add for the Sharks who are really loading up for this season. I am assuming Nyquist slides into the second line allowing him to maintain his value. He’s an easy hold. This boosts Zadina even more and probably Mantha, although it depends who moves next to Larkin.
Brian Gibbons to Ottawa for Patrick Sieloff. Nothing to really see here.
Keith Kinkaid to Columbus for a 2022 fifth round pick. Kinkaid has been fairly solid for the past two seasons making him a nice add for the Jackets. It keeps the door open for CBus to move Bob if they get a massive overpay, but it seems unlikely. He’s a better goalie than Korpisalo. This means a Schneider – Blackwood duo for the rest of the season. It’s nice to see Schneids get his game back for the last couple weeks but I wish we could see more of Blackwood for the last six weeks.
Kevin Hayes to Winnipeg for Brendan Lemieux, a 2019 first round pick, and a 2022 conditional fourth round pick. Everyone assumed that Stone was going to be the big move for the Jets, but they ended up deciding on Hayes to be their 2C. Hayes has been excellent all season, a player that I was high on because of his role. Sure, he won’t play quite as many minutes in Winnipeg (I don’t think), but now he gets to play with at least one great winger, and probably two. Laine appears to be a lock on his wing. Hayes remains a must-own in all formats. Lemieux could be a nice add in deep leagues if the Rangers give him some more minutes down the stretch. He does have 9 goals in 44 games despite playing very low minutes and the penalty minutes plus hits are insane. There’s also a chance that the Rangers flip Lemieux elsewhere.
Jordan Weal to Montreal for Michael Chaput. Weal showed some signs in Philadelphia but he’s had a tough go of it the last two seasons. This is just a swap of depth that is nearly irrelevant.
Tomas Jurco to Carolina for future considerations. It’s been a few years since Jurco had any relevance. He’s been riddled with injuries and it’ll take quite a stretch of health and quality play to care about Jurco again.
Cliff Pu to Florida for future considerations. Pu, the prospect that went to Carolina in the Skinner trade, showed a lot of promise in juniors. However, he has 1 goal in 44 AHL games this season. Perhaps he can get back on track, but at this moment Pu looks like a lost cause.
Derick Brassard and a conditional sixth round pick in 2020 to Colorado for a 2020 third round pick. To be blunt, Brassard has been horrific this season. Perhaps he can get back on track in Colorado, but for now I’m not looking to stream him.
Adam McQuaid to Columbus for fourth and seventh round picks. I guess this is depth for the Jackets? Nice for the Rangers to get two picks for him no matter what they were. McQuaid is a horrible possession player who has zero use in fantasy.
Oscar Fantenberg to Calgary for a fourth round pick. Random depth for the Flames on the blue line, nothing to see here.
Mikael Granlund to Nashville for Kevin Fiala. Damn, did not expect this type of move to happen. Granlund is a big get for the Predators who is signed with term. I think this gives him a slight boost in value along with Kyle Turris. As for Fiala, his opportunity should be much bigger in Minnesota. I’m bumping him to elite streamer with the upside for more.
Mark Stone to Vegas for Erik Brannstrom, Oscar Lindberg, and Dallas’s second round pick in 2020. Update coming. Massive move for Vegas who gets the best player available at the deadline. Not sure where he’s going to slot into the lineup, but this will be big for Karlsson or Stastny, wherever he lands. More on that over the next couple days. Stone should maintain his value and help whoever his new linemates are. Brannstrom is an elite defenseman prospect, one of the best in hockey. He is a huge asset in dynasties and should be in the NHL next season. Lindberg is decent depth if he gets his game back going. Kind of brutal for Ottawa that they didn’t get a first, but Brannstrom is a top 10-20 player outside of the NHL so I get it, but it feels like they should have gotten more. Stone appears to be signing an extension for Vegas too for 8 x 9.5, which makes this a phenomenal move for the Golden Knights. Stone immediately becomes their best player.
Wayne Simmonds to Nashville for Ryan Hartman and a condition 2020 pick, either a 3rd or 4th depending if the Predators win a round in the playoffs. I am not a Simmonds fan at this point and I don’t think this move will help Nashville at all. From a fantasy perspective, it really depends where he slots into the lineup. Nashville has the worst PP in the league so Simmonds should help in that regard, but he’s awful at even strength. I could see him getting a small boost if he gets more minutes than he quite frankly deserves, or nothing will change. I don’t think this moves the needle at all for the Preds. Hartman struggled in Nashville so perhaps he can get back to playing quality hockey in Philly like he did in Chicago. Nice move for them as getting rid of Simmonds for anything of value is a win. We know they would have been seen as losers if they only got that pick, but that pick alone is enough for me. Simmonds is shot, plain and simple.
Michael Del Zotto to the Blues for ??? MDZ isn’t quite the del zaster he was for a bit, but he’s still only depth. Little to see for fantasy.
Marcus Johansson to Boston for a 2019 second round pick and a 2020 fourth round pick. Johansson should go right on the second line with DeBrusk and Krejci. Perhaps he’s with Pastrnak and Krejci. Perhaps they want to keep balance and he goes with Coyle. Depending on what happens, he can be an elite streamer once again like he was in the Washington days.
Matt Hendricks to Winnipeg for a seventh round pick. Nothing to see here, just Winnipeg re-acquiring some depth with a player they had last season.
Erik Gudbranson to Pittsburgh for Tanner Pearson. I have no idea what Rutherford is doing. Apparently they want to get more shitty defensemen. Gudbranson is really bad, and now they have him and Johnson both. Woof. Nice for Vancouver to get anything of value for Gudbranson. Perhaps Pearson never gets back into form, but at least we’ve seen him play well.
Nathan Beaulieu to Winnipeg for a sixth round pick. Nice get for Winnipeg as depth; the Sabres completely mismanaged Beaulieu all season. He’s been quietly good this year and should bring stability to their third pair. Really like this for the Jets. As for the Sabres, this is all you can get? The same as Del Zotto and less than Fantenberg? Brutal.
Bogdan Kiselevich to Winnipeg for a seventh round pick. More depth for the Jets who seems destined to be a healthy scratch.
Lucas Karlsson to Vancouver for Jonathan Dahlen. Karlsson was recently a third round pick who has struggled this season in Sweden. Dahlen is a former second round pick who they acquired in the Burrows trade a couple years ago. He’s super high upside but hasn’t put it together at this point. He’s an interesting lotto ticket in deep dynasties.
Nic Petan to Toronto for Par Lindholm. Swap of depth guys who were somewhat out of favor in their spots.
Chris Wideman to Pittsburgh for Sebastian Dea. More bad players for the Pens!
Alex Broadhurst to Winnipeg for future considerations. Seven trades for the Jets! Lots of them are just random depth though. Broadhurst doesn’t even count as that.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll have a post coming Tuesday morning recapping Monday’s games with some additional thoughts on these moves. Keep the questions and comments coming below.
