It’s Christmas in February! I’m going to hit on all of the trades that I haven’t discussed to this point and then update this post with every trade that takes place today. These are all my instant thoughts from both a real life and fantasy perspective. Let’s get right to it!
Nick Holden to Boston for a 2018 3rd round pick and Rob O’Gara. Decent depth add for Boston, as a third round pick looks to be the going price for rentals, even bad ones. Holden’s little fantasy value will probably decrease as he falls to the third pair or even out of the lineup. O’Gara is already 24 having played a full college career at Yale. He’s on the Rangers right now, and I could see him lasting in the NHL as a bottom pair guy, but I don’t see much fantasy upside.
Eric Fehr to San Jose for a 2020 7th round pick. Fehr was once relevant in fantasy, but that is no longer the case. I’m happy for him that he’s no longer stuck in the AHL, but a fourth line role won’t matter for our purposes.
Jakub Jerabek to Washington for a 2019 5th round pick. I kind of like the get for Washington, mostly because other rentals are going to more. Jerabek is nothing special, but can’t hurt to add some depth at a low cost.
Darcy Kuemper to Arizona for Tobias Rieder and Scott Wedgewood. Kuemper immediately signed a two year deal in Arizona. It gives Arizona insurance in case Raanta leaves in free agency. Kuemper is a solid backup, and he played extremely well in L.A., but we’ve seen other backups succeed with the Kings and fail elsewhere. Arizona is playing much better, so I don’t mind streaming Kuemper at home. Wedgewood was sent right to the AHL so Jack Campbell is now the backup. Nice buy low for the Kings on Rieder, but I want to see him have some success before I consider using him.
Frank Vatrano to Florida for a 2018 3rd round pick. Vatrano was passed by DeBrusk, Heinen, and other young guys in Boston, so it made sense to move him to get a pick they can move elsewhere. Vatrano is currently injured, so he won’t play for Florida right away, but I like taking the chance on him. He’s killed it in the AHL, and while he might never pan out, the upside is there. I could see him being a nice deep league sleeper next season if he slots on the right line.
Michael Grabner to the Devils for a 2018 2nd round pick and Igor Rykov. I talked about this one in the daily notes. In short, Grabner’s value won’t change as he has the same role as he did in New York. Rykov probably isn’t leaving the KHL any time soon.
Derrick Brassard to Pittsburgh, along with Vincent Dunn, Tobias Lindberg, and a 2018 3rd round pick. Ottawa gets Ian Cole, Filip Gustavsson, a 2018 1st and 2019 3rd. Vegas gets Ryan Reaves and a 2018 4th round pick to retain 40% of Brassard’s salary. We still haven’t seen who will play with Brassard, but I think his value will stay right around the same despite getting less minutes, mostly because of being in a better spot going against bottom pairs. Not to be confused with Vince Dunn, Vincent Dunn isn’t much of a prospect. Lindberg isn’t doing much in the AHL. Cole has already been flipped (more on that later), so the best asset besides the first round pick is Gustavsson. The former second round pick has played well in Sweden this year and probably becomes the best goaltending prospect in Ottawa. The path is clear for him to eventually be their #1 if his development continues. Reaves does nothing.
Brandon Davidson to the Islanders for a 2019 3rd round pick. I don’t get why the Islanders would give up so much for a guy who was waived earlier this year. Davidson is decent depth, but that’s a steep price. Not sure yet where he’ll slot into the lineup, but I don’t see fantasy value here.
Rick Nash to Boston for Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey, Ryan Lindgren, a 2018 1st and a 2019 3rd round pick. Nash slots right into the second line in Boston, and as mentioned here, he can be a nice spec add. Spooner could be flipped. If he’s not, then he could be a decent streamer with solid minutes. Eating Beleskey’s salary helped the Rangers get this good of a return, with Lindgren being the main piece outside of the first. The former second round pick has been hampered by injuries over the last year plus, but he can be a nice, modern stay-at-home guy long term. Probably won’t have a lot of fantasy value, but a nice get for the Rangers.
Tomas Plekanec and Kyle Baum to Toronto for Kerby Rychel, Rinat Valiev, and a 2018 2nd round pick. Don’t really get this one for Toronto. I don’t see the need for Turtleneck to play on the fourth line. Maybe they’re moving Bozak? I don’t get this otherwise. Baum is AHL depth. Rychel is a former first round pick who hasn’t stuck in the NHL. He’s been solid in the AHL this season, but he’s a nice buy low for Montreal, who should have been happy with just the second for Plekanec. Valiev is a former third round pick who has been decent for the Marlies this year. Don’t see much fantasy upside, but maybe we’ll get a look at him down the stretch with Montreal on the rebuild.
Mark Letestu to Columbus, Pontus Aberg to Edmonton, 4th round pick to Nashville. Aberg has been jumped by others in Nashville, but he’s a nice get for Edmonton for a rental in Letestu. Kind of selling low for Nashville after Aberg’s quality play in the playoffs, but not a big deal. Letestu should slot into CBJ’s fourth line. I doubt he’s used on the top PP like he was in Edmonton so this will probably hurt his already low fantasy value.
Brandon Bollig and Troy Grosenick to Nashville for a 6th round pick. Depth for Nashville, although I don’t really see the point. You’re in trouble if you have to play either of those guys. Good for the Sharks to get anything for them.
Ian Cole to Columbus for Nick Moutrey and a 2020 3rd round pick. Good for Ottawa to flip Cole. Moutrey is a lottery ticket prospect who has been injury plagued for years.
Ryan Hartman to Nashville, along with a 2018 5th round pick, for a 2018 1st round pick, Victor Ejdsell, and a 2018 4th round pick. Wow, nice haul for Chicago. Ejdsell is a huge upside guy playing in Sweden at the moment. He’s a dynamic player who plays well on both sides of the rink, so he’s a great add to a first round pick, which already seems like a lot. Not sure where Hartman is slide into the lineup, but that’s a lot to give up. To be fair, Hartman is still only 23 years old and they’ll have him under team control for a long time. The minutes were also low in Chicago, so perhaps there’s more offense there, but we’ll have to see where he goes in the lineup before determining his fantasy value.
Paul Stastny to Winnipeg for a 2018 first round pick, Erik Foley, and a conditional 2020 4th round pick. Excellent get for Winnipeg as Stastny will slide right onto the second line, presumably with Ehlers and Laine. Huge for Stastny’s fantasy value and he should now be owned in all leagues. Foley is an offensive first winger who isn’t filled out. He’s playing well at Providence right now, but he’s a nice prospect for the Blues to add, as they determine they’re better off selling than trying to make a run
Brendan Leipsic to Vancouver for Philip Holm. Holm is a depth defenseman add for Vegas, who I assume will go to the AHL. Leipsic is a fourth liner. Swapping bottom guys to give them a new start, not much else to see here.
Evander Kane to San Jose for a conditional first and fourth round picks, plus Danny O’Reagan. The conditional first depends on whether Kane stays in SJ past this season. O’Reagan, who played with Eichel in college, isn’t much of a prospect. Wish the Sabres got more; this return is low unless Kane stays.
Thomas Vanek to Columbus for Jussi Jokinen and Tyler Motte. What is Vancouver doing? Vanek is playing at over a 60 point pace and that’s what you get!? Motte has been a failed prospect and Jokinen is irrelevant. How do you not get a good pick or prospect? Craziness.
Tomas Tatar to Vegas for a 2018 1st, 2019 2nd, and 2021 3rd. It sounds like Vegas really pushed for Karlsson, but once they realized that wouldn’t happen, Tatar was the target. He moves to an elite streamer from middling streamer assuming he slots into the second or third line. Nice return for Detroit, but how the hell did they not trade Mike Green? Completely mystifying.
Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to Tampa Bay for Vladislav Namestnikov, Brett Howden, Libor Hajek, a 2018 1st round pick, and a future conditional second that turns into a first if the Lightning win the Cup in one of the next two seasons. Wow, there’s the blockbuster. Reid and I talk about this trade extensively on the podcast that will drop in the next few hours. Namestnikov takes a hit leaving Tampa, to the point where he’s a middling streamer. Howden is a great fantasy prospect. Hajek is a player the Rangers specifically targeted in this deal. He looked great for the Czechs at the WJC and has plenty of upside. McDonagh’s value doesn’t change much in Tampa, and Miller probably moves to a hold depending on where he slots in the lineup, but the main thing is Tampa became prohibitive favorites.
Josh Jooris to Carolina for Greg McKegg. The mentioning of this trade is enough for this one.
Joe Morrow to Winnipeg for a 2018 4th round pick. Solid depth add for Winnipeg but nothing to see here for fantasy purposes.
Nick Shore to Calgary for a 2019 7th round pick. Another fourth liner to add to the mix in Calgary on a team that already had a cluttered bottom six.
Mike Reilly to Montreal for a 2019 5th round pick. Reilly isn’t a world beater by any stretch, but considering the other defensemen that went for a 3rd or 4th, Montreal did well here.
Patrick Maroon to New Jersey for J.D. Dudek and a 3rd round pick. Another nice get for New Jersey’s middle six. Depending on where Maroon slots into the lineup, he could go to elite streamer or middling streamer that’s more of a PIM play. Dudek is playing at Boston College and doesn’t seem like much of a prospect.
That’s all for now guys. Our podcast should be up shortly. Feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below.
