With so many major trades happening over the weekend, I feel like the only choice was to write about them tonight. I’ll have some quick hits about what happened on the ice over the weekend at the end, but this post is going to be focused on trades. The #1 player on the market, Timo Meier, was traded to the Devils on Sunday night, uniting him with his Swiss teammates Hischier and Siegenthaler. In totality, the trade looks like this:
New Jersey Devils acquire forwards Timo Meier and Timur Ibragimov, defensemen Scott Harrington and Santeri Hatakka, goalie Zachary Emond, and a 5th-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Andreas Johnsson, defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nikita Okhotiuk, and a conditional 1st-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, a conditional 2nd-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, and a 7th-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Let’s start with the Devils and work our way to the Sharks. Meier will probably start on Hischier’s line, which immediately gives Hischier a boost. Granted, he was already a hold in all formats, but we could see additional upside. This does help Tomas Tatar at even strength, but the problem is that Tatar is going to lose his PP1 spot to Meier. Overall, that’s a net negative and drops him down to a middling streamer.
For Meier himself, I’m not expecting much of a change in his points. However, this will certainly fix his plus-minus. I also expect a slight downtick in his shot rate, but that’s speculation on my end. I don’t think we see him close to five per game, but more along the lines of 4-4.25 per game. Regardless, that’s among the league’s best, so it won’t impact him too much. Overall, this is a net win for Meier solely for plus-minus.
Harrington will be in the discussion for the third pair in New Jersey. Karlsson carried him for a bit, so I don’t expect much here. I bolded Hatakka because there’s a chance he eventually gets NHL games. He’s a great skater, but a relatively poor puck mover, so I don’t expect much either way, but for those in super deep leagues, he’s a lottery ticket. The other two are organizational depth.
I’ll start with the guys that will start in the NHL for the Sharks and work our way down. Zetterlund has established himself as a middle six player for the Devils this year. My guess is that he goes onto a line with Hertl, taking Meier’s spot right away. Maybe he goes onto PP1 too? If I had to guess, this helps Zetterlund’s value for the rest of the season. He’s still only a middling streamer, but he could go up a level. Johnsson has fallen out of the NHL, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sharks give him a chance for more NHL games. There’s nothing here for fantasy now though.
Mukhamadullin is the prize asset here depending on how you feel about the first round pick(s). He’s a lock to be a top four defensemen for me. I think he’ll end up on the second pair because while he doesn’t have any clear weaknesses, I’m not sure he possesses an elite trait either. I suspect he’ll be better in real life than fantasy, but he should be on your radar in dynasties. He could be in the NHL as soon as next season. While Okhotiuk isn’t going to be as good of a player as Mukhamadullin, I think he’s going to be a guy you deep league players absolutely love. The man loves to throw his body around, and he will get a lot of penalties. I don’t see any real offensive upside though, as he’ll probably be a third pair / PK guy. That would be enough for him to be at the bottom of your rosters for hits. The draft pick this season will certainly be a first rounder, as it would have to be a top two pick for it not to convey. The other pick turns into a second first if the Devils make the ECF in either of the next two seasons, otherwise it’s a second. Overall, I really like this trade for the Devils, and think it’s a solid return for the Sharks.
Tampa Bay Lightning acquire forward Tanner Jeannot from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Cal Foote, a conditional 1st-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, a 2nd-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-round picks in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Insert a clip of Wayne Jenkins saying “God damn!!” here. I don’t doubt that the Lightning can get the best out of Jeannot, but holy smokes, he cost more than Orlov and Hathaway combined did. Tampa is really giving up all of their picks. Anyways, Jeannot has 5 goals this season after scoring 24 last season. One year he shot 20%, the other he shot 5%. Reality should be somewhere in the middle. He hits everything that moves, and stylistically, he’s a great fit for what Tampa does in their bottom six. He should slide right onto a line with Paul and Colton. I already look forward to him scoring some big goals for Tampa against Toronto in the first round. I’m bumping him back up to a middling streamer, and even higher in hits leagues, but it’s speculative on my end. Foote has really fallen off to the point where I don’t see much of a future for him. Maybe he gets back on track in Nashville, but he’s a lottery ticket now. That said, nice to get a lotto ticket on top of five draft picks!
Colorado Avalanche acquire defenseman Jack Johnson from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenseman Andreas Englund. Why the Avs want JMFJ back I don’t know, but he must be the best locker room guy ever because he’s the worst player in the league. Englund isn’t much either, but he could pile up some hits on the third pair.
Vegas Golden Knights acquire forward Ivan Barbashev from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forward Zach Dean. It really depends where Barbashev slots into the Vegas lineup. Does he go onto Eichel’s wing on the first line, or does he end up playing center? If he goes onto Eichel’s wing, I would consider him a solid streamer, but I’m never going past that because of how poor the shot rate is. I really like this move for the Blues. They have added a ton of picks already, and now they add a former first round pick further down the development path. Dean should end up as a middle sixer, a guy who is just good at most things and brings a physical presence. I don’t see a ton of upside, but he should have a long career.
Dallas Stars acquire forward Evgenii Dadonov from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Denis Gurianov. Gurianov is a great lotto ticket for the Canadiens. Who knows if he can get back to where he was before, but it’s worth finding out as a return for Dadonov. I’m not sure which line Dadonov slots into. My guess is onto a line with Seguin and Marchment, mostly because they won’t want to split up the other middle six line. He’s a middling streamer to start, but I don’t see a ton of upside since he can’t get onto PP1.
Winnipeg Jets acquire forward Nino Niederreiter from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2nd-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. I absolutely love this trade for the Jets. Nino only costing a second is great work. With Cole Perfetti probably out for the rest of the regular season, Niederreiter should immediately step onto a top line. There’s a spot right now next to Connor and Scheifele. I’m immediately bumping him up to an elite streamer on the hopes that he clicks right away in their top six.
Vancouver Canucks acquire forward Vitali Kravtsov from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward William Lockwood and a 7th-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Lockwood is organizational depth, which shows you how little interest there is in Kravtsov across the league. It’s a great gamble for Vancouver at this price. The Rangers put themselves into this hole as they clear space for Kane, who presumably will get traded there on Wednesday. I don’t care about Kravtsov right now, but maybe he gets his career back on track.
In non-trade news:
Linus Ullmark scored a goal! Absolutely incredible stuff. Ullmark is lapping the field as the #1 overall player this year and is a massive favorite for the Vezina now. I always liked Ullmark more than most, but I never saw this coming.
Alex Tuch is week-to-week, presumably with an ankle or foot injury after blocking a shot. This really hurts the Sabres, so hopefully he’s only out for two weeks, but we don’t have a clear timetable. Jack Quinn moved onto the first line and dished two assists in the 7-4 win over the Capitals, while also getting in a fight. He’s a solid streamer. Elite game from Dylan Cozens too, scoring a hat trick while adding an assist, eight shots, and four PIM.
Aleksander Barkov is out on Tuesday against the Lightning, but he is expected back on Thursday. Sam Bennett could be back on Tuesday, as Florida is on the fringe of the playoff race now. Spencer Knight entered the league’s assistance program. Here’s to hoping he can get his life back on track. Sergei Bobrovsky is going to start basically every game at this point.
Travis Konecny went on IR with his injury. We haven’t received any update otherwise. It’s a shame considering the career year that he’s having. Here’s to hoping he’s back sooner than later.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Tuesday’s games per usual. You can’t select McDavid, Draisaitl, Kucherov, Thompson, Pastrnak, M. Tkachuk, Karlsson, Pettersson, Hughes, or Marner. I’ll go with Crosby against the Predators.
That’s all for now guys. I don’t know how many trades are left, but unless Chychrun is moved in the next two days or something completely off the grid, I will have my usual daily notes on Wednesday. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
