Friday was one of the most eventful trade deadlines in my lifetime. It had plenty of quantity, and an unparalleled amount of quality moved. I’m going to note all of the trades that happened that carry any fantasy relevance, even for the deepest of leagues. Some of them will be irrelevant even in the deepest of leagues, but there will also be blockbusters to discuss. I will be going in the order that they happened, not in order of magnitude. And with that, let’s get to it!
Florida Panthers acquire Vitek Vanecek from the San Jose Sharks for Patrick Giles.
Vanecek is the new backup in Florida with Knight in Chicago. He’s starting on Saturday night and becomes a viable streamer every time he starts. Giles is AHL depth for San Jose.
Tampa Bay Lightning acquire Yanni Gourde, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Kyle Aucoin and a 5th round pick from the Seattle Kraken for Mikey Eyssimont, two first rounds pick and a second. Detroit picks up a 4th for retaining money.
Long time Razzballers know that I’ve long been a Bjorkstrand fan. He scored a goal on two shots in his Tampa debut, but played only 14 minutes. He’s not getting PP1 time, so he gets a bump, but not a big one. Solid streamer. Gourde is a great fit in real life, but only for deep leagues. The others involved are fantasy irrelevant.
Pittsburgh Penguins acquire Luke Schenn and Tommy Novak from the Nashville Predators for Michael Bunting and a fourth round pick.
Schenn was flipped to Winnipeg for two draft picks later on. He is what he is, a deep league option for the banger categories. Novak has struggled mightily this season, but he’s a decent gamble for Pittsburgh. With them out of the playoff picture, Novak should get time. I’m not using him yet, but he’s worth monitoring. Bunting is currently out after an appendectomy, but Nashville could be a decent landing spot for him for next season.
Vegas Golden Knights acquire Reilly Smith from the New York Rangers for Brendan Brisson and a third round pick.
Really don’t understand this for Vegas. They really need to hope Smith gets his legs back because he was awful for the Rangers and wasn’t any better in Pittsburgh last season. Vegas’ wing depth is mediocre so an opportunity could be there, but for now, I’m not touching him. Brisson is a former first round pick that still has some long term upside. For now, he’s in the AHL.
New York Rangers acquire Carson Soucy for a third round pick from the Vancouver Canucks.
Soucy has been bad this season, but he’s had moments of deep league value in the past. He scored in his Rangers debut Saturday, so there could be something again.
Edmonton Oilers acquire Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks for Carl Berglund and a first round pick.
Remember when the Red Wings gave up a second round pick to dump Walman in the summer for reasons unknown? They sure could use him now. Anyways, this is a big hit to Walman’s fantasy value. The power play time is going to disappear and it’s unclear where he slots in the lineup when Ekholm is back. He’s not a hold in 12’ers anymore, but would still hold him in anything deeper. Timothy Liljegren should run PP1 for the Sharks now which gives him a bump. Berglund is AHL depth.
Colorado Avalanche acquire Brock Nelson and William Dufour from the New York Islanders for Calum Ritchie, Oliver Kylington (flipped to Anaheim for future considerations), a first round pick, and a conditional third.
Now here’s a blockbuster. Nelson leaves the only team he’s known to step into a nearly perfect situation. The one question I have is whether or not he goes on PP1 or not. Otherwise, he’s going to get massive minutes because of Bednar, and he should get to play with two great wingers, more than likely Big Val and Drouin to start. He’s clearly must own everywhere and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a huge finish similar to what Kadri did in their Cup season. Dufour is actually an okay prospect. He has regressed in the AHL this season, so there’s a chance he ends up an AHL guy, but he could still end up a depth scoring winger in the NHL.
For the Isles, Ritchie is an excellent get. He should be in the NHL next season with a great chance to make an impact right now. It is a slight hit to his dynasty value as being in Colorado is the dream, but I fully expect him to be a top six winger pretty much from the get go. I like Anaheim getting Kylington for nothing on the chance he can find his game from a few years ago, even if it’s unlikely.
Washington Capitals acquire Anthony Beauvillier from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a second round pick.
I assume Beauvillier only has super deep league value as he could end up on the 4th line. That said, his underlying metrics are pretty good this year so perhaps there’s a chance for more.
Los Angeles Kings acquire Andrei Kuzmenko and a seventh round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers for a third round pick.
I’m noting this because Kuzmenko is apparently going to get a crack with Kopitar and Kempe. It’s been two years now, but maybe Kuzmenko can find that magic he had with the top guys in Vancouver now with the Kings? It’s worth monitoring for now.
Ottawa Senators acquire Dylan Cozens, Dennis Gilbert and a second round pick from the Buffalo Sabres for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker.
Well now. I’m not surprised that Cozens and Norris were moved, but I am surprised that it happened for each other. Most teams don’t take the risk of sending them within the division. Also, somehow this is the first trade ever of two players with $7m+ cap hits, which is insane. Anyways, this trade has massive variance in both directions. I can see this being a massive win for either team, or a trade that doesn’t change much.
For Ottawa, they’re buying into Cozens from two seasons ago and players thriving when they leave Buffalo. He’s been poor for the last two seasons since he was rocked in a fight against Hathaway. Maybe the change of scenery helps him get his game back on track. He stepped onto the second line and second PP right away, which makes him a mediocre to solid streamer. I could see him getting back to a hold level, or I can see a year from now that we’re dumbfounded that Cozens ever scored 30 goals and 70 points. Gilbert is depth with no fantasy value.
For the Sabres, they make another shakeup to their core which desperately needed to happen. I’m not really sure why they had to add a second round pick, but whatever. Norris’ value will come down largely to his health. Three shoulder surgeries is terrifying, even if the second was to correct a mistake from the first one. He also isn’t a play driver, but the Sabres have wingers that can do that for him, namely Tuch. For fantasy, he’s a solid streamer with hold upside. Can he get his shot rate back to the 2.5 per game he had when he scored 35 goals in 66 games? This season, he has plenty of goals, but he’s getting carried by a high shooting percentage to make up for being under two per game. He’s stepping right onto PP1, so if I had to pick one between the two for fantasy, it would be Norris. JBD could turn into a solid third pairing guy, but he’s so low event I can’t imagine any fantasy impact.
Dallas Stars acquire Mikko Rantanen (signed 8×12 extension) from the Carolina Hurricanes for Logan Stankoven, two first round picks and a third round pick.
Holy smokes. This trade took almost 12 hours to complete since it was dependent on an extension. Can you imagine 2 months ago thinking Rantanen would end up on Dallas?? Dallas is the Cup favorite for me now. Rantanen did not do well in Carolina, so hopefully now that he’s settled in a spot for the long term, he gets back to his game. He’s immediately playing with Hintz and Robertson, which helps both of their values, even though Hintz is hotter than the sun right now. Rantanen should end up as a top 20 player again with upside to push towards his borderline top five value from before. He probably can’t quite reach Colorado levels because the ice time will be less, but this is a win from where Rantanen was before the deadline.
Stankoven is stepping right onto the first line with Aho and Svechnikov. He’s a great fit for what Carolina wants to do. This is a bump from where he was in Dallas. For now, I have him as an elite streamer, but I can see him getting to a hold. Whether it’s now or next season, Stankoven is going to end up a hold for the next decade.
Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Scott Laughton, a fourth round pick and a sixth round pick from the Philadelphia Flyers for Nikita Grebenkin and a first round pick.
Bigger move in real life than fantasy, but Laughton gets a small boost going to Toronto. Grebenkin is a late bloomer who did very well in the KHL last season. He’ll end up a bottom six grinder, but his offense has continually improved so maybe there’s more? In banger leagues, he’s a decent sleeper for sooner than later.
Winnipeg Jets acquire Brandon Tanev from the Seattle Kraken for a second round pick.
He’s fallen off this season, but perhaps Tanev gets his game back with his original team, which would make him an elite hits streamer with the occasional goal.
Colorado Avalanche acquire Charlie Coyle and a fifth round pick from the Boston Bruins for Casey Mittelstadt, William Zellers, and a second round pick.
I’ve never seen a team transform their roster midseason like this Colorado team. Both goalies were out of the door by the New Year, traded away Rantanen, and completely revamped their center depth and defensive depth. Coyle is a bottom end streamer as he’ll be stuck behind MacKinnon and Nelson. Mittelstadt started off this season extremely well but fell off a cliff. It’s a decent gamble for Boston to take, as he was quite good on bad Buffalo teams. For now, he’s a bottom end streamer depending on where he slots into the lineup. Zellers was just a third round pick and isn’t even in college yet (he’s going to North Dakota next season). He’s years away from sniffing the NHL.
Detroit Red Wings acquire Petr Mrazek and Craig Smith from the Blackhawks for Joe Veleno.
With Knight in town, it made sense to move Mrazek. Perhaps Veleno can be a second team guy, and with Chicago in the doldrums, it’s a good gamble to take. Detroit is keeping three goalies so I don’t expect Mrazek to play a ton, but you never know. It is a hit to his value for deep leagues where he was playing more in Chicago than he would here, at least before the Knight move.
Florida Panthers acquire Brad Marchand from the Boston Bruins for a conditional draft pick, probably a first but could be a second.
Wowza, did not see this coming. The issue is that Marchand might not be back until the very end of the regular season. I also don’t see anyone in Boston that’s likely to step up in that void. Obviously if Marchand is back, Florida is an excellent fit for him and he remains must own everywhere.
Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Brandon Carlo from the Boston Bruins for Fraser Minten, a first round pick and a fourth round pick.
This is more notable for Minten than Carlo. That’s not to say Carlo isn’t a fine player, but he’s far more valuable in real life than fantasy. That said, Minten has a bit too much shine on him just because he was a Toronto prospect, in my opinion. I see a pretty good 3C here sooner than later that coaches love because he does all of the right things on both ends of the ice. His fantasy value will be driven by the quality of his linemates and if he gets any PP time.
Ottawa Senators acquire Fabian Zetterlund, Tristen Robins, and a fourth round pick from the San Jose Sharks for Noah Gregor, Zack Ostapchuk, and a second round pick.
Pretty sneaky pickup for the Senators. Not sure where he’s going to slot into their lineup, but Zetterlund has done quite well for himself the last couple years. For now, I think middling streamer, but could swing a bit in either direction. Robins is a former second round pick, but he hasn’t done much in three years in the AHL. I’m not saying he has no chance to make the NHL, but I don’t see fantasy value. Ostapchuk looks to be a bit of a tweener, although he has been better this season. Gregor goes back to the Sharks for a fourth line role.
New Jersey Devils acquire Daniel Sprong from the Seattle Kraken for a seventh round pick.
It’s a long shot with how he’s played this season, but perhaps Sprong bounces back for the Devils. He should get a chance given their injuries.
Pittsburgh Penguins acquire Conor Timmins and Connor Dewar from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a fifth round pick.
This is a real long shot, but I’ve always liked Timmins’ game. Perhaps he can get some super deep league value with Pittsburgh near the bottom of the standings.
And that’s everything. I will return to a lot of these trades next week to look at the early returns and the new roles for everyone. Please ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
