Fantasy Hockey Impact of the NHL Trade Deadline – Part 3

How might defensemen and goalies traded before the NHL trade deadline perform with their new teams? Jason Chen examines them from a fantasy hockey lens.

It’s been one of the craziest NHL trade deadlines in history, and there’s a lot to digest for fantasy hockey.

For the most part, players who got moved from non-playoff teams to contenders saw their fantasy values rise. Even with less ice time, playing with better players on a better team should equate to quality over quantity.

In case you missed it, here’s the fantasy rundown on the Bo Horvat, Vladimir Tarasenko and Timo Meier trades, with Part 1 rounding up the rest from last week. Part 2 featured the rest of the forwards who switched addresses.

Here’s Part 3 featuring defensemen and goalies who switched addresses and their fantasy impact for the rest of the season.

All player positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo as of Friday night.

The Bruins have the Midas touch this season, and Orlov has been impressive in his short stint with the Bruins so far. It’s unlikely he’ll keep scoring three points per game like he did in his first two appearances for Boston, but it is noteworthy that he rose up the depth chart and now plays a top-four role with Brandon Carlo. As long as Orlov puts up the points, he’s worth picking up in all leagues.

Gostisbehere’s not displacing Brent Burns from the top power play, but the good news is the Canes have two good units. Their playing style should fit Gostisbehere like a glove. His 31 points in 52 games with the Coyotes is quite respectable, considering they can barely score most nights. While he won’t be averaging 22:30 with the Canes as he did with the Coyotes, perhaps less is more. He’ll be playing with better linemates on a better team, offsetting the decrease in ice time. His fantasy value remains unchanged, and he should be rostered in most leagues at a fairly shallow position.

Chychrun played less than 20 minutes in his first two games with the Sens, but he hasn’t look rusty at all despite sitting out for almost three weeks waiting for a trade. He got a goal and an assist against the New York Rangers Saturday night. His ice time should climb as he becomes acclimated to his new surroundings, but note Thomas Chabot remains the top power-play quarterback. While Chychrun was asked to do almost everything with the Coyotes, his role with the Sens will obviously be much different. It hurts his fantasy value a bit because he won’t get the same kind of opportunities, especially on offense, but it’s nice for fantasy managers who have him rostered just to see him play again. Chychrun remains a hold for the rest of the fantasy season, with some potential for further upside if his ice time increases.

Ekholm played 20:50 in his Oilers debut and looked very good, notching an assist, two blocks and three hits. It was a tough season with the Preds, but the Oilers’ high-powered attack means Ekholm’s bound to get more involved. Along with a modest amount of blocks and hits, Ekholm will likely see an uptick in point production, making him a quality depth defensemen in most leagues with a high floor.

You hope playing on a new team will help Klingberg get on track. After signing a one-year contract with the Ducks that was believed to be mutually beneficial, neither side really ended up getting what they wanted. The Ducks flipped him at the deadline for an asset, and Klingberg will get another crack at free agency this summer. With 24 points, including just six on the power play, and a minus-28 rating in 50 games on the worst defensive team in the cap era, Klingberg effectively cratered his own value.

Now he is with the Wild to regain some value on a team miles ahead of the Ducks, but it remains to be seen if Dean Evason can trust him enough to give him regular minutes, not to mention Klingberg will have to battle Calen Addison for time on the power play. If Klingberg doesn’t play PP1 and share the ice with Kirill Kaprizov, he can be written off for the rest of the fantasy season.

Of all the defensemen to get moved at the deadline, Barrie gets the rawest deal. He goes from quarterbacking the league’s best power play and sharing the ice with Connor McDavid to a franchise committed to a rebuild without their top center (Ryan Johansen) and winger (Filip Forsberg) due to injuries. Barrie won’t have much to work with, and he’ll certainly take a back seat to captain Roman Josi when it comes to offensive deployment. Barrie’s fantasy value may have cratered as a result of this trade, and note only 16 of his 44 points this season were scored at even strength.

Sandin has some sneaky value with his new team. Aside from being a solid contributor in banger leagues, a new role and increased ice time could allow him to increase his production in all categories. No word on when John Carlson may return, but in the meantime, Sandin has gotten the chance to quarterback the Caps’ power play, meaning he’ll be sharing the ice with Alex Ovechkin. He got three assists in his Caps debut on Saturday. For fantasy managers looking for some upside among defensemen, Sandin is worth a stash in deeper leagues.

Hronek has yet to play a game and remains injured. When healthy, expect him to play a top-four role for the Canucks. The coveted spot will be next to Quinn Hughes, but it remains to be seen if the Canucks want to stack their top pair or have Hronek provide some offense on the other pairing to balance things out. Hronek was very good with the Wings, though his production might take a hit on a poor Canucks team. They’ll also likely stick to a four-forward unit on their top power play with Hughes as the quarterback.

If Korpisalo can unseat Pheonix Copley for the starting job, or at least force himself into a 1A-1B rotation, he’ll gain immense value in fantasy. Copley and Korpisalo have had similar numbers this season, but Korpisalo has the playoff experience that Copley doesn’t. Fantasy managers will have to keep a close eye on how Korpisalo plays with his new team, and if they have the space, he’s a fantastic roster stash.

As long as Adin Hill plays well, Quick’s fantasy value will be capped. It’s true he’s been terrible for most of the season, but the Knights play a goalie-friendly system, meaning they’re good at limiting shots and quality chances. In Quick’s words, he’s plenty motivated after getting traded from the only team he’s ever known and helped win two Cups. Fantasy managers should wait and see how well Quick fares before snatching him up, though quality goaltending has indeed been scarce this season. There’s no word on when Logan Thompson will return, but he’s the presumptive No. 1, which will leave Hill and Quick to battle for the backup job.