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Yahoo Fantasy Hockey: Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

Yahoo Fantasy Hockey: Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

Dobber launched his fantasy hockey website DobberHockey back in 2005 and has been Puck Daddy's resident fantasy hockey 'expert' since 2009.

Every fantasy owner's ears perk up when a player that he or she owns is traded. So naturally the NHL's trade deadline day brings a lot of excitement to the fantasy world, more so than the real hockey world. Where else are you going to find people who get worked up over a Brett Connolly deal?

More than any year that I can remember, the trade action wasn't limited to just the one day. There was plenty of action in the days leading up to March 2. Before I get to the traded players who underwent the biggest fantasy value change, here are five players who see little or no change despite the new address.

Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers - Jagr was on pace to finish with 41 points with the Devils and he's still going to finish with 41 points despite the trade. His ice time is the same - and so is his age. He's still 42 years old, his production is slowing, and after the initial post-trade adrenalin rush wears off he'll slow again.

Devante Smith-Pelly, Montreal Canadiens - DSP's value rests in his hit count. He is credited with nearly three hits per game and that won't change now that he's a Hab.

Jiri Sekac, Anaheim Ducks - Although he has three points in five games with his new team, Sekac isn't playing on the big line. Nor is he playing on the Ryan Kesler line. His ice time is up by about 30 seconds per game with the Ducks, but in his case that doesn't matter as much. In the 10 games that he's seen 16 minutes of ice time or more, he has three points. While there will be better things ahead for the 22-year-old in future years, as far as 2014-15 goes he's a 25-point player.

Jiri Tlusty, Winnipeg Jets - Tlusty was having a terrible season with Carolina and it was hoped that a change of scenery would help. But not if that change of scenery is going to Winnipeg, where they already have a bunch of 40-point forwards with upside, after the first line. Tlusty will just be another one of the gang, with little opportunity to compliment a start player on the top line.

Drew Stafford, Winnipeg Jets - See Tlusty, Jiri. Same issue here - just another one of the umpteen 40-point players where lines two and three are given the same priority. But at least it's not Buffalo, and that alone will help the ol' plus/minus.

These moves hurt

If you own these players, you may as well drop them…

Erik Cole, Detroit Red Wings - Cole was having a pretty good rebound campaign with Dallas, which is ironic because he played a lot with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn last year …but this season he's not playing with them at all. He just clicks better with Jason Spezza, go figure. In Detroit he's filling in for Johan Franzen, so he'll get the same quality opportunities that he got with Dallas - but it may not work out.

Cody Franson, Nashville Predators - I can't think of a worst team for Franson to go to. What's he going to do, topple Shea Weber or Roman Josi from the power play? If you have him in a keeper league, be thankful that he can get the hell out of there come July 1st.

Andrej Sekera, Los Angeles Kings - Sekera has shown in the past that when given the offensive reins he can produce. The problem is, he's so good defensively that he's generally not given an offense-oriented role unless the team has no other options. Well, the Kings have plenty of other options. There are a dozen other teams out there that could have put Sekera to work as a puck mover.

Antoine Vermette, Chicago Blackhawks - This was probably a foregone conclusion anyway, since Vermette was highly coveted for his defense and for his ability to chip in points from the third line. So we knew that whatever team picked him up would stick him in that role. He left one of the few situations where he could be a first-liner - Arizona.

Yes!

Fantasy owners of these players can celebrate…

Tomas Fleischmann, Anaheim Ducks - Fleischmann hit a wall two years ago with the Panthers. For whatever reason. And we knew he was going to be traded somewhere. But there weren't many teams out there with this kind of need for a scoring line winger and the fit in Anaheim works best. Having a coach already know and respect him is a nice bonus, too. If Flash were to flame out as a Duck, it certainly wouldn't be for lack of an ideal situation.

Brett Connolly, Boston Bruins - Well…fantasy owners aren't celebrating this now, given that Connolly is out until the postseason. But on Deadline Day I felt that this was the most underrated trade of the day. Connolly is a talented offensive forward who sat fourth on the Lightning in goals per 60 minutes. His lack of overall production there wasn't his fault. I mean, what as Coach Jon Cooper to do? Demote Nikita Kucherov? Ondrej Palat? The fact is, other young offensive studs were already filling the key roles perfectly so Connolly didn't have a chance.

James Wisniewski, Anaheim Ducks - Just 14 power-play points this season despite being on the league's eighth-ranked power play in Columbus, he joins the 22nd ranked PP in Anaheim. But there is a better opportunity for him now. The Ducks really need what he brings and they will lean on him heavily, especially while Sami Vatanen is sidelined.

Marek Zidlicky, Detroit Red Wings - Zidlicky leaves a shared PP situation in which the likes of Damon Severson and Eric Gelinas saw a lot of the five-on-four action, to join the No.1 power play in the NHL where just one other defenseman sees PP time (Kronwall). Sure enough, Zidlicky's first goal in his first game was on the power play.

Chris Stewart, Minnesota Wild - The enigmatic Stewart (See? I used that word about a non-Russian player so there) has his good days seasons and bad days seasons, but the best stint of his career was immediately after he was traded to St. Louis. Maybe lightning will strike twice? Can't be worse than staying in Buffalo. So yes, just being traded at all is a good thing for Stewart.

Keith Yandle, New York Rangers - Yandle was a reliable plus/minus guy for four years. But then in his last two seasons he took a beating, posting a minus-55. That's what McHappens when  your McTeam starts McLosing for some reason. He'll always be one of the best options for points for defensemen, but his new team will seriously help his other stats.

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