This week on Frozen Pool Forensics, we’ll dig into several players who moved organizations and how that will impact them in the world of fantasy.

It’s become common knowledge that the NHL entry draft and days leading up to it are king when it comes to reshaping your organization, and despite the lackluster results of the most recent trade deadline, it’s still important to take stock of the players of impact who were moved and how that may affect their fantasy values. As well, for the younger players who were often shipped the other direction, do they suddenly have a much clearer path to a full-time spot? Will a new coaching regime push them where they need to go to be successful?

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Nikolay Goldobin

Jim Benning coming away as the consensus winner of the trade deadline is enough to make you question up from down. It’s as if we’re living in the bizzaro world coined by Superman and made real by Seinfeld.

One of his prized new young players that he pried away last week is Nikolay Goldobin. The 21-year-old winger owns high-end offensive skills and a creative mind to go along with it. The knock on him since his draft season was his strength and play away from the puck. Those hindrances – which seem to be slowly evaporating, allowed him to slip all the way to 27^th overall in 2014 where San Jose snapped him up.

Word around the campfire was Benning and co. were very close to selecting him at 24 but decided they needed a centre and took Jared McCann instead. Well they’ve got the silky Russian now and it’s time to see what they’ll do with him.

Immediately recalled to Vancouver upon the trade, Goldobin didn’t waste any time scoring a goal-scorer’s goal by blowing the zone a fraction of a second early and potting a nice breakaway tally against Ben Bishop.

Of course Goldobin scores in his first game! pic.twitter.com/5hMShy5ajq

— Sharks Central (@SJSharksNHL) March 5, 2017

The problem is, after that goal which put the Canucks up 4-0 midway through the second period, Goldobin saw just 23 more seconds of ice time the rest of the game. Sure, he is completely new to the team and doesn’t know their systems, but with a healthy lead and on a team pushing for a lottery pick rather than a playoff spot, you’d think development would supersede risk in this situation.

Game Log

With Loui Eriksson now sidelined with a lower body injury, Goldobin has been given an opportunity to play on the team’s actual first line next to Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi. That’s a line that could see immediate chemistry and would form a strong jumping off point for Goldobin’s Canuck career and a springboard into fantasy relevancy.

Much will be shown through the final 16 games. Can Goldobin earn enough respect from the coach to warrant more than 8-12 minutes a night? Can the Canucks add an influx of young talent and place them in situations to succeed late in the season to help give them a jump start heading into 2017-18? – I’m talking to you, Jordan Subban, Brock Boeser and Adam Gaudette.

Much will need to be decided, but what we do know is that Goldobin has moved into a situation that is more likely for him to reach fantasy relevancy sooner. Opportunity is key, and he should have plenty of it heading into next fall.

*  Fun fact – due to the date in which Goldobin signed his entry level contract (mere days before his 19^th birthday) has allowed his contract to slide twice and thus leaves him two more seasons on the deal. This makes him a cost-effective asset in cap leagues for longer and should allow management to truly get a hold on his value before extending him as an RFA after the 2018-19 campaign. *

Mark Streit

With the state of Pittsburgh’s defense core, Jim Rutherford sneaking Mark Streit in a flip flop from Philadelphia via Tampa Bay may have been one of the more underrated moves at the deadline. We spoke a couple weeks back about Streit’s former propensity for racking up points – especially on the man advantage, but those days appeared to be in his rear-view. He had been leap-frogged by Shayne Gostisbehere with Ivan Provorov nipping at his heels.

The move to the Penguins has opened a chance for Streit to see some quality top four even-strength minutes with highly offensive players, all the while seeing roughly a 30 percent share of the team’s man-advantage time from the second unit.

Thus far, the results have been fruitful.

Game Log

A goal, four points and nine shots on net in the first three games, while seeing just under 19 minutes a night is terrific production for a player that is currently sitting on more waiver wires than rosters. He’s owned in just 41.3 percent of ESPN leagues.

Even when everyone is healthy and rolling, the 39-year-old should maintain his spot on the second unit power play and likely with a much more proficient partner passing him the puck in either Justin Schultz or Kris Letang.

PIT Last Game Line Combinations

His fantasy stock has risen with this move and would be a great looking addition for the early playoff rounds for teams in need of a boost.

Don’t rule out a return to Pittsburgh in the offseason either. Streit has made it clear he’d like to return to the NHL for another season and if things go well in the Steel City, he could be a cheap compliment to their backend for another season.

Thomas Vanek

Back to the bizzaro-world. Since when does Alex Burrows demand a far greater return than Thomas Vanek? “I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!”

Well, that’s exactly what happened on deadline day, as the Panthers grabbed Vanek for a sixth-round pick from Detroit. The Austrian sniper will be a welcomed addition amongst an already formidable top nine in the Sunshine state.

NHL Stats – Last 5 Years

Vanek was thriving in Detroit; putting up the highest point-per-game output (0.76) since 2013-14 while seeing 2:50 on the man advantage and being utilized in a very optimal way, via his 71.65 percent offensive zone start time.

You can’t ask for much more than that.

Now in Florida, he’s been seeing most of his time on the second line and second power play unit next to Vincent Trocheck. He’s being tasked with bringing leadership and finishing ability to that secondary unit and could be a worthy replacement on the top line if Jaromir Jagr slows or things need a shake-up.

As far as his fantasy stock goes, getting out from the basement-dwelling Red Wings squad who have scored just the 25^th most goals this season, is a boon. He wasn’t seeing much more than 50 percent of the team’s share of power play ice in Detroit and should be expected to see about the same in Florida.

He can be utilized down the stretch for some depth production to your squad and Florida is a team with a very favourable fantasy playoff schedule. The Panthers play eight games in the traditional two-week finals’ matchup and on top of that, they open with a Monday/Tuesday/Thursday start and then close with three games in the last four days. Prime opportunities to stream in a player like Vanek to maximize games and go for the gold in the final days of the fantasy season.

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Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on Twitter @CrazyJoeDavola3 where I often give unsolicited fantasy advice that I’m sure at least someone is listening to.