Fantasy Impact: The Edmonton Oilers acquire Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jussi Jokinen.

The Oilers get: A veteran depth winger in exchange for a veteran depth winger. Mike Cammalleri’s second go-around with the Kings lasted only 15 games as he will now join an Oilers club looking to inject some offense. Cammalleri has always possessed offensive talent, but it has been a long time since he was a consistent source of offense. His per-60-minutes scoring over the past decade reads like a scatter plot without a trend line:

Thus far, the returns have been good for Cammalleri, whom the Oilers will also hope they can keep healthy. It will certainly help if Cammalleri sees time with better linemates as his most common ones in LA leave a lot to be desired:

31.9%    CAMMALLERI,MIKE – LAICH,BROOKS – LEWIS,TREVOR

29.2%    CAMMALLERI,MIKE – LEWIS,TREVOR – SHORE,NICK

20.6%    CAMMALLERI,MIKE – KEMPE,ADRIAN – LEWIS,TREVOR

11.9%    CAMMALLERI,MIKE – DOWD,NIC – LAICH,BROOKS

6.3%      BRODZINSKI,JONNY – CAMMALLERI,MIKE – KEMPE,ADRIAN

Jumping onto a line with Ryan Strome and Drake Caggiula, while not great, would represent an upgrade for Cammalleri. With improved linemates and perhaps a spike in usage to 13-14 minutes a game and secondary power play usage, Cammalleri could well continue on his pace to score in the 40-point range. That won’t have much value in most leagues but would certainly be a boon to a struggling Oilers squad.

The ever deferential Strome also likely sees a small boost as well with the addition of a genuine goal scorer vs. the similarly deferential Jokinen. Cammalleri also looms as a scoring option who could bump any of Caggiula, Jesse Puljujarvi or Mark Letestu out of a power play spot.

The Kings get: A stud possession winger who has seen his scoring fall off in recent years. Jokinen seemed a logical fit for the Oilers as a cheap but productive veteran who could help to control play on a depth line and chip in with some secondary scoring, however 14 games into his Oiler tenure he had just one point and no goals. As strong as Jokinen’s possession metrics have been (58% CF, 62% FF, 62% SCF, 71% HDCF) the desperate Oilers were not hanging their hat on process.

While the Kings have sought to increase tempo in a (successful thus far) effort to improve their scoring, is anyone surprised to see the Kings add a strong possession player like Jokinen? Jokinen’s offense should come around, although it won’t be great if he’s stuck with the linemates that Cammalleri had with the Kings. He will, however, be an effective defensive forward, which could ultimately help the Kings top-six scoring lines.

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This trade likely won’t involve much direct fantasy value for any of the parties involved but if it proves to be a win-win then the fallout will be felt in improved results for the better players on these two teams, predominantly the goaltenders.

Players this helps in order:

Jonathan Quick

Cam Talbot

Mike Cammalleri

Ryan Strome

Players this hurts in order:

Mark Letestu

Drake Caggiula

Jesse Puljujarvi

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