The Ottawa Senators traded Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Filip Kuba, Alexandre Picard and a first-round draft pick.

The Sens get:  a decent, but inconsistent rearguard in Kuba, a promising young offensive rearguard in Picard, and a pick in the top 30 in 2009. They also get quite a lot for a defenseman who they were having trouble signing…but the best of what they received in return won't be reaped for a couple of years. That being said, letting Meszaros sign an offer sheet and taking the draft picks would have meant an even longer wait.

The Lightning get: a steady, dependable two-way rearguard, which is something that they had been lacking really. The Lightning had several defensemen with an offensive touch – Matt Carle, Andrew Hutchinson, Picard and Janne Niskala. Now they have injected a 40-point defenseman with a defensive conscience.

Fantasy Players Impacted: Kuba is no Meszaros. Picard is no Meszaros. The Sens will struggle to replace the dependability, but in the long run Picard and that first will help this team. Getting two defensemen for one could make it tough for Brian Lee to stick – but he will, don't worry. Brendan Bell will be the odd man out. Picard's outlook will suffer, as he won't get near the ice time now that he would have had for TB.

With two defensemen out of TB and only one coming back, that pretty much solidifies Hutchinson on the squad and improves Niskala's chance of making it.