Fantasy Impact: The San Jose Sharks have acquired Brent Burns and a second-round pick in 2012 from the Minnesota Wild for Devin Setoguchi, prospect Charlie Coyle, and a first-round pick in 2011 (28th overall – Zack Phillips).

The Sharks get: That big, bruising, skilled defenseman that they sorely need.

The Wild get: A young 30-goal winger in Setoguchi, one of the top prospects in the game in Charlie Coyle, and Zack Phillips, whom we describe in the Fantasy Prospects Report (buy it here) as:

Zack Phillips, C

2010-11 Team: Saint John (QMJHL)

While Saint John forward Zack Phillips didn't quite match teammate Jonathan Huberdeau's 2010-11 output, there's no reason that upwards of 20 or more spots should separate the two come June 24th. A heady, safe foil to Huberdeau's razzle dazzle, the 6'0 180 lbs forward anchored both special teams units at times for the Sea Dogs en route to the Memorial Cup. A terrific student of the game who is seemingly always a step or two ahead of the play, Phillips doesn't have the softest hands nor the quickest feet or even the biggest frame, but his compete level and strong defensive zone play more than make up for his other raw qualities. An underused but still lethal release completes a very enticing package. If you aren't in a position to snag Huberdeau when Draft Day arrives in your pool, don't panic- a perfectly good consolation prize should fall right into your lap.

Upside: Two-way center, 25-40-65+

Projected Round: Late 1st. See mock draft.

Fantasy Impact: Setoguchi should see increased ice time in Minnesota, who now boast a Top 6 of Mikko Koivu, Martin Havlat, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Guillaume Latendresse, Setoguchi and Matt Cullen – in order of likely ice/PP time. Will that help his numbers? His numbers will go up, but they were bound to anyway. He was probably looking at a 50- or 55-point season in San Jose, and he’s looking at that now, too. His arrival pushes Cal Clutterbuck out of the Top 6 (where he was misplaced) and spells the end of one of (or both) Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen, who are both UFA’s this summer, in Minnesota. This also hurts the chances of James Sheppard and/or Casey Wellman elbowing their way into significant ice time.

For San Jose, provided Brent Burns is healthy, the team has improved dramatically. Burns has had three healthy seasons out of six, so it’s a 50-50 proposition. But if healthy, the Sharks have a 6-5, 220-pound bruiser who should be good for 150 hits, tons of blocked shots and he can even play up on the wing in a pinch if needed. He’s coming off of a 17-goal, 46-point campaign and he’s only now entering his prime. If he never gets hurt again, he’s a probable 20-goal, 55-point defenseman at minimum. His arrival puts the ki-bosh on any hope of big numbers from Jason Demers or ME Vlasic (not to mention Justin Braun).

The Sharks don’t have a lot of forwards in place and they just traded their top forward prospect. Seven are signed for next year, with another three as RFA’s. But they have a Top 6, plus Jamie McGinn as a seventh to fill in for an injury, and I guess that’s good enough for them.

Burns’ departure leaves a gaping on the blue line in terms of the power play. And the battle will become interesting thanks to Maxim Noreau’s trade to the Devils. My favorite? I think Cam Barker has run out of chances, so my sights are set on Marco Scandella and Jared Spurgeon. In the end, those two will split the stats, and that makes Spurgeon a solid dark horse (because Scandella is such a well-known prospect). He’s small, but potentially he could flirt with 40 points this season.

Fantasy Players this helps, in order:

1. Burns

2. Coyle

3. SJ PP (Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, Boyle)

4. Spurgeon

5. Scandella

6. Barker

Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:

1. Clutterbuck

2. Latendresse

As a bonus, I will provide you with our profile of Charlie Coyle in the Fantasy Prospects Report. If you find this uninteresting and unhelpful, then don’t buy it here. If you like it, and want to see 400 other prospects this way, then support the site you read for free every day!

Charlie Coyle, C/RW (TY 33)

(LY – N/A)

Coyle is arguably one of the most improved prospects of the past year, surprising with how close he is to NHL readiness. We always knew that the size and strength was there, but packaging that with the soft hands and the surprising hockey sense has him leapfrogging over some highly-thought-of players. He still needs to improve his acceleration and he needs to shoot a lot more. But the latter can be taught and the former can be improved too, given that he already boasts good speed. The Sharks tend to graduate one top prospect per season, so it will be Coyle's turn in 2012-13.

Upside: Tony Amonte (Coyle's uncle), (30-45-75+, 70 PIM)

Certainty (NHLer; Upside): 90%; 40%

3YP: (26-34-60, 62 PIM)