The Islanders Acquire Real Defensemen!
steve laidlaw
2014-10-04
Fantasy Impact: The New York Islanders have acquired Johnny Boychuk from the Boston Bruins for draft picks and Nick Leddy from the Blackhawks for prospects Ville Pokka, TJ Brennan and Anders Nilsson.
The Islanders get: Two proven NHL defensemen. That doubles their previous total, which is huge for a team that has dealt away its first round pick this season and is therefore committed to winning this season. Garth Snow wants to prove to the new owners that he can put a winner on the ice. This move isn't an all-in push but it does mortgage a lot of trade collateral. Anything short of a playoff berth will be seen as a failure and the front office will be cleared out.
The Blackhawks get: A few intriguing prospects. Pokka is likely the only one with a real future with the team. They also get some cap relief moving Leddy's contract off the books.
The Bruins get: Salary relief and draft picks.
Fantasy Players Impacted: This could go one of two ways for Leddy. He could flourish on Long Island with the aging and injured Lubomir Visnovsky as the only major roadblock to skating on the Islanders' top power play unit. Top power play minutes would mean a huge breakout season for Leddy.
Leddy might also drown if he doesn't get that top power play spot. The Islanders don't have the Blackhawks' depth so there's a chance he gets exposed skating on a weaker team where he'll be less insulated. There is less scoring depth for him to get boosted by both in terms of points and plus/minus.
TJ Brennan takes a huge hit here. He goes from having a shot at quarterbacking the Islanders power play to being buried by the depth in Chicago. There's no chance he unseats Duncan Keith from the Blackhawks power play so he'll be sitting on bottom-pairing minutes if he even makes the team at all. He'll battle David Rundblad and Adam Clendening for the sixth spot on the blueline. Those two both see a boost with Leddy headed elsewhere.
Finally, Islander hopefuls on defense like Matt Donovan and Ryan Pulock will now have to wait their turn in the minors.
Fantasy Players this helps, in order:
The Islanders Forwards (plus/minus)
Adam Clendening
Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:
TJ Brennan
Ryan Pulock