Rick Roos took on the fantasy impact article on, I believe his first ever with us. Not exactly starting out easy. Definitely worth a read but I'll provide my own take.

As I'm sure you now know, the trade means Dustin Byfuglien moves back on defence, Paul Maurice confirmed as much yesterday. This is probably the biggest aspect of this deal despite all of the moving parts. Byfuglien had been filling in up front the past four games with Kane out and had scored four points but he's more effective skating 25 minutes a night on the blue line.

Drew Stafford will get a good chunk of Kane's minutes but not the full 20 per night. He just isn't that effective a player. He's a classic tools but no toolbox guy. I remember I used to lament Stafford back in the day, watching crisp passes from Derek Roy bounce of his stick instead of finding the back of the net.

Stafford could push Michael Frolik for minutes though. Especially on the second power play unit.

Tyler Myers to Winnipeg is kind of neutral with regard to his fantasy value. Yes it's a better team but he was skating 25 minutes a night for Buffalo with almost three on the power play. Those minutes are coming down. He had been hot of late with five points in the last eight games but that could just be an aberration. After all, Myers has just 13 points on the year. So he might gain some from better teammates but fewer minutes evens things out. Wouldn't be looking to him for fantasy value. He's fourth in the pecking order behind Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom and Jacob Trouba.

On the flip side, Zach Bogosian might get a chance to be a #1 defenseman in Buffalo. We saw how far that got Myers though so I wouldn't be clamoring for Bogosian in any league. Could be worth a speculative add though.

I'm more intrigued by Nikita Zadorov (read more on him here) and Rasmus Ristolainen (read more on him here) though. Particularly Ristolainen. Ted Nolan is still going to make them earn their minutes but a spot on the top power play is technically up for grabs here. I think we're unlikely to see anyone "grab the reins" and become overly valuable this season but long term there's a spot available. Could see one of these two breakout as early as next season.

For the record I've got my neck out a bit for Ristolainen. Traded Tyson Barrie for him in my salary cap dynasty league. On its face that deal looks stupid but we score hits and blocked shots, where Barrie offers little. Frankly, a defenseman who doesn't block or hit in a league with those scoring categories is almost useless even if he does score a bunch. Agree or disagree with that trade, the point is, I'm a believer in Ristolainen.

It's also interesting to see how this affects Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux heading to Winnipeg. Lemieux's timeline is probably unaffected. The Sabres are building up their coffers with forward prospects and he's pretty far out. Brendan Ross has Lemieux's DobberProspects profile updated already. Check it out here.

More intriguing is Armia who looked to be on a fast track for Buffalo. He'd already made his debut earlier this season and with serious improvements made in his second season in North America it was looking like he could snag a late-season roster spot after the Sabres sold everything. Now, he's probably glued to the farm. The Jets aren't exactly deep at forward but there are no spots readily available for Armia and he'll have to compete with the likes of Nikolaj Ehlers (read more on him here) and Nic Petan (read more on him here) in the future.

But no prospect is the same. For some players it's better coming up on a bad team where the minutes can be easily secured and a big role found. For others it's better to come up slow on a good team and slowly earn things. Look at Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar in Detroit, do they become what they are now without a patient approach? And heck, maybe Armia has a little Nikita Kucherov in him and forces his way in on a loaded team.

It's our job to forecast this stuff but sometimes there's just no telling what a prospect might do. At least now you know that if Armia makes it he's going to be playing with some talent. Brendan Ross has his DobberProspects profile updated as well. Check it out here.

If you noticed I didn't actually discuss any impact for Evander Kane that wasn't a mistake. Saving the best for last, so to speak. Impossible to know exactly where he'll fit for Buffalo right now since we don't even know what that team will look like in eight months when they start next season.

This destination isn't as good as if he landed in Pittsburgh or Anaheim, I think we can be certain about that. Kane being asked to carry a bad team doesn't exactly sound productive. We could see a return of his 30-goal capability though since Buffalo is heavily invested in his success. They'll be giving him the optimal minutes he wasn't seeing in Winnipeg (ie. top unit power play time).

This could hurt Tyler Ennis a bit. He's already shuffled over to the wing alongside All-Star Zemgus Girgensons. Now he could get shuffled back if they go all-in on Kane. That's not necessarily a bad thing though. It's not like Ennis is going to stop being a top-six player.

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By the way, remember when everyone complained that Kevin Cheveldayoff never made moves?

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A couple of other important notes. The Sabres are retaining half of Stafford's salary in this deal, which limits their flexibility to do so on future deals. It increases the Jets' flexibility to add another asset, either a third line centerman or third line left wing. Currently Adam Lowry is skating at center with Chris Thorburn on the wing. Adding a center and moving Lowry to wing or simply adding another wing fills that void but this isn't something so urgent that the Jets will move Byfuglien back up to forward for.

The Jets also get the worst of the Sabres' three first round picks in the deal. Currently that looks like it will be the Blues' first slated to be 28^th overall. That's a nice bit of currency to go into the rest of the deadline shopping period with.

One last thought. The premise of this deal is that Myers is a better defenseman than Bogosian. If that's the case, how much worse can the Sabres get? Hold that thought, the Sabres made another deal that may explore that.

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Indeed the Sabres also traded away their #1 goalie Jonas Enroth to the Stars for tire-fire of a backup Anders Lindback and a pick. Rick Roos (trial by fire, buddy!) once again has the fantasy take on it. Check it out if you haven't yet.

I'll throw this out there, does Enroth really benefit moving from the worst defensive team in the league (dead last in both goals against and shots against) to one of the worst (fourth worst in goals against and seventh worst in shots against)? That being said, Enroth is probably a big reason why the Sabres' aren't doing worse than their already terrible level and Lindback is certainly a reason why the Stars' numbers look so bad.

You've got to give Ted Nolan credit for his motivational tactics though. Enroth stops 38 saves to beat the Stars earlier in the week and then finds himself traded to that same Stars team. Play well to get traded, indeed.

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The Kings have called up Derek Forbort to fill in while Alec Martinez misses time with his concussion. Not much fantasy impact though.

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The Lightning have called up Vladislav Namestnikov once again. Only a matter of time. Limited fantasy relevance but he could be a nice add in a deep league. The Lightning do boast the league's top offense.

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Broken clavicle for Jason Zucker means that he will miss three months. Tough end to a breakout season. Nino Niederreiter, welcome to the top six.

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Our old friend Alessandro Seren Rosso translates this interview with Valeri Nichushkin about his nearing return among other things.

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Looks like leading Band-Aid Boy Joffrey Lupul is going to miss about a week due to injury. Shocker.

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Make sure you check out Austin Wallace's prospect ramblings from yesterday.

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To celebrate the Kane trade, Sean McIndoe counts down the 10 worst breakups in NHL history.

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Apparently the Bruins are sniffing around Columbus forward Cam Atkinson as a potential trade acquisition. That would be interesting. Definitely appear interested in a right-shot forward.

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Evgeni Nabokov officially announced his retirement yesterday. Remember this beauty?

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You can follow me @SteveLaidlaw.