The St. Louis Blues acquired Brayden Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Jori Lehtera, the 27^th overall pick in the draft (Morgan Frost), and a conditional 2018 first-round pick.

The Blues receive: An upgrade at center from Lehtera to Schenn, whose past two seasons have been the best of his NHL career. Over those two seasons, he has reached minimums of 25 goals, 55 points, 22 power-play points, and 178 shots on goal. The Blues were weak up the middle last season, with their top-scoring center (Paul Stastny) reaching just 40 points. It’s worth mentioning that Stastny, Lehtera, and Robby Fabbri all missed time due to injuries.

Another reason for making the deal from the Blues’ end? They rid themselves of Lehtera’s $4.7 million per year contract. It didn’t come cheap for the Blues, as they give up two first-round picks in the process.

The Flyers receive: Lehtera, who was a massive disappointment last season with just seven goals and 22 points in 64 games. Lehtera’s point totals have dropped each of his past two seasons since a solid first season of 44 points. Lehtera has a slightly lower cap hit than Schenn ($5.125 million) but has been far less productive over the last two seasons.

Frost scored 62 points (20g-42a) in 67 games in his second season with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL last season. He is a solid playmaker with a good all-around game, although the Flyers may have reached for him given his pre-draft ranking (Dobber 2017 Draft Ranking: 64).   
 

With the 27th Overall Pick in the #2017NHLDraft, the @NHLFlyers select Morgan Frost. #NHL #DPR #Flyers pic.twitter.com/plywxN5aJn

— DobberProspectsRadio (@DPR_show) June 24, 2017

Fantasy impact:

Blues

The Blues could use Schenn as either a center or a winger, although he moved to center last season. Expect him to be used on the first-unit power play, as 17 of his 25 goals last season were with the man advantage. His value shouldn’t change a whole lot in St. Louis, unless he is being brought in specifically to center Vladimir Tarasenko. As for Tarasenko’s production, it should also remain unaffected, as he lined up with various centers in 2016-17 because of the injuries.

If Schenn is used as a center, it might seem that Stastny stands to lose the most, both in terms of even-strength and power-play time. However, Stastny’s role on the first-unit power play is to take faceoffs (60% PP FOW%), so it might not be so easy for Schenn to kick Stastny off the first-unit power play. Where he might impact Stastny is in even-strength minutes and offensive zone faceoffs. But if Schenn is moved to the wing, then natural center Stastny is affected very little.  

So on the power play, Schenn could supplant either Alex Steen or Jaden Schwartz on the first unit. Probably Schwartz, since he managed just nine power-play points in spite of having the third-highest power-play time on the team. One of those two could be affected even strength-wise as well if Schenn is used as a left wing instead of as a center.

Flyers

What do all of the following have in common?
 

Giroux-Patrick-Filppula-Couturier-Lethera

?

— Neil Parker (@naparker77) June 24, 2017

You are correct if you said all are centers. So which players are the most likely to move to the wing? Not Claude Giroux, who was fourth in the NHL in faceoffs won last season. Not Sean Couturier, who won 55 percent of his draws last season. Lehtera is only listed as a center. Maybe Valtteri Filppula, who has spent time on the wing before? And do you dare try Nolan Patrick on the wing?

The first thing that popped into my head after this trade was announced was how the trade might affect Patrick. On the surface, maybe it seems as though Schenn was traded to make room for Patrick. But the Flyers received another center back in Lehtera. And then there’s all these other guys. Long term, though, it creates space for Patrick. But we may not see those returns this season.

On a more short-term level, someone has to move up to Schenn’s spot on the first-unit power play. Maybe a young player like Travis Konecny or a Jordan Weal, which would give fantasy owners a reason to grab them. But it could also give the Flyers a reason to use a 3F-2D power-play, which would result in room for Ivan Provorov. I would be more on board with the latter, which would be a huge boost for Provorov owners.

As for Lehtera, his fantasy value can’t get much worse than it did last season. A change of scenery could help matters, but it’s unlikely that he cracks through to top-line minutes.

Fantasy owners are discussing this trade on the Forum. Give your take here!