We had just two games in the NHL on Wednesday night so it's a good time to go through some trade targets for the upcoming trade deadline. Rather than just list guys that may be on the move, though, it's worth looking at what gets left behind if those players get moved. It is nice to daydream about what a line of Forsberg-MacKinnon-Rantanen would look like for Colorado, but what does that do to Nashville's top-6? We could see Brock Boeser get traded by Vancouver, and if he does, what about their ever-important power play? Those are the kinds of things we're going to be looking at today.

For now, we're going to stick with some of the higher-end guys that are at least possibilities to move. There isn't much sense in going through the domino effects of a fourth-line forward being moved because that really doesn't matter much in the vast majority of fantasy leagues. Some data from Natural Stat Trick.

We will find out if – when? – Giroux gets traded but I fear for the sanity of Flyers fans. With Sean Couturier injured and Kevin Hayes having a very off year, there just isn't much left for centers if Giroux is on the move. The Flyers could be looking at a top-6 center duo of Derick Brassard and Scott Laughton, especially seeing as those two have been in the top-6 and taking face-offs in recent games. Could there be much fantasy value for either of them?

It should be noted that Laughton isn't having a bad year, really. His 82-game paces for this year exceed 15 goals and 40 points, not bad for a guy on a poor team getting little power-play exposure. What would make him valuable is his physical play as he's averaging over two hits per game on the season. He is up to roughly 17:30 a night of late and Giroux moving on could lead to even more. Not that he'll suddenly be a 65-point, second-line centre, but even a 50-point centre with two hits per game is very valuable in banger leagues.

For my money, it would be Laughton and then Brassard that we should look towards. Maybe they give the veteran top-line billing, but it seems more likely that Brassard himself is on the move as a very cheap depth centre. For those in banger leagues that may have left Laughton on the waiver wire, heading out to grab him sometime next week seems the move here.

Tomas Hertl

Not a lot to talk about here, really. All indications are that the pending UFA will not get a contract from the Sharks in the next 10 days and will be traded. That is what happens when nearly one-third of the team's cap is tied up in three defensemen with only one of those defencemen maybe being top-pair calibre (at least he's the most expensive one). This team has little for top-end prospects and less on the NHL roster; even Timo Meier will be 26 years old for next season. They need to recoup as much as they can for every valuable player leaving, and that means Hertl is likely on the move. The only guy this will help is Logan Couture, who will get his top-line role back. This team is one line and two defencemen, but at least that one line is really good.

Rickard Rakell

After a poor three years, a span that saw him average 19 goals/82 games against 32 goals/82 in the three years prior, Rakell has seen a rebound. He has 16 goals in 49 games on the season, or pacing out for 27 goals. The only thing that has really changed has been his shooting percentage, which is parlty a function of getting a good centre, something that's been very infrequent for a while in Anaheim. Praise Trevor Zegras, he revived Rakell's trade and fantasy value.

If Rakell does get moved, there's a pretty good spot on Zegras's wing that opens up. The problem with this team is there are a lot of "well, let's try it" options, and not so many "I can't wait until this guy gets that role" options. My personal preference is to give Max Comtois some run there, if only to see if he and Zegras can develop some chemistry. I mean, Sonny Milano has had a regular spot in the lineup because of his chemistry with Zegras. It might behoove the Ducks to do the same with Comtois.

After that, though, we're looking at… Isac Lundestrom? Maybe Sam Steel? Or else some veteran like Jakob Silverberg. All that is to say, there may not be a long-term solution to the Rakell opening if (when) he gets shipped out of town. Once again though, for my personal benefit, please give some time to Comtois.

Filip Forsberg

If this were two months ago, the prospect of someone jumping on a line with Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene would have been incredibly interesting. But the Nashville top line has seen some of their production fall off: 29 points in 30 games to start the season for Granlund and 13 points in 24 contests since while the line has dropped about 0.4 goals per 60 minutes at all strengths (at a time of rising goal scoring league-wide). Duchene and Forsberg are still producing well, but only one of those guys will likely be in this lineup in two weeks' time, and that matters.

Therein lies a big part of the problem: the guy (likely) getting traded is the best player on his line. As the line has scored less and controlled less of the play, we have to assume that the guy replacing Forsberg won't kick-start them into next gear. That also doesn't mean there won't be fantasy value, seeing as he skates 18 minutes a night, including top PP time.

Immediately, the guy to think about is Eeli Tolvanen. He has been moved all around the lineup basically all season, bouncing mostly between the second and fourth lines. They could move up Tanner Jeannot, but they really seem to like their third line, and they're still in a playoff spot. They don't really seem to be in a position to experiment heavily, and that includes breaking up one of their favourite combinations.

John Klingberg

Like Forsberg, it seems a bit surreal that Klingberg may be on the move at the trade deadline given his team is in a playoff position at the moment. We have seen it happen, but this Stars team is in what they believe to be their Cup window, and trading a top-4 defenseman, and your PPQB, at the deadline seems risky. But like Forsberg, this is a valuable player it doesn't appear the team is going to re-sign, so losing a player of his calibre for nothing is not something most teams can do.

It is also a situation where, like Forsberg, maybe there's something that comes back in the deal that the team will use immediately. A quality player so they can maintain their playoff push with a straight face, on top of futures. The immediate beneficiary of a Klingberg trade would be Miro Heiskanen, as we saw his ice time skyrocket when Kling missed some games a couple weeks ago. We have also seen some big TOI games from Jani Hakanpää with Heiskanen out of the lineup. Presumably, if no other top-end defenceman is brought in, Hakanpää could be a big beneficiary. He puts up huge peripherals when he's given the ice time to do so, and could be a very valuable asset in multi-cat leagues over the final five weeks of the season. At least, very valuable for a waiver addition.

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That might be it here. Probably more minutes for the two Finnish d-men and that could mean a lot to both in fantasy down the stretch.

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An update on Joonas Korpisalo:

#CBJ coach Brad Larsen said it's likely that if Joonas Korpisalo is good to go, he'll start either tomorrow on Long Island or Friday night at home vs. Minnesota.
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) March 9, 2022

Korpisalo hasn't played since the end of January with a lower-body injury and there have been some big games from other goalies in the meantime. Columbus tends to allow a lot of shots, so fantasy owners in all kinds of league formats could look here. His goals against average is unlikely to look very good because his team is so bad defensively, but that doesn't mean he can't have some fantasy value down the stretch: they have three back-to-backs in the next three weeks, and they may just give him more than that anyway.

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An update on Johnny Gaudreau:

Brad Treliving says Johnny Gaudreau and his knee are fine following the last-second collision he had with Tom Wilson last night.
Says they clipped skates, not knees.
Flames fans can exhale.
— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) March 9, 2022

The Flames look to be one of the true elite teams in the league, and certainly in the West, but this would have been one of those injuries they couldn't afford to take. Good news for Flames fans and fantasy owners alike.

While I'm here thinking about the Flames: what if they traded for Claude Giroux? Darryl Sutter said recently something to the effect that they're still looking for a 3C that they can rely on (which, ouch to Sean Monahan). What if they traded for a 2C in Giroux and moved Mikael Backlund down? Doesn't seem probable, given they've already given up futures for Tyler Toffoli, but a fun thought.

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An update on Pavel Buchnevich:

Berube says Buchnevich is doubtful for Rangers after taking a high hit last night. Says Scandella is available for Rangers.
— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) March 9, 2022

The worry, obviously, is a concussion issue. As always, these are very delicate injuries and we'll provide more updates when we get them.