Fantasy Take: Giordano and Blackwell to the Leafs

Ian Gooding

2022-03-20

The Seattle Kraken have traded defenseman Mark Giordano and forward Colin Blackwell to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a second-round pick in 2022, a second-round pick in 2023, and a third-round pick in 2024.

The 38-year-old Giordano was the 2018-19 Norris Trophy winner after posting a career-high 74 points in 78 games. His production has nosedived since then, as he has produced at closer to a 35-45-point pace. The Kraken's first captain, Giordano has received first-unit power-play minutes with the expansion club. However, he did not record a point in his final seven games with Seattle.

The Leafs' recent issues on the blueline have been well-documented, and Giordano should help stabilize the unit with his experience and leadership. With Jake Muzzin's return from injury unknown, Giordano should be leaned upon as a top-4 blueliner. Giordano has been paired for extensive minutes with T.J. Brodie during their time in Calgary, so there's also a natural fit there. Although Giordano also has often been a PP1 d-man, he will more likely fit on the second unit, which could bump Rasmus Sandin out. The Leafs' top unit tends to receive about two-thirds of the power-play minutes, which probably won't help Giordano's production from where it is now.

If your league counts plus/minus, you might be a little happier about this trade. Giordano is a minus-21 with Seattle, although seven Kraken players currently have a plus/minus of minus-20 or lower.

Blackwell has a bit of offensive upside, as he has produced at a 35-40-point pace over the last two seasons between the Rangers and the Kraken. He's more likely a bottom-6 forward, but he might also receive a look on the Leafs' second line with John Tavares and William Nylander because of the recent injury to Ondrej Kase.

Players this helps, in order:

Vince Dunn

Carson Soucy

📢 advertisement:

Players this hurts, in order:

Sandin

Giordano

Liljegren

Discuss the trade at this thread on the Forum.

Leave A Comment

UPCOMING GAMES

No data found.

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
ERIK NYSTROM MTL
NIKOLAI KOVALENKO
EVGENI MALKIN PIT
AARON EKBLAD FLA
JEFF SKINNER S.J

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
DEVIN COOLEY CGY
DUSTIN WOLF CGY
JESPER WALLSTEDT MIN
YAROSLAV ASKAROV S.J
SAMUEL ERSSON PHI

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency PIT Players
25.9 BRYAN RUST VILLE KOIVUNEN SIDNEY CROSBY
21.7 RICKARD RAKELL EVGENI MALKIN DANTON HEINEN
21.0 PHILIP TOMASINO JOONA KOPPANEN CONNOR DEWAR

DobberHockey Podcasts

Fantasy Hockey Life: Stefan Rosner on the New York Islanders

Stefan Rosner is here to report on the New York Islanders. Jesse and Victor interview Stefan Rosner about returning pros Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, Mathew Barzal, Simon Holmstrom, JG Pageau, Maxim Tsyplakov, Calum Ritchie, Noah Dobson, Ryan Pulock, Alexander Romanov, Scott Perunovich, and Ilya Sorokin. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal mag breaks down […]

Fantasy Hockey Life: Draftastic 2 – Q&A on the NHL Draft

Victor and Jesse are back in studio as Victor reports on his time at the NHL Draft and his outlook on fantasy rookie drafts. We discuss Michael Misa, Matthew Schaefer, Cole McKinney, Mason West, Milton Gastrin and Jacob Ihs-Wozniak with player audio. Victor also answers patron questions on which players you’ll want to target for […]

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

📢 advertisement: