As the week goes on, the trade deadline continues to appear further and further away in our rear-view mirrors. On the day, there were a total of 33 trades made and a total of 54 players involved in those trades. While some trades were done with the idea of bolstering a lineup to help them compete for the Stanley Cup, others were done to help alleviate their cap situation and to help accrue additional draft capital. Regardless, the point of this week's article is to shed some light on what players will have the most impact on their team's success for the rest of the season.

*This list isn't done in any concrete order, and the positions that are listed for a player are coming from the official website of the National Hockey League. Fantasy leagues may have these players listed differently*

#1) Claude Giroux – RW – Florida Panthers

Contract: $4.1375M – 1 Year remaining (UFA this summer)
Roster Percentages: 87.3% ESPN, 77% Yahoo, 92% Fantrax

For a player with the talent level that Claude Giroux possesses, we should be seeing a drastic difference in the remaining games of the season for this player. With 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) in 57 games (60-point pace through 82 games) with the Flyers this season, he was having an underwhelming season for what he expects of himself. The Flyers fanbase were united on Saturday night when he got traded, for the Florida Panthers fans who are reading and don't know what you're getting with Claude Giroux, I will summarize it in just one word: elite. For a Panthers team that has its core leaning on the younger side, expect Giroux to be a strong presence in the locker-room as well as on the ice.

#2) Rickard Rakell – RW – Pittsburgh Penguins

Contract: $2.463M – 1 Year remaining (UFA this summer)
Roster Percentages: 13.6% ESPN, 26% Yahoo, 50% Fantrax

The Anaheim Ducks made it clear that they are looking towards the future, and with that, comes the end of Rakell's time out west in Anaheim. Rakell has always been a capable top-6 forward in the NHL; a jack of all trades type of player. With 28 points (16 goals and 12 assists) in 51 games (40-point pace through 82 games), he hasn't been having a stellar year by any stretch. If he were to finish with 40 points this year, it would be his lowest point total since the 2014-15 season where he finished with 43 points. With him being moved to Pittsburgh, he is currently slotted on the right side of Evgeni Malkin with Danton Heinen on the other side. While that may not stay the entire time, as of right now, I would want any player that is playing with Malkin. Rakell probably won't see PP1 time in Pittsburgh, but he is exposed to better talent now than what he was surrounded by in Anaheim. Expect his production to increase slightly, mainly the offensive areas as Rakell isn't known to be a big hitter (61 this season), or blocker (32).


#3) Marcus Johansson – LW – Washington Capitals

Contract: $750K – 1 Year remaining (UFA this summer)
Roster Percentages: 0.3% ESPN, 1% Yahoo, 5% Fantrax

I know, the roster percentages are low, but hear me out. Johansson is known to be a puck distributor, with 17 assists through 51 games this season (total of 23 points) and a low number of shots taken. With just merely 81 shots on goal (1.6 per game), it is clear what he enjoys doing on the ice. His points may be low, but Seattle have only scored 163 goals all season long through 63 games played (2.6 goals per game which rank towards the bottom of the NHL standings). He is going from having subpar teammates around him (sorry Seattle fans), to being projected to being on a line with one of, if not the best goal scorer of all time… Alexander Ovechkin. Johansson could be a sleeper for an uptick in point totals in the remaining portion of the season just because of who he is pegged to play with. This isn't a player that you should be sprinting to go out and get, but if you face an injury and he is there, he may not be a bad streamer down the stretch.


#4) Mark Giordano – D – Toronto Maple Leafs

Contract: $3.375M – 1 Year remaining (UFA this summer)
Roster Percentages: 85.1% ESPN, 55% Yahoo, 72% Fantrax

It seems like every year the Leafs find their way into being in talks with acquiring some of the biggest players that are available, but that is not a bad thing in any stretch. It shows that they want to reward the fans that have been through so much pain with that organization. The management team wants to win, and Kyle Dubas' efforts continue to show that. Adding a player like Giordano will help immensely. For a young roster to add a player with the experience that Giordano has is going to be very beneficial to their success. He is not what he once was though, so don't expect that sort of production, but he is now on a roster that can score goals (Leafs are 3^rd in league scoring with 229 goals in 62 games, or 3.69 goals per game). Giordano currently has 23 points in 55 games played, 123 shots on goal (2.24 per game), 46 hits, and 98 blocks. The points may be average, but through a full season at that rate he would have 34 points, not bad for a player who is as old as he is. His overall time on ice (21:29 on average per night, 2:47 on the powerplay, and 1:36 on the penalty kill) may end up declining in Toronto given their depth on the blueline, but he is a player that can play on the powerplay, and the penalty kill. Expect Giordano to played in almost every type of role, that level of versatility can help increase your stock with a new team fast.


#5) Marc-André Fleury – G – Minnesota Wild

Contract: $3.5M – 1 Year remaining (UFA this summer)
Roster Percentages: 82.7% ESPN, 94% Yahoo, 91% Fantrax

This was the one trade that sort of blew me away, I didn't expect Minnesota to go for him, I know their goalies have been average (at best) this season, but with a young guy like Kahkonen on the roster, I thought they were going to stay with him and Talbot in the crease. Fleury has poor numbers this year with a record of 19-21-5, a SV% of 0.908, and a GAA of 2.95. Those are not the standards that 'Flower' holds himself to, he has always had very high expectations for himself. He is one of the best goaltenders of all time and this may just be the missing piece to the puzzle for Minnesota. We all know Chicago has had their struggles on the ice this season, which also impacted Fleury's numbers obviously, but there shouldn't be a world where he goes to Minnesota and is worse than what he was in Chicago. Minnesota currently sits 4^th in the NHL in goals scored with a total of 228 in 61 games (3.74 per game), and 18^th in goals allowed with 196 total goals surrendered (3.21 per game). That is an awful lot of goals to be allowing, but in saying that they are still finding ways to win hockey games as the team has a record of 37-20-4 (points percentage of 0.639). A change in scenery and getting shipped out to a team that is playing meaningful hockey games is something that could really ignite a flame in Fleury, he thrives in the big moments and in the big games.


There were plenty of trades happen over the last few days and while each NHL team believes that they are doing what is best for their respective hockey club, these are just the players that I believe will help out their team's the most when it comes to success, and for what players to keep an eye on to end the fantasy season.

If you want to have any questions answered or interact with me please feel free to interact with me on the forums or in the comments of the articles, or on Twitter @JamieMolloy_DH.