Fantasy Impact: Matt Tkachuk Dealt to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau in Blockbuster

Dobber

2022-07-23

The Calgary Flames traded Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in exchange for the NHL's second leading scorer (tied) Jonathan Huberdeau, plus defenseman Mackenzie Weegar, prospect forward Cole Schwindt, and a first-round draft pick.

The Flames get: the scoring to replace the recent loss of Johnny Gaudreau. And funny enough, they replace him with the player who tied him for second in league scoring with 115 points. They also get a proven 40-point defenseman, a prospect and a pick. Both Weegar and Huberdeau are in the final year of their contracts.

The Panthers get: a star power forward coming off a 104-point season. The Panthers immediately signed Tkachuk to an eight-year deal at $9.5M AAV. Tkachuk obviously brings a lot of grit for playoff hockey, which is an area that the team has identified as a serious need.

Fantasy Players Impacted: I had already analyzed and reviewed both of these teams for the purposes of the upcoming Fantasy Guide, so I have a real good handle on where these players fit and what I needed to adjust. Looking at this for strictly points, I adjusted Weegar down. He was Aaron Ekblad's sidekick and really flourished in that role. There is nobody of Ekblad's caliber on the Flames. I adjusted Elias Lindholm upward. With Gaudreau gone, I had Lindholm and Tkachuk each taking a tumble. I removed much of that tumble from Lindholm – but not all of it though, because the team has now lost Tkachuk. Tyler Toffoli was adjusted upwards. He'll be on the right wing alongside Lindholm and Huberdeau.

Weegar is a right-shot defenseman, and the Flames also have Rasmus Andersson and Chris Tanev as right shots. I don't think the move impacts Andersson, as Weegar was never really used on the power play with the Panthers.

In Florida, their offense takes a hit. Right now I see Tkachuk bumping Carter Verhaeghe off the top line, but really – if Tkachuk doesn't click with Aleksander Barkov, then he and Verhaeghe swap. Anton Lundell will be the second-line center now, and those two left wingers are interchangeable. I bumped Tkachuk up with this move, but only slightly.

On defense, this move could really pay off for Gustav Forsling, who stands to be next in line to play with Ekblad and see all the offensive minutes that entails. However, it could also go to Lucas Carlsson. Whichever of the two get the job, it will pay nice dividends. But I'm leaning Forsling.

The prospect in this deal, Cole Schwindt has some upside as a potential middle-six center. You can read up on him here.

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Fantasy Players this Helps, in order:

  1. Lindholm
  2. Toffoli
  3. Forsling
  4. Tkachuk

Fantasy Players this Hurts, in order:

  1. Weegar

Here is the compare-a-player report for Gaudreau vs. Huberdeau.

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