Chicago and Seattle made a one-for-one swap on Saturday, with the Blackhawks receiving Andre Burakovsky and the Kraken receiving Joe Veleno. Burakovsky is the more established NHLer of the two, having scored 20 goals twice in his career. However, his five-year contract with a cap hit of $5.5 million hasn't paid off for the Kraken, so this trade is for all intents and purposes a cap dump with Veleno earning $2.275 million next season and the Blackhawks barely above the cap floor. Although Burakovsky played 79 games last season (earning 37 points), he was held to just 49 games in each of his first two seasons in Seattle due to injuries.

With two seasons left on Burakovsky's contract, the Blackhawks acquire a veteran who can fill a spot in the lineup until a prospect is NHL-ready. Burakovsky will have a chance to play in the top 6, which might increase his fantasy value slightly, as he finished the season on the Kraken's fourth line. That being said, he doesn't have a ton of sleeper potential while the Hawks are still in their long rebuild.

Meanwhile, former first-round pick Veleno will attempt to turn around his career in Seattle, although he could be bought out at a one-third rate because he is only 25 years of age. The Kraken have a million middle-6 forwards, so Veleno won't have an easy time making an impact.

–

The trade wasn't the only transaction from the Blackhawks on Saturday, as they placed TJ Brodie on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract buyout. Brodie played in 54 games in 2024-25, registering 10 points with a minus-18. He was also a healthy scratch for the final 22 games of the season, so he didn't figure into the Blackhawks' plans. At age 35, Brodie may attempt to continue his career elsewhere.

–

I told you last weekend that I would continue to show Calder Cup Final highlights and I will deliver on that. Jesse Puljujarvi (remember him?) was credited with the overtime winner in Game 5 to keep the Charlotte Checkers alive with a 4-3 win over the Abbotsford Canucks. The series returns to Charlotte for Game 6 on Monday and if necessary, Game 7 on Wednesday. I say "credited" because of the way the shot from behind the net went in. It was an ugly goal against the Canucks, but they all count.

I'll take this opportunity to clarify that Calder Cup playoff performance is not an indication of how strong a team's prospect base is. For starters, not all of a team's top prospects will be playing on its AHL affiliate. Further to that, many top-tier prospects are fast-tracked from the CHL or NCAA or Europe directly to the NHL, bypassing the AHL. The AHL is also filled with veteran players who have solid AHL careers but whose NHL careers amount to a cup of coffee or nothing at all.

The parent teams of Abbotsford and Charlotte (Vancouver and Florida) aren't known for having strong prospect bases. The Panthers were number 23 and the Canucks were number 28 in The Athletic's NHL Pipeline Rankings from Corey Pronman written August 2024. On top of that, both teams' top non-NHL prospects at that time (Matvei Shuravin and Tom Willander) still have never played in the AHL. I will mention, however, that many AHL prospects from both teams are listed in the Fantasy Prospects Report (now available!)

To add to that, I wouldn't pencil in a single player on the Abbotsford roster to be a full-time NHL player next season. However, the baby Canucks have plenty of players that should play some NHL games next season, including Jonathan Lekkerimaki, Aatu Raty, Linus Karlsson, Arshdeep Bains, Max Sasson, Victor Mancini, and Arturs Silovs.

Also, Manny Malhotra deserves credit for his coaching job with Abbotsford. In terms of future NHL coaches, Malhotra is a name to watch.

–

Here are the top Frozen Tools searches for the past week:

I'll pick two particular players who have been in the news recently because of relevance to recent trades or future trades.

Alexis Lafreniere

Lafreniere should be positively affected by the Rangers trading Chris Kreider to Anaheim, as mentioned in the official Fantasy Take of the trade. That is, if he is not the next to be traded if the Rangers are eyeing larger changes. For now, we have to assume he will stay.

Any resulting increase in Lafreniere's scoring could come largely from the power play. During his five-season career, Lafreniere has averaged at least 30 percent of his team's available power-play minutes only once (in 2024-25). For that reason, his power-play point total has always been relatively low, with a career high of 6 PPP in 2023-24. Although Lafreniere's 45 points in 2024-25 was tied for fifth on the Rangers, his 41 even-strength points was tied for third on the club, ahead of Mika Zibanejad. Don't assume Lafreniere will be on the top power play, though, as Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, J.T. Miller, and Vincent Trocheck should still all receive priority as forwards (the Rangers rarely used five forwards on PP1).

It's easy to assume what we've seen from Lafreniere so far is what he is, as he has already played five seasons and 380 career games. However, Lafreniere is still only 23 years of age, so there is still room for growth. Kreider's departure should create a place for him in the top 6, but he might have to wait a little longer for a spot on the top power play.

Bowen Byram

Speaking of players you might be hoping are in a better situation next season, Byram is believed to be on the trade block. Adding to the situation is that Byram is an RFA this offseason, but his UFA season is still two seasons away. On top of that, Byram is rumored to have requested a trade, perhaps unsatisfied with the current state of affairs in Buffalo or quite simply his role on the team.

Like Lafreniere, Byram has been quite limited in power-play opportunities. In his five-year career (derailed early on by injuries), Byram has never received 30 percent of his team's available power-play minutes. On top of that, he has 10 career power-play points – extremely low for a player who scored at over a point per game over his final two WHL seasons. Young players often need to bide their time when they arrive in the NHL, but Byram has had the misfortune of playing behind both Cale Makar and Rasmus Dahlin.

Byram was rumored to be interested in a trade to the Canucks, but he'd have a similar problem playing behind Quinn Hughes. However, if another rumor of Hughes joining his brothers in New Jersey comes to fruition, then this would represent a prime opportunity for Byram. Philadelphia, Calgary, or even Carolina could represent a better situation for Byram in that sense, along with a few other teams that have more unsettled power-play situations. If Byram can find such a team, then he should be a lock for his first 40-point season. Byram's 35 even-strength points was tied for 15^th among defensemen last season, so he has plenty of room to grow.

–

Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Threads @goodsfantasyhockey and Bluesky @goodsfantasyhockey.bsky.social